By Conner Toffan

Ski Resort experiencing success through inconsistent weather

Mar 6, 2019 | 4:52 PM

Elkwater, AB — One ski resort has been able to turn a winter with crazy weather into a successful ski season.

Mike Ractliffe, Head of Visitor Services for Cypress Hills Provincial Parks, says that so far this year, over 17,000 visitors have went to the Hidden Valley Ski Resort.

“Our numbers are pretty much exactly on-par as they were last year. Christmas numbers were definitely stronger with visitation. Our season passes are up from last year as well,” said Ractliffe.

Early in the ski season when the grass in surrounding areas was still green, the hills were covered in snow. The resort used around twelve to thirteen-million gallons of water this year in order to keep the slopes running earlier in the year.

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“Getting the snow-making going is always a bit of a challenge early in the season, we had enough snow made that we could get the majority of the runs open for opening day, mid-December,” said Ratcliffe

Later on, the weather was freezing. This presented a different problem for the ski hill, most people don’t ski when it’s minus 40 degrees Celsius.

“It looked like it was going to be a really strong season and obviously you get a bit of cold weather and it does scare a lot of people of when it’s minus thirty to minus fourty degrees, it’s not the most pleasant.”

The cold weather means that things in the rental shop can be a little more tedious for Rental Shop Technician Sean Mackay.

“Basically boards get thirsty, ski’s get thirsty and when they dry out they don’t slide very nice on the cold snow,” said Mackay

But lately, things in the rental shop have been busy.

“We get super busy in here, family week was intense, we almost ran out of skis so it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been good to see beginner skiers get out to enjoy the hill.”

Inside the cafe, a line is normally waiting to warm themselves up.

“Our hot beverage sales, If it’s cold, people want something hot to eat or drink, so that helps it a lot.

During the week, the resort hosts school field trips. The cold changes the outlook of Instructor Kirstie Bransfield-Garth’s classes. She doesn’t get to spend as much time outside with the kids as she’d like during a cold spell but always tries to keep lessons fun.

“Sometimes it just means to make your lesson really fun you’ve got to come in for a hot chocolate, or you’ve got to make a snowman, or something like that. It’s all about adapting to what the kids want to do,” said Bransfield-Garth.

And with school cancellations in the cold, some field-trips have been rescheduled. As of now, Hidden Valley Ski Resort says they’ve slightly extended the season to accommodate the field-trips. They’re anticipating closing on March 24.