Ski hills cope with unseasonable weather

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This article was published 05/12/2023 (1022 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many Manitobans might be rejoicing over the mild fall weather, but three ski hills in southwestern Manitoba are not.

Ski Valley, Asessippi and Holiday Mountain are all waiting for Mother Nature to hurry up and bring the cold. The lack of natural snow is not the big problem, they agree — it’s the lack of seasonal winter temperatures that’s putting a wrench into things.

“I have made snow for 45 years. But you still need to have some sort of cold temperatures,” said Don Horner, owner of Ski Valley near Minnedosa. “I can make snow at zero and plus five. It takes eight hours to make snow at those temperatures, what you can make in 25 minutes at minus 10 and 11.”

Horner has nine runs at Ski Valley he and his crew are trying to cover. But the up and down temperatures have him pushing back opening day more and more.

“Mother Nature has just kind of been all over the board. There’s been some days when we have been making snow, but it’s been spotty. Even in the evenings they’ve called for colder temperatures, and it hasn’t hit it. But you just do what you can do. It’s Mother Nature,” Horner said.

Mother Nature may continue to “be all over the board,” as Environment Canada is predicting an unseasonal 9 C for Wednesday and Thursday this week in Brandon. Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the temperature will be similar for the rest of Westman.

“We have an inflow of warm air on Wednesday and Thursday as a low-pressure system from Alberta is approaching, and the winds will bring in this warm air. Since there is no snow on the ground, or very little snow on the ground, we could easily see that stuff melt,” said Hasell.

“But even if we’re just talking about temperatures near zero, it’s well above normal. The normal for this time of year is minus seven during the day.”

Abe Sawatzky, general manager of Holiday Mountain Resort, located near La Rivière, Man., said making snow every year is the norm for ski hills in Manitoba and Saskatchewan because of the lack of regular snow falls, like what Alberta and B.C. ski hills get. While more snow would be helpful, Sawatzky said it is easier to work with man-made snow, and man-made snow is what Manitobans would be used to skiing on.

“We have the equipment out there making snow as we speak. And we’re trying really hard to keep that going as long as we can. It looks like the weather coming up the next couple of days is going to be a bit too warm for us to make snow. So we’re going to have to shut it down. But then we’ll start back up as the temperatures drop,” Sawatzky said.

Holiday Mountain has 11 runs and the goal is to cover them all with artificially-made snow before their tentative opening date of Dec. 15.

“That’s still the date we feel we’ll be able to hit. But we’ll have to keep watching the weather closely for the next week. As long as it holds true to what they’re predicting now where we have daytime highs still in the minus temperatures, then we’ll be fine,” he said.

Asessippi Ski Resort is the biggest of the three and staff are busy making snow for all 26 of its runs. Kendra Sitko, sales manager at Asessippi, said the resort has also tentatively made Dec. 15 their target opening date. The lack of snow or the warm temperatures have not deterred snow lovers. Sitko said many people are faithfully booking ski passes and lessons for Christmas and beyond.

“Yes, we are excited (about the coming ski season). This past weekend, we held our ski swap, which just took place yesterday. It was a great day. We had the pub open, and we had the food court open. And the snowmaking was taking place, so people could see that when they were here,” Sitko said. “Everyone’s anxious. Customers are ready for us to open.”

Hasell suggested residents in Brandon and Westman enjoy the next few days of unseasonably warm temperatures because by the weekend, she said, it will be a winter “mess.”

“Now these next few days where temperatures are warmer would be a good time to get prepared for the rest of the season coming up if you haven’t yet already — get your winter tires, check your emergency kits, make sure everything is up to date and nothing’s expired,” Hasell said. “Take advantage of these next few days where temperatures are still balmy, and conditions are relatively benign. Pay attention to road conditions either way and get ready for the rest of the season, because it’s coming.”

» khenderson@brandonsun.com