Matt Koenig, mountain manager at Mount Baldy Ski Area, said he and his staff of 40 are ready to roll when the facility opens for the 2012-13 season on Saturday morning. File photo.
Mother Nature has been kind to most ski hill operators in B.C. so far this fall and it’s no different up at Mount Baldy Ski Area as the hill prepares to open this weekend under what should be ideal conditions.
“This is my 13th year up here at Mount Baldy and this will definitely be right near the top when it comes to conditions for opening weekend,” said hill manager Matt Koenig. “We have significant snow pack with the base of the lift at 102 centimetres (as of December 7). If that’s not the best base we’ve had since I’ve been working here, then it’s in the top three.
“We’ve had a couple of major snow events up here and also had several smaller dumps, which has made for a very strong base and great conditions.”
Mount Baldy Ski Area will officially open for business on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. for the 2012-13 ski season.
All runs will be open on the Sugar Lump lift and the magic carpet area will also be open to the public. The decision on whether to open the main Eagle Chair lift won’t be made until late this week, said Koenig.
“We’re working very hard on the hill to try and get the Eagle Chair lift open, but we can’t confirm that yet and we’ll have to wait and see how much more snow we get in the next few days before making a final decision for opening weekend,” said Koenig.
More than 40 staff have been hired for the season and the vast majority of them will spend this week undergoing training to prepare for opening weekend.
“We have staff orientation all week so that everyone is ready to go on opening day and knows exactly what they have to do during the busy Christmas holiday season,” said Koenig.
Being able to open before Christmas is crucial to ski operators in B.C. he said.
“It’s often the difference between a good year and a great year,” he said. “We’re definitely looking forward to having all our staff trained and up to speed to handle what we hope will be some very nice crowds from opening weekend right through the Christmas holiday season.”
There’s nothing like opening weekend in the ski industry, said Koenig.
“I’ve been in this business a long time and there are always a couple of milestone events and opening day is always one of those,” he said.
“It’s also exciting to see the smiles on all of the faces of the skiers and snowboarders who are genuinely excited to get back to the hill and do what they love to do.”
With such a strong base of snow early in the season, it looks like this could be a terrific season for Mount Baldy Ski Area, said Koenig.
“It has all the makings of a fantastic ski season,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of quality snow early in the season and hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Mount Baldy Ski Area will be open Friday through Monday for most of the season. The facility will be open daily from Friday, Dec. 21 through to the new year, but will be closed Christmas day.
Season passes are on sale for skiers and snowboarders of all ages.
Both ski lifts will be in operation from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
