There was already lots of snow when Mount Baldy held its Festival of Colours in October. Pictured are managing director Joey O’Brien (right) and Rayana Pedlar, lift operator. (Richard McGuire file photo)
After more than five months of 18-hour workdays, the man who doesn’t mind being called Snowy Joey can’t hide his excitement about the pending opening of Mount Baldy Ski Resort.
Since finalizing the deal to take over ownership and management of Mount Baldy Ski Resort back in June, Joey O’Brien has been one busy man.
And so have the dozens of workers he’s hired to “restore Mount Baldy to its former glory” over the past several months.
It has taken a lot of time, effort and money to restore the skiing and snowboard facility as it has sat idle for more than two years after the previous American ownership group declared bankruptcy.
“In the 150 days since we’ve taken over ownership, I’m estimating we’ve spent in the neighbourhood of a million dollars upgrading the place,” said O’Brien, who has made a career over the past 25 years of turning struggling ski resorts into successful businesses. “Normal people probably wouldn’t try to do what we’re doing here at Mount Baldy, but that’s half the fun.”
As long as Mother Nature co-operates – and all signs early this week show she will – O’Brien is expecting hundreds of people to attend the grand re-opening of Mount Baldy this coming weekend in an event being dubbed the First Chair Festival that kicks off Thursday and continues through Sunday.
The official grand opening ceremony, complete with dignitaries like MLA Linda Larson and Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie, will take place Friday at 2 p.m. O’Brien said he and his crew of new employees have been working very long hours for the past three months to finish what seems like an endless list of tasks to get the facility in the kind of shape needed to attract skiers and snowboarders to a first-class resort.
“We got the must do’s finished ahead of time and under budget,” he said.
All of the ski lifts, including the Eagle, Sugar Lump chairs and Magic Carpet are all upgraded and ready for action, he said.
The day lodge has also been renovated and the grooming machinery is ready for a long and busy season, he said.
Crews have also “given a much needed haircut” to more than 500 acres of sylviculture, which included a lot of grass mowing and cutting down and trimming hundreds of trees and logs.
“The goal was to restore the property to the point where is can operate and function as a top-class ski and snowboard facility,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien said he told his entire staff that if they needed tools and equipment to complete a task, they had the authority to purchase it, which hasn’t always been the case.
In order to ensure the long-term success of Mount Baldy Ski Resort, the plan is to bring as many people to the facility as possible with the hope the majority will have a great time and will return, he said.
“That’s why we have more than 100 events planned in our weekly calendar for the upcoming season,” he said. “We’ve already sold more season passes than at any time in this facility’s history and we’re well on our way of reaching our goal of 5,000 season passes.”
The previous high in season passes was less than 500 and close to that number of seniors have taken advantage of a special $19 season pass offer for seniors, said O’Brien.
“I would rather have 500 people buying lunch on a Tuesday than 50,” he said. “There is no history of seniors skiing at Baldy, but that’s going to change. We already have 460 seniors signed up and I want that number to be 1,000.”
The biggest key to turning Mount Baldy into a successful, long-term business venture will be to offer a wonderful outdoor experience at a reasonable price and hire people who love this industry, said O’Brien.
“We’ve had to eliminate the culture of failure that has been associated with this place for the past few seasons,” he said. “We want to make this a destination resort for skiers and snowboarders throughout our target region, which is across the Boundary region, through to Osoyoos and Oliver. I have no doubt we’re going to accomplish that goal.”
An active and successful social media and media campaign has people talking about Mount Baldy Ski Resort in a positive manner for the first time in a very long time, he said.
While the majority of visitors will be skiers and snowboarders, O’Brien points out there will be six kilometres of perfectly groomed cross-country ski trails and numerous snowshoeing courses available for enthusiasts of those pursuits.
O’Brien has also purchased “fat bikes”, which are basically mountain bikes with large low pressure tires that travel smoothly on groomed trails.
A large percentage of the money he has invested has gone towards purchasing high quality rental equipment, which includes Head ski equipment and Burton snowboard equipment, which are industry leaders in their respective sports, said O’Brien.
“We’ve signed exclusive deals with what I consider to be the best in the business with Head and Burton,” said O’Brien.
He’s signed deals with numerous school boards across the region and school children will be using the facility on a regular basis, he said.
Mount Baldy has a base elevation of 5,650 feet above sea level, which is 2,000 feet below the mountain peak, and offers spectacular views and snow conditions that can match any other facility in the Okanagan Valley, said O’Brien.
“I happen to think this place can offer a world-class outdoor experience,” he said. “If I didn’t think that, I would not have invested all of the time and money that I have.
“We’ve had a lot to do over these past 150 days, but the list is complete and we’re ready to roll.”
The days of Mount Baldy only being open on weekends is also over as the resort will be open seven days a week starting Thursday and continuing until late April if snow conditions remain solid, he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
