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Ski areas across province posting strong seasons

Interior resorts set records as Whistler-Blackcomb set to hit 2,000,000 visitors

The snow is well above average across the province, and skiers and boarders are hitting the slopes in better than expected – and in some case record – numbers this season.

Exact numbers for the province won’t be finalized until after ski resort representatives meet in May at the Canada West Ski Areas Association annual general meeting, but some resorts are already boasting about their turnout.

Last week Silver Star Resort, outside of Vernon, announced it had broken skier visit records for a fourth year in a row, so far beating the previous year’s tally by 10 per cent.

Big White, which like Silver Star is owned by Schumann Resorts, is also claiming record numbers.

The resorts have credited several factors to the increase, not least the year’s snowfall. Heading into their last weeks of operation Silver Star has an alpine base of 230 centimetres while Big White has an alpine base of 291 cm.

Another factor is the recent expansion of the Kelowna airport to accept larger aircraft and international flights.

"Our resorts using the Kelowna International Airport as a gateway are now the closest resorts in the west to the valuable Ontario market," said Jim Loyd, director of sales for Big White and Silver Star. Hawaii has also become a good market thanks to an agreement with Harmony Airways.

"Direct flights between Honolulu and Kelowna means Hawaiians can now easily find out what it’s like to surf waves of the Okanagan’s champagne powder," said Loyd.

The increase in visitors has prompted Schumann Resorts to reinvest in development, including 49 new housing sites in the Alpine Meadows area of Silver Star, the sale of which financed a new quad chairlift from the Alpine Meadows subdivision.

Sun Peaks, located north of Kamloops, is also expecting to break records. In mid-March the resort reported that skier visits were up compared to past years, with strong bookings through spring.

"Sun Peaks Resort is having a record season due in part to the incredible snow conditions we’ve experienced so far this season and our growing reputation as a world class destination resort," said Darcy Alexander, the vice president and general manager of Sun Peaks Resort Corporation, while announcing $4 million in improvements to that resort. The improvements include a new quad chairlift on Tod Mountain, a new café at the base of Mt. Morrisey, and several new runs.

The Lower Mainland mountains are not announcing record traffic just yet, but after last season where resorts barely opened due to the warm temperatures and lack of snow, they are having outstanding years. Mount Seymour is reporting 514 cm at the summit, while Cypress is boasting a base of 451 cm at mid mountain. Grouse Mountain has a snow depth of 385 cm.

Whistler-Blackcomb does not release skier numbers, but last week officials confirmed that the resort was on track for over two million skier visits.

"We’re back up to where we’ve been prior to last year, and on pace for more than two million skier visits," said senior vice president of operations Doug Forseth. "Only two other ski areas in the world have those kind of numbers, and we did it six years in a row until last year."

Forseth also credited this year’s abundant snow, but also gave a nod to strong marketing and aggressive promotions. Edge Card sales were up 41 per cent this year, and Whistler-Blackcomb is offering card holders $43 day tickets through the end of the season, or unlimited skiing until the end of the season for $89 to customers that renew before April 30. Whistler-Blackcomb is also opening up sales to all Canadian residents in addition to customers from B.C. and Washington.

Regional traffic to Whistler-Blackcomb, which includes Greater Vancouver and Sea to Sky corridor, is on pace to set a record, with over a million regional skier visits expected this season.

Destination visitor numbers are still off, especially from the U.S., but Forseth says those markets are starting to pick up again.

"The U.S. market reduction was the biggest trend we had to worry about, with the exchange rate and the gas prices, but there are signs that people are getting used to that. People who like coming here continue coming here whatever happens," he said.

"We’ll continue reaching out to long haul markets in the U.S. this year with a message about value and the quality of experience here that they can’t find anywhere else, that’s our plan."

Partly in response to skier visits, Whistler-Blackcomb announced over $22 million in on-mountain improvements this year, including the new $9 million Piccolo Express chair from Flute Basin to Piccolo Peak. The new lift will access over 1,000 acres of terrain.

According to Jimmy Spencer, CEO of the Canada West Ski Areas Association, it’s nice to see some optimism in the ski industry again.

"It’s been a very positive season, I’m delighted to say. From the end of December onward the snow has been fantastic," Spencer said. "What you’ve seen in Whistler you can count all the way through the West – it’s a good season and the snow is still topping up all the time.

"The U.S. travel market is not quite what it was a few years ago, but (resort) marketing has done a great job with regional and rubber tire marketing. We’re seeing a lot of rubber tire traffic from the states, from Washington and Oregon and Idaho."

As for the Lower Mainland resorts, and especially Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington – which didn’t open until the end of the 2004-05 season, prompting the resort to host a mini-putt tournament in March, which was snowed out – the feeling is one of relief.

"I saw some pictures of the snowcats (at Mount Washington) clearing the lift lines of snow because there’s so much of it," Spencer said. "Obviously it will be tough to make up the money they’ve lost, but they’ve come a long way back from the brink. They’ve put on a great effort, even replacing the season’s passes from last year at no charge."

Spencer says the next opportunity, and challenge, is deciding how to capitalize on the extra exposure that B.C. will get in the next four years in the lead up to the 2010 Winter Games.

"We’re trying our best to push on with development plans in the works for 2010 and will have extra accommodation, I hope," he said. "Resorts are also encouraging teams to come here and train between now and 2010, and use other resorts and not just the competition resorts in Whistler and Cypress and Grouse.

"I know the government would like us to be in a stronger position by 2010 with accommodation and facilities, and that’s what we’re trying to do."

With all resorts reporting strong numbers, and a few posting records, Spencer is also seeing a challenge in terms of staff. "Not just for the ski industry but for tourism as a whole," he said.

For one, Spencer says it is difficult for resorts to compete with the oil industry in Alberta, which is attracting a lot of young workers with high wages.

For another, the construction boom in B.C. and Alberta has drawn off other young workers, especially those in the trades that resorts often require.

"One thing we will discuss (at the annual general meeting) is our current immigration policy. We get lots of help from Australia and New Zealand with ski pros and that kind of thing, but it’s such a long process to get through and get and keep skilled people into the country even on a temporary basis," Spencer said. "We’ll be talking to the federal government to see if there might be a simpler way of achieving this, and in a relatively short span of time.

"I know we’re supposed to offer jobs to Canadians first, and we do that, but if the Canadians aren’t there it should be easy to fulfill those roles with people from abroad."