Opening a ski resort can be an uphill battle

JOANNE ELVES

Like walking on a razorback ridge there are perils for any industry wanting to reach into our beloved mountains and make changes or developments. Step one way and you’ve got a community welcoming new industry and prosperity, step the other and it’s an uphill battle into a snowstorm of opposition sending you off that slippery ridge.

Is it worth the try? Maybe.

Here are three massive projects in the works in B.C. to put on your radar.

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Valemont Glacier Destination Resort is a go-go

It’s what you dream of; high alpine glaciers, year-round skiing, endless skiable terrain, the largest vertical drop and longest runs in North America. Where can this snow Eden exist? It’s on the doorsteps of the little town of Valemont, roughly 75-minutes west of Jasper. The Premier Range with the summit of Mount Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the massive Twilight and McLennan glaciers, offers year-round skiing and sight-seeing terrain.

Huge hurdles, including local bylaws, environmental impact assessments, hazard awareness, First Nations and provincial and community approvals can impede any project. But the Valemont applications are going through the system with limited opposition. What has been a key factor is the approval of the community and the Simpcw First Nation. The town sees the need for economic diversity and tourism, and is credited for coming up with the proposal for a ski resort. Chief Nathan Matthews and his council have been working from the beginning with the developers to make sure the project respects the Simpcw lands.

So, if the project goes through, the plan is for Phase 1, targeted to open for Christmas 2018 with day skiing and limited glacier skiing on the west side of Mt. Trudeau in the summer of 2019 along with a day lodge and mountain restaurant. The master-planned resort village at the base will be built over three phases with the first residential construction of the resort expected for 2019. Like Whistler, it will be a pedestrian-oriented village with roughly 2,000 “bed-units” comprised of hotels, condos and homes. With the potential for 800 full-time jobs (after construction is completed), the positive impact on the economy of Valemont will be welcomed.

Mount Baldy comes back to life

The year 1968 was a big one. The first jumbo jet left the ground, Captain Kirk kissed Lt. Uhura on Star Trek and Mount Baldy, near the little Okanagan town of Oliver B.C., opened with cat-skiing and the McKinney T-Bar. It would be advertised as having the highest base altitude of any ski resort in Canada. It was loved by the community because it offered fantastic powder only minutes from town and had a tight-knit community of maybe 150 cabins clustered at the base, offering ski-to-your-door bliss. But, it wasn’t bliss for the owners of the resort.

In 1977, when there was only one lift, there was a record attendance of 45,000 skiers but adding lifts didn’t add to the attendance. Oddly, the annual numbers dwindled, and by 2012, visits were down to 7,500 and the ownership went into receivership. Ugh. That was devastating to the people at the base and the regulars that loved the slopes. Keeping the resort running was bumpy for a few years but local support and new ownership with an eye to revitalizing struggling ski resorts came to the rescue. The resort cranked on the power for the 2016-17 season.

According to owner and operator Joey O’Brian, all it takes is a solid five-year plan, fresh real estate sales, millions of dollars and most importantly – a huge commitment to work hard. Oh, and people who want to rip down the slopes.

In the first season under O’Brian’s watch there were 100 events planned in the calendar with a cunning program to attract senior skiers on cheap Tuesday deals and constant family fun. The goal of selling 5,000 seasons passes was instantly exceeded. The first month saw more skiers than the entire season saw in 2012. Mother nature was on his side too, dumping powder over and over again. What’s in store for next season? With so much effort put into getting Mount Baldy back on the map, there is no way this community is going to let it go away anytime soon.

Jumbo Glacier or Jumbo Wilds?

Over in the East Kootenay there is a pristine region that looks perfect for a mega-ski resort. It’s located at the foot of Jumbo Mountain on an old sawmill site with the potential to provide lift access to four nearby glaciers for year-round skiing.

The proposed village will include 5,500 bed-units, and terrain that will make grown men giggle like toddlers in a candy shop. But here is an example where ideas about how a region should be developed clashes – big time for over 20 years.

Despite the developer’s efforts to provide comprehensive environmental assessments, positive support from the locally based Kinbasket-Shuswap First Nations and many community members of the nearby villages of Radium and Panorama Mountain Resort, there is still huge opposition.

There is a vocal crowd that opposes the mega-resort with claims that it does more harm than good. The collective called “Jumbo Wild,” says the resort does not respect the valley for its value as a grizzly habitat or for the spirit of the grizzly that the Ktunaxa Nation revere. They claim it will destroy another high alpine region that, frankly are, disappearing on their own. Their argument is valid and the local and provincial governments have to respect that.

So, there sits the Jumbo Glacier Resort, mired in so many court cases, it’s impossible to see how this will turn out. As long as the people opposing the resort have the money to fund the legal team, the grizzlies and the spirts of the grizzlies have a sacred place to roam.

Meantime, as long as the snow gods are in our favour, we can enjoy the other two resorts.