Sask. snowfall comes as welcome sight for ski hills ahead of holidays

While some people might be complaining after hours of shovelling snow, ski hills across the province are smiling at the sight.

In Saskatoon, Optimist Hill still hasn’t opened due to a lack of snow on the hill.

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Todd Harms, Optimist Hill operational manager, said staff have been left to make their own.

“We have two (snow) guns running, but we need an awful lot of snow at the base of the hill,” he said. “We require about three feet (of snow), and we rely on commercial haulers to actually haul in any snow.”

Harms said they would require a major dump of snow for it to make an impact on the hill.

“We would need two to three feet for it to make a difference,” he said. “Every bit of snow we get helps get us that much further.”

City crews also help with snow, hauling excess from arenas to the hill, according to Harms.

“We also have some private contractors that will haul from the private arenas,” he explained.

Harms said the hill is hoping to open on Saturday, but Mother Nature could have other plans.

“Starting next Friday, we should be fully open for the holidays,” he said.

Mission Ridge thankful for the snow

Out in Fort Qu’Appelle, Mission Ridge is more than delighted to see the snow, but Anders Svenson, business manager for the winter park, said the natural snowfall isn’t make or break for them.

“We don’t rely at all on natural snow, we put about 30 or 36 inches of man-made snow on the entire resort,” he said. “All 40 acres of it, that process has been going on since early November.”

The real impact the snowfall has is more on the marketing side, according to Svenson.

“It gets people thinking about skiing,” he said. “When the ditches are brown, people aren’t thinking about skiing, that’s really what helps us.”

The extra snowfall doesn’t impact the ski resort or any nightly maintenance.

“Every square inch of the resort is groomed every single night,” he said. “(Crews) make this perfect mat of corduroy that people ski on.”

A quick cold spell is in the forecast for the province, before a warm-up starting on Sunday.