COOK: Chicopee Ski Club has been around for almost 90 years. It has had many ups and downs.
โIn the late '50s and early '60s, there was a winter where there was virtually no snow,โ says Chicopee CEO Bill Creighton.
One season, about 15 years ago, the Kitchener Ski Slope opened in December, but had to close until mid-January due to torrential rain.
The 2021 season was especially difficult. The Ford Government closed non-essential businesses on December 26, 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19.
โThe Ontario government came out and said 'you're closed,' the only place in the world where ski slopes have closed,โ Creighton said in an interview Saturday in Chicopee. โWe had 600 people on the payroll, we had to shut them down.โ
The ski slope was open for only five and a half weeks that year. Dating back to 1934, Chicopee typically opens for skiing and snowboarding around December 20 and closes at the end of March vacation.
This December, temperatures did not stay low enough to produce quality snow. A few degrees below zero is not cold enough.
โThis year has been challenging,โ Creighton said. โIt has been unusually warm.
โWe decided to postpone (opening), build the base and not put hairdressers and skiers on it, because as soon as you put them, the base runs out. So we wanted to know that we had enough to get by, because it's a long-term game for us all season."
now it's open
The hill is now open. Members and season ticket holders started skiing a week ago. On Monday (January 16) it opens to the public.
โAll the systems are working,โ Creighton said. โThe races we have open are in fabulous shape. We have a lot of snow and good skiing. I hope we're shaking it up. I think the public will have pent-up demand."
Saturday, with a temperature of -10C, was a perfect day to make snow. โWe will do it 24/7 as much as we can,โ Creighton said.
Making snow is not cheap. โIn a normal season, we spend about $220,000 on hydropower to make snow,โ Creighton said. The hill has its own water source, a retention pond.
Creighton is well aware that Mother Nature can be fickle. He checks the weather forecast several times a day to see if it will be cold enough for snow.
โThe meteorologist, I don't know if they're getting worse at their job, but the forecasts are changing very quickly. We'll look at it in the morning, then we'll look at it at 5 o'clock and say, 'What happened?'โ
Saturday was a perfect example. The forecast first called for rain on Wednesday, but later in the morning said rain would arrive on Tuesday. Two to four millimeters is forecast.
โWe will survive,โ Creighton said. We have enough footing on the hill now that the snow will soak up some of that water. So we're in good shape.
Six of 12 races were open on Saturday. Creighton expects eight or nine to be open Monday.
Unpredictable weather does not threaten Chicopee, Creighton said.
โChicopee is totally sustainable, without a doubt. We've been through late openings like this. We have been through early closings... The future looks bright. The challenge for us is that we need to do some capital improvements. The chalet is old and she needs help.
Chicopee also needs more chairlifts, he said.
Total cost of work required over the next two years: $16 million.
โWe are a nonprofit organization,โ Creighton said. โWe pay a lease to the GRCA (Grand River Conservation Authority), which owns the land. We pay taxes to the city. And we do not receive municipal funding. We have had help from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. But nothing federal, that kind of thing. We can't complain too much. We have survived the last 88 years.โ
But a city tax cut would be welcome, he said.
