Sun Peaks (file photo - credit CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WINTER WONDERLAND

Strong start bodes well for B.C. ski industry

Dec 30, 2024 | 4:27 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Christmas holiday season is a bell cow period for winter resorts and ski hills around the B.C. Interior.

Both Sun Peaks Resort and Harper Mountain have been enjoying a plentiful start to the winter season, with both hills open to skiers and snow-boarders for the past couple of weeks. This time of year is crucial for much of the industry.

“So this year with really really really good snow, and the response, the market place, certainly people are keen to get out,” said Christopher Nicolson, CEO of the Canada West Ski Area Association.

“And a week like this, a Christmas week, this is a really special time of year and locally thinking of Harper Mountain and Sun Peaks talking to the operators there it’s been a very good start.”

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After fighting through COVID-19, and then the highway washouts of 2021 and a down year just last winter, the word resiliency was at the forefront for Interior resorts. The start to this winter season is welcome stability for places like Sun Peaks who have been investing to improve guest experiences.

“If you look at investment as one measure, it’s not the only measure, but certainly investment as one measure there is a high level of confidence in the industry,” Nicolson said.

“You look at the number of major lift installations that went on this year, Sun Peaks being one, but there are many others around the west. That is a measure of the confidence in industry.”