Harper Mountain (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

52nd winter season at Harper

Conditions shaping up for solid year at Harper Mountain

Dec 30, 2025 | 5:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — A good dump of snow around the holidays has Harper Mountain in great condition as locals and travellers flock to the Kamloops ski hill.

While the tube park has been open since before Christmas, the chairlift was able to start spinning on Saturday (Dec. 27), officially signaling the start to season. 

It’s the 52nd winter season for Harper Mountain, and while the operators would love Mother Nature to bring them some more snow, conditions are great for a day on the slopes. 

“We did lots of work in the preseason to get everything going, get rocks off the runs, get everything brush cut so none of the grass is poking up,” said Ryan Daburger, operations manager at Harper Mountain. “Turned out really nicely but we’re still hoping for some snow soon, obviously, so it can be even better. But (it’s) really holding up super great out there — better than we were expecting.”

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The small hill charm rings true at Harper, with skiers, boarders, tubers and snowshoers all coming back year after year.

“I’ve been bringing my kids here. We started out skiing here at Harper — this is our first mountain,” said a local boarder.

“There is always this little feel about coming here that’s pretty decent. My kids all took lessons here, learned how to snowboard, ski, so it’s a great mountain for me.”

“I think it’s such a great mountain to learn on,” added another snowshoer. “It’s the perfect size for a family, especially when you are younger. When I was really young, I was able to kind of go by myself, because you can see everything from the lodge, so my parents were watching me from over there and I would go up and down. It’s really nice to come back”

That’s a message that Daburger holds near.

“Hearing stuff like that always just makes my day. That is why I love being out here, getting to talk with everyone, see how everyone is improving from the last year before too,” said Daburger. “It’s a real home feeling when you come up here and that is what I love about it. Everyone almost knows everyone and always feel comfortable.”

The mountain is also attracting in newcomers from out of province.

“It’s seem pretty great, so many families here,” added an Edmontonian. “It just reminds me of my ski hills back in Edmonton. It’s a lot nicer actually, a bit taller, a lot more terrain it would seem here.”

The solid base of snow already on the ground at Harper should help protect the mountain from any warm spells over the winter.

“We’ve actually had lots of international people coming this year, lots more than previous years learning skiing,” added Daburger. “Which is super awesome to see, especially with our student nights as well, try to get our students up as much as we can, international students, and they always seem to want to stick around and come back for another year, which is super good to see. Love just spreading skiing.”