Sun Peaks, 8:42 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 (Image Credit: Sun Peaks Resort)

By James Peters

Sun Peaks Winter Opening

Mother Nature slow to arrive, but Sun Peaks ski season opens on schedule

Nov 23, 2019 | 8:45 AM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — Sun Peaks officials say the Kamloops-area ski resort will once again be the first in the B.C. Interior to open for the winter — snow or not.

The resort opens Saturday (Nov. 23) with its Sundance and Elevation lifts and discounted $40 opening weekend lift tickets.

Chief Marketing Officer Aidan Kelly says the weather has not been co-operative this November, but the resort will make the best of what they have.

“[Temperatures] have been a little bit above normal from what we see at this time of year so that’s kind of impacted some precipitation levels and some of our snow-making ability,” said Kelly. “But our operations team has put in a really big effort.

“I think folks will just be happy to get out in the snow, shake off a bit of rust and slide around again.”

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Skiers and snowboarders will notice two new Snowcat groomers out and about this year, as well as progress on the resort’s Crystal chairlift replacement project.

Kelly says season’s passholders have expressed excitement about a new reciprocal agreement that allows them two ski two free days at the Silver Star resort near Vernon.

“When you roll it all together, things are looking pretty positive for the season,” said Kelly. “We just need a little help from Mother Nature to get us to where we want to be.”

On the marketing side, Kelly says the resort continues to rely on the Kamloops area, the Lower Mainland and the Seattle area for much of its visitors. He notes growth is coming from some other familiar places.

“Where we’ve been seeing our growth is from some other areas in the United States. We’ve been seeing some pickup right across the board – we had bookings last season from almost every state,” said Kelly. “Internationally, Australia and New Zealand have always been our biggest international markets, but we’re seeing big double-digit growth out of those areas rolling into this season.”

The Snowbombing music festival that has made Sun Peaks its North American home for the past three seasons will not happen this season.

Kelly says the music festival industry is slowing down across North America and Snowbombing is not immune to challenges to profitability.

“The organizers and the owner of the event decided that they were going to do a bit of a hiatus this year and just kind of take a look at how they can come back bigger, better, stronger for 2021,” said Kelly.

The opening of the season is not taking place without some controversy.

An employee at the resort called CFJC Today Saturday, saying a demonstration was being planned to protest employees’ ski passes being withheld for the opening weekend.

The employee says the resort apparently wants to keep the hills clear for guests, but workers aren’t happy and plan a demonstration at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.