How local winter activity hot spots are coping with warm temperatures, lack of snow

With yet another warm up, how are businesses that provide winter activities handling the mid temperatures in Waterloo Region?

 

Chicopee Tube Park is considered a winter tourist hot spot in the area, but it's had a difficult start to its season.

”So we're definitely trying to maintain the hill as much as possible, but it can be difficult with the sun, and we're not getting below zero degree weather anymore,” said Katie McTaggart with Chicopee Tube Park.

The tube park opened its doors to the public later than they had wanted due to lack of snowfall and mild temperatures.

“We opened on Jan. 10 and we usually try to open around Dec. 26, so we had a late start this year,” McTaggart told CTV News.

As temperatures continue to climb in March, some businesses are facing the looming threat of an early closure to their winter seasons.

Outdoor skating rinks in Waterloo and Kitchener closed on the weekend due to balmy conditions.

“We try to prep as much as possible where we can, but when we make snow, it has to be below zero degrees,” McTaggart said. “We're doing everything we can to stay in business.”

Many ski hills and winter activity venues are aware that they only have two options: close early or adapt their business model to cope with rising temperatures.

“We've made all the snow we can make,” said Bill Creighton, CEO of Chicopee Ski Hill. “We’ve got a great base, two to six feet in areas and we'll survive the warm temperatures but of course, warm temperatures melt snow. 

"We made a large investment in updating our snowmaking and it's paid off. We’ve had great snow all season, even though this is probably one of the most difficult winter seasons in memory.”

Just down the road from the tube park, Chicopee Ski Hill was bustling with skiers and snowboarders on Sunday, all there to take advantage of the snow covered slope.

“Skiing was on my bucket list, I haven't had a chance to go skiing yet so this is the first time this year going skiing,” said a skier who travelled from Milton.

“We get out as much as we can,” said one parent. “My daughter has lessons and due to the weather, we've had two cancellations so far, [we’re] hoping that we'll make it out this week for her last week. My kids and my husband love the winter and love the winter sports so hopefully we can get a few more days out of this winter.”

With March Break quickly approaching, both the tube park and ski hill are trying to provide sufficient snow cover and rapidly adapt to the changing conditions.

“We get all of our water, it melts down from the hill, or when it rains, it goes into our pond at the bottom of the hill and then we take that, bring it back into our system and put it back on the hill,” McTaggart explained.

Despite the challenges, it hasn't stopped people from visiting the hills in Waterloo Region to get their fill of winter fun.

“We pull people from Mississauga, we pull people from Oakville all the way down to Hamilton,” Creighton added. “We had people from Windsor here yesterday and from Kincardine. So we've got a great space for people to come.”