Local ski hill operators are looking to the major winter storm slated to hit much of southern Ontario over the holiday weekend as a catalyst to pull forward their opening dates.
Operators have been waiting for the colder weather to bring some much-needed snow to build off a base layer that has been in the works for the last several weeks, and a major winter storm barreling towards southwestern Ontario is just what they were hoping for.
“It looks like we’re going to get a fair bit of snow on Friday, and a whole bunch of cold weather after that, so, the cold weather is really what helps get the ski hill open in allowing us to make some snow,” Craig Machan, director of parks and operations with Conservation Halton, said on Wednesday.
Barring the 2021/2022 season which saw pandemic-related restrictions quash the hill’s chances of opening until Feb. 16, Glen Eden, which operates under Conservation Halton, was projecting one of its later opening dates this year due to warm weather throughout much of December.
Now, because of the storm, Glen Eden operators say this year’s opening date will be pulled to Dec. 26, from the previously estimated Jan. 1, 2023 opening.
“It’s been a real mixed bag, we’ve had these warm spells and then some really cold, cold, cold spells and that’s what we need is the cold nighttime temperatures,” said Machan. “If we can get that during the day it would be ideal because we can make our own snow at that point, but it gets really difficult with the swings in the temperature and planning long term.”
Machan said the ski hills in the southern part of the province face warmer weather pressures that other areas don’t.
In comparison, Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood opened on Dec. 15 – nearly two weeks before Glen Eden expects to open.
