Winter isn’t coming to the North Shore Mountains. It’s here.
Grouse Mountain and Cypress Mountain both fired up their ski lifts Wednesday and Mt. Seymour operators are hoping to have the hill open in the next two weeks.
“The last couple of days had been just fantastic for snowmaking, in particular (Tuesday) night because it was so cold. It was -6 C up here and the production was really great,” said Joffrey Koeman, Cypress’s spokesman. “It allowed us top-to-bottom skiing down Upper Maelle Ricker Run to Lower Panorama.”
But that is just the beginning of operations and the resort hopes to have even more of the mountain open in time for weekend skiers.
“All 37 of (our snow guns) are running 24 hours a day right now,” Koeman said.
Grouse fans got their first tracks on the Paradise Bowl after the resort began running the Greenway Chair Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s like Christmas morning. It’s the first day of winter. Winter has truly arrived when opening day comes,” said Jacqueline Blackwell, Grouse spokeswoman. “The first response from our guests has been tremendous. All the avid skiers and snowboarders are always pumped about opening day so the enthusiasm that’s around here today is infectious and it’s something we want to build on.”
There is a similar air of excitement atop Cypress, Koeman said.
“Opening day is a lot of fun. You see your regulars, people who ski 60 times a year, standing in line for first chair. It’s always good to see them back,” he said.
Unlike Grouse and Cypress, Mt. Seymour only uses natural snow and while it has been coming down, there’s still not quite enough for skiers and snowboarders, said Seymour’s Emmalee Brunt. But that could soon change.
“The long range forecast is looking promising and we’re hopeful that this will give us enough snowfall to open shortly,” Blunt said. “We’re very excited and we’re also very happy for Grouse and Cypress, but we’re waiting on Mother Nature.”
Regardless of which mountain you choose, the start of the ski season comes with a warning: Going out of bounds isn’t just dangerous for you, it’s dangerous for the ski patrol, and North Shore Rescue volunteers who will come after you.
“The ski patrols are very aggressive at monitoring people going out of the controlled areas. That will initiate a call to the police and then we’ll be called,” said Tim Jones, NSR team leader. “People should understand that immediately out of the ski area, it becomes steep avalanche terrain.”
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story indicated that Mt. Seymour staff were hoping to have the resort open by the end of next week. It is in fact the week after (Dec. 2-6) that staff are targeting, weather permitting.
