The Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill has seen more than 3,500 visitors since opening day Dec. 15 and management is hoping for at least that many more as the winter winds down.
Ski club president Wendy Batog and members Heather Toporowski and Toni Siegle were before Town of Westlock councillors at their Jan. 28 meeting to fill them in on how the facility has been doing in its first few weeks under new management. They’ll scheduled to make a similar presentation to Westlock County councillors Feb. 11.
The delegation had firm numbers from the first two weeks of operation between Dec. 15-31, which showed 207 residents coming from the Town of Westlock, 166 coming from Westlock County, 149 from Athabasca County, 126 from the Town of Athabasca and 120 from Sturgeon County.
There were also hundreds of others from Edmonton, St. Albert, Barrhead and Thorhild.
If you count the number of visits to Jan. 25, more than 3,500 visitors have been to the hill this ski season, said Toporowski.
She praised the work of the 53 volunteers who came together to provide more than 2,500 hours of work for the facility before it even opened. She also gave kudos to the organizations and businesses that helped them get on their feet in their first few weeks.
Between signing the operating agreement with the county and opening the doors to the public, there were 75 days to get all the preliminary work completed.
“We did everything from mowing to cleaning the chalet to creating an occupational health and safety manual, creating fire manuals, creating job descriptions and hiring staff. It was all done in 75 days and we opened the doors and turned the lights on and welcomed the skiers on Dec. 15,” said Toporowski.
Toporowski went on to discuss the clubs that call the hill home and some of the programs offered.
“We have a ski school and we’re very proud that our ski school has only certified instructors trained for both skiing and snowboarding. This has been hugely popular, so much so that we’re starting to get limited in being able to accept drop-in people for lessons. We’re really encouraging people to book ahead,” said Toporowski.
The facility’s core program is the Learn to Ski program that involves area schools coming out to the hill. Meanwhile the tubing park has been a surprise success and is free on Sundays thanks to local sponsors.
“This is a runaway hit,” said Toporowski. “It’s a great program for people who don’t know how to ski, or can’t afford to bring a family of four kids out and ski for the day, but they can come and tube for free, bring their lunches and it’s a very affordable family winter outing they can do together.”
The ski club was looking for suggestions from council going forward.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” said Coun. Murtaza Jamaly. “I don’t know if there’s anything I would do differently. I see that as my ski hill too. I live on the town/county border and I don’t draw that line and say that’s the county ski hill. That’s my ski hill too, so I have appreciation for what you guys are doing and thank you for keeping that valuable regional asset functional and helping it benefit the community at large.”
Mayor Ralph Leriger also passed on his congratulations.
He was curious about the status of the halfpipe, which needs some work that could take a couple years to afford and complete. It is one of only four in the country and would be a big draw for skiers across Western Canada, said Batog.
“We’ve had estimates on it, it’s about $100,000 to have that repaired,” she said.
“There are people who specifically call the hill every year to ask if the pipe is open,” said Toporowski. “It’s definitely on our list of things we would like to address because we do know it’s a unique feature.”
