It鈥檚 been 195 days since Marmot Basin closed last season, but who鈥檚 counting?
On Saturday, Nov. 14 the mountain will officially open for the 2015-16 winter season, one day later than it had initially anticipated.
According to Brian Rode, vice-president of marketing and sales, on opening day the Eagle Express Quad Chair will shuttle people to the top of Tranquilizer, an intermediate run.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity for people to get out there and slide for the first time this season and get a feel for their skis, but obviously it鈥檚 going to be limited terrain for this time of the year.鈥�
Depending on the weather, Rode said Marmot might also open a few more beginner runs and the School House Chair.
Questions about whether the ski hill would open on time began to swirl two weeks ago when news surfaced that one of Marmot鈥檚 snowmaking lines was damaged and needed to be replaced. But, despite the setback, the ski hill is on course to open this weekend, albeit a day later than planned.
鈥淲hen we pressurized the line at the beginning of the season there was a leak in one part of the line, a rupture, so we determined the best course of action at that time was to take out that entire section of line and replace it,鈥� said Rode.
鈥淲e made that decision knowing that we still had a window before we were going to commence our snowmaking and it did take us a bit longer than we had anticipated to get the job done, however, as it turned out the temperatures in late October and early November were not that favourable for snowmaking.鈥�
After analyzing the impact of the shut down, Rode said Marmot likely lost two 鈥渟hifts鈥� of snowmaking鈥攊n other words, about two evenings when temperatures were cold enough to blow snow.
鈥淚t really didn鈥檛 change anything in terms of our opening day,鈥� said Rode.
The biggest change skiers and snowboarders will likely notice this year will be the food that鈥檚 offered at the mountain.
Marmot has partnered with Dana Hospitality to operate its food services. Dana Hospitality is the largest Canadian owned on-site food service management firm in the country.
According to the company, its chefs prepare a new menu every day and make meals from scratch using locally sourced ingredients.
鈥淲e always listen to our guests and get their feedback about different things and some of those things included a change to our food services,鈥� said Rode.
In addition to a different menu, Marmot has also expanded its ski school programming this winter.
Last year the ski hill introduced the Big Mountain Club, a non-competitive 10-week ski and snowboard club for children aged six to 14. Due to its popularity, this season the ski school introduced two more clubs, including the Mini Mountain Club for children aged four to six and Over the Mountain Club for anyone 15 or older. Both clubs offer two, five week sessions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to notice a bit of a trend where people are putting more value on what a lesson can do for them, even if they are already an intermediate or advance skier or snowboarder,鈥� said Rode.
For more information about opening weekend or programs being offered this year, check out Marmot鈥檚 website, www.skimarmot.com.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
