If the cold weather holds up, skiers could expect to hit the slopes at Tawatinaw as early as this weekend.
Westlock County recreation services coordinator Adam Esch said he’s confident the hill will be open by the Dec. 13th weekend at the latest.
“We always aim for the beginning of December,” he said.
Not only are the slopes being built up for the usual crowd of skiers, but the county is also working on getting the super-pipe up and running more quickly this year in hopes of appealing to a more specialized demographic.
The super-pipe is a deep valley of snow built in the shape of a half-pipe and is used for freestyle skiing and snowboarding.
Because the conditions must be near-perfect to get standard snow guns working properly to build something like the super-pipe, they’re trying something new.
“We will be testing a prototype snow gun for the super-pipe, which was designed specifically for the super-pipe, in an effort to get it running quicker,” Esch said.
The super-pipe at Tawatinaw is one of just two in the province, with the only other one at Canada Olympic Park near Calgary.
Having such a unique element at Tawatinaw is one of the things Esch said the county hopes to capitalize on with its marketing for the hill. The hill will host a super-pipe camp in February to give young athletes a chance to try it out, and to that end, they’re building it a bit differently this year.
“With ours, we increased the slope of it last year It’s the right length but it’s just not quite as steep,” he said. “The purpose is to introduce younger athletes to the half-pipe ski event.”
Once Tawatinaw gets established as a good training ground among athletes around the province, Esch said he hopes to see people from all over the country come to use the facility.
“Our goal is to be the training ground for Canadian half-pipe athletes,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the slopes, the new ski lodge is ahead of schedule — the roof is expected to be on by Christmas, leaving the project well on-track for its June 2014 opening.
The development of the new ski chalet is part of a longer-term recreation strategy in the Tawatinaw area.
To complement the new ski chalet and nearby gymnastics facilities, Esch said the county’s long-term plan calls for a focus on non-motorized sports in the area during both winter and summer
“With new development comes growth,” he said. “This is something we can all be proud of as a county.”
Specifically, there are plans for a $10/night campground in the area and future development of the ski hill to encourage its use by mountain bikers in the summer months — a good fit considering the existing trail system developed for cross-country skiing.
“The interesting thing I’ve found with mountain biking is they don’t just want the downhill stuff,” Esch said. “They also want the trails that wind up and around the hill.”
While a firm starting date for this year’s ski season hasn’t been set, Esch said the information would be posted to www.westlockcounty.com as soon as it’s available.
