WESTLOCK – Skiers and outdoor enthusiasts have started to hit the slopes and trails at the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill.
The popular resort north east of Westlock officially opened for the season Dec. 17 and welcomed about 100 skiers both days of the weekend. Business manager Bill Roddick said despite the chilly weather leading up to Christmas which forced them to close Dec. 22-23, they were happy with the number as they welcome thousands of skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers and tubers yearly.
“For the temperature, because it was fairly cold on Saturday and Sunday, I believe we had a pretty good turnout,” said Roddick, noting they’ll be open over the holidays for kids on Christmas break. “It’s always weather pending and with having that little bit of a snowstorm Saturday night, the numbers on Sunday probably weren’t quite as good as we expected.”
Roddick noted that while COVID-19 did not shut down the ski hill last year, they did have to make some changes but still welcomed roughly 12,000 visitors, although extreme weather posed a challenge on several occasions.
“Last year we had the cold weather and ended up closing for most of our Christmas holidays because we close at -30,” explained Roddick
Workers have been preparing the site's slopes and trails since early November — Tawatinaw offers a variety of outdoor activities for families including snowshoeing, tubing, in addition to downhill and cross-country skiing. The hill is spread over 140 acres and offers 24 downhill runs, more than 20 kilometers that make up about 11 areas of cross-country trails, snowshoe trails and a tubing hill.
“We’ve been making snow and preparing our terrain park,” he said. “We’ve got almost 500 hours in making snow.”
While there are no new runs this year, the ski hill will be installing a magic carpet next season, he noted, pointing out how popular the ski hill is for both those in the region and those from across the province, who travel here every winter.
“We offer rental skis and lessons to teach people to ski,” he said. “Most people that come here love this hill because it’s so quiet. You go down to the city and there’s 1,000 people a day there. Our lineups are shorter.”
The ski hill has three T-bars and a rope for skiers and sees an average of about 300 to 350 people every Saturday during the season. Roddick said he is looking forward to welcoming families and individuals this year, including returnees and new visitors.
“People come from all over, we have people come from as far south as Calgary,” said Roddick. “It’s a beautiful, quiet place to enjoy a day.”
The hill is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the holidays. For more information, visit their social media channels or their website.
