B.C. ski resort cancels season due to lack of snow
Clearwater Ski Hill says snow base is 40 cm lower than the minimum required to open ski runs
A family ski resort in B.C's North Thompson Valley is cancelling its season over a lack of snow.
On Tuesday, the Clearwater Ski Hill, 125 kilometres north of Kamloops, announced that because of a "weird winter," its ski runs won't operate this season but will remain open to host other activities, including parties and community events.
The ski hill, established in 1965, has an elevation of 1,250 metres at the summit, lower than other similar B.C. Interior ski resorts like Big White (2,319 metres), Sun Peaks (2,080 metres) and Red Mountain (2,075 metres).
Vice president Aaron Murray says the resort was supposed to open in January but didn't because the snow base was about 40 centimetres below the minimum needed for its ski runs.
"We didn't get that Christmas miracle snow we needed this year," Murray told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.
Closed in previous years due to lack of snow
It's not the first time the resort has had to close for lack of snow, Murray says.
"We were open last year, [but] closed the year before. For about the last 10 years or so, it's been an every-other-year thing if we're lucky, but we haven't had two consecutive years for a while now."
Murray says Clearwater Ski Hill hasn't expanded or installed more lifts since the '90s, because it's expensive to run the business, especially with ever-increasing insurance costs.
"It's gone up over 50 per cent in the last few years — we're paying well over $800 a month just in property alone.
"When you're not open, you're not generating revenue, but the bills are still coming in."
With files from Daybreak Kamloops