Mount Sima scrambles to make enough snow for early season training

Snow has come to Whitehorse this week, but crews at Mount Sima got a jump on things in order to be ready for early ski training camps. 

It's been an exceptionally mild fall in Whitehorse, making it a challenge for snow-making crews at the ski hill. But they're now optimistic that they'll be ready for the first pre-season alpine skiers who arrive in the territory next week.

Temperatures have just started to be cold enough to run the snow-making machines throughout the night.

Steve Reid, general manager at the ski hill, says getting a good base of snow on the hill has been a top priority. He says being able to attract ski teams from across Canada pays for the early man-made snow, and pays to keep the slopes open until the end of April each year.

"We're a small non-profit in an industry that has razor-thin margins, and we have to exist on our own two feet," Reid said.

Sima's operations manager Sam Oettli — "Sam the Snow Man" — says he hasn't gotten much sleep lately, as he works to make more snow.

"We just have to play catch up. It doesn't mean that we are going to have any less snow necessarily on the mountain, we are going to make the same amount that we always do. We might have to push a little harder to get to our final deadline," said Oettli.

He says if the temperatures stay cool, and Mother Nature helps out, they will be ready for the first ski team to arrive on Nov. 9.

"We get into the pre-season training program for Canadian and American teams to come here, for both alpine, freestyle, snowboard, and the Paralympic teams that come here too. And it's really important for us to produce a product for them that they are expecting, in early November," says Oettli.

He says the snow-making equipment has been cranking out as much as possible.

"They will be running 24 hours, as long as we can, while there are the temperatures to do it," said Oettli.