After running into some delays last weekend, Mount Joy Snow Resort will be ready to open Saturday morning. Last week’s warm weather was enough to melt much of the hill’s snow. President of the hill’s Board of Directors, Dean Peters, says the hill didn’t get nearly as much snowfall as Lloydminster had that weekend.
“There just wasn’t enough base underneath it. That fluffy powder that came down on dirt as soon as you ski that out of the way. It would have been very hard on equipment to open it up last weekend,” says Peters. He adds that the hill has been working hard this week to ensure that it’s ready.
“This we’ve packed down a bunch of snow, we’ve built a bunch of snow. We’ve had a groomer out there getting that base down so you’re not liable to ski through it and scrape equipment on rocks and skis.”
After reviewing the hill last week, they decided it wouldn’t be ready to open that weekend. The hill is also powered by volunteers for positions like the ski patrol, rental shop and concession. Peters says the hill needs about fifteen volunteers and five instructors to operate, which can be hard to round up fast.
“We need to have people for all the positions. It’s not something we turn on instantly, obviously. We have to get everybody in place,” says Peters.
Peters adds that there’s been a lot of hours put in for the past couple weeks to make sure the hill is ready to go. Lots of hard work goes into preparing the hill for everyone seeking some winter fun.
“There’s been some sleepless night for a number of folks, and we have to appreciate that. There’s a lot of hard work involved that not everybody sees.”
Despite this hard work, Peters says the get the work isn’t without reward.
“We really enjoy it when the people come out there and start having fun, so we do get our thanks out of that. People obviously appreciate it when they come out.”
The delay follows a number of interruptions the hill has experienced this year. They’ve recently replaced a generator that powered a water pump to feed their snow cannon, rebuilding it out of two donated generators.