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Saturday March 12th saw the Kimberley Beerfest come and go.
Weather conditions were sunny but with a chilly wind. Even so
everyone seemed to be having a good time. See
Gallery for pics
Well as you may have noticed I have not done a
lot of news postings this season. Snow falls can only be described
as grim. No big dumps and conditions are more like European than
Canadian with no champagne powder and hard packed snow everywhere.
The groomers are doing a great job on the snow we have but the base
at the top of the mountain is only 140cm or so and there are now
bare patches and rocks showing just about everywhere. The lack of
good brush cutting is also a problem with sticks bushes and even
young trees showing through and causing the closure of a number of
what are normally good runs.
There have also been a number of incidents with runaway
snowboards. The resort have chosen NOT TO implement a leash
law consequently snowboards can and do run loose.
THEY
ARE DEADLY and I am sure the resort could be held responsible if a
skier was hit by a loose board especially one that has been rented
from the resort rental shop. There are no brakes on a
snowboard so leashes should ALWAYS
be used. The resort management have also removed the sign from the
bottom of North Star quad warning of the
dangers of not using a leash and also the need for
removing backpacks before riding the lift.
Feb 15th
Not so busy today but still warm and
conditions are still ok but not brilliant as more and more rocks and
stumps appear.
Feb 14th
Very warm and busy. Lift breakdowns and pre released snowboards
plague the weekend. If the snowboard that hit the base of the North
Star Quad had hit a person it would have seriously injured them!
When will the management realise they need to enforce a leash policy
like most other resorts. It's not an expensive item to purchase and
a leash policy is very easy to enforce. No Leash No Ride should be
the order of the day
Feb 13th
Busy but Nowhere near as busy as usual the car park is not even
full. Lift lines of up to 20 minutes are the order of the day. The
hill needs more lifts or visitors won't come back!!
Feb 12th
Usually much busier than this and there are a lot of empty rooms
here and plenty of cheap special deals available for this holiday
weekend. Temperatures are well above normal and this could seriously
effect the snow base though I understand Fernie is suffering more
than us.
Feb 11th
A little busier today as the Alberta visitors begin to arrive
though it does not seem as busy as usual for this weekend
Feb 10th
If you visit Kimberley ski hill please let us know what you think
of the positioning of the new conference centre which is being built
on the old drop off car park.
Feb 9th
Heading into Alberta Family Weekend and Kimberley could do with a
big dump of snow
Feb 8th
Kimberley probably now has more on hill accommodation than most
other resorts in BC. Unfortunately the lift system and on hill
visitor facilities are in our opinion somewhat lacking! This could
be the reason that the ski hill is not making money. To be truthful
the ski hill could do with a lot of improvements including new
lifts. The base area is now somewhat congested and not very pretty .
Feb 4th
Another Busy day on front side with lots of schoolchildren around
Feb 3rd
Very warm today and busy again with lots of
schoolchildren around. Quite a lot of small rocks coming through now
so you need to be careful. They still have not realised the
congestion they are causing by only having entry to the North Star
lift from the left as you descend!!
Feb 2nd
A busy day with lots of schoolchildren on the hill. I don't
understand why you can now only access the quad lift from the hotel
side! It means to get to the lift without walking everyone now has
to come down the left hand side making it VERY CONGESTED. I will be
surprised if there is not a collision on this section very soon
Feb 1st
What a crazy way to run a ski hill. Firstly you can no longer ski
back to the car park. Everyone now has to cross a road with heavy
construction traffic going back and forth while ducking in and out
of the cars dropping off and picking up skiers at the bottom of the
steps. The drop off point has gone and no one took account of the
fact that most people are lazy and do not want to walk.
Also for some crazy reason there is now only one side you can
access the main lift from. That forces all the skiers wanting to re
access the lift to come down one side of the hill doubling the
amount of people on that stretch. Effectively the resort have now
extended the unfriendly narrow bridge area to the bottom of the
hill. Are they trying to drive everyone away?
Jan 31st
A sprinkling of fresh snow still falling
but visibility is very poor. The hill is very busy so I am heading
for an early hot tub!
Jan 30th
Very busy today with a couple of inches of the fresh stuff
falling bringing out locals as well as the weekend visitors.
Visibility closed in this afternoon bringing an early end to the
competition
Jan 29th
A little busier today probably due to the
competition being held over the weekend. No lift hanging around in
lift lines though that will probably change at the weekend
Jan 28th
A few bare patches and rocks coming through now so we could do
with some new snow. No crowds though so still plenty of good skiing.
Jan 27th
Another Quiet Day
Jan 26th
Front side remains the best option till we get more snow an Rosa
is in very good condition
Jan 25th
2 - 3inches of the fresh white stuff fails to attract many
locals and we have the hill pretty much to ourselves once again.
Jan 24th
Another quiet day. Tamarack does not appear to have had the brush
cut before the start of the season yet again!
Jan 23rd
Weekend means skiers from Alberta plus locals
but still no lift lines or crowds. Snow remains good but we are sure
missing some powder. The new traffic system with the construction of
the conference centre means you have to be careful crossing the road
back to the car park as lots of drivers are stopping at the bottom
of the steps now that the pick up / drop off area has gone.
Jan 22nd
A little sun brought out a few more
skiers but still no lift lines or crowded slopes. Conditions remain
good.
Jan 21st
Low cloud and fog cause flat light conditions but snow remains
good wit no crowds
January 20th
Another quiet day on the hill. Except for the icy bridge snow
conditions on the rest of the hill remain good with no lift lines or
crowds.
A New Year
January 2010 has seen mixed weather
including bitterly cold temps, rain and fog but although conditions
on the hill remain good there are lots of complaints about the way
the hill is both looking and being run. No new lifts or runs but a
substantial increase in the cost of skiing, food, beverages and
the numbers of properties for sale. The base of the hill is fast becoming closed in
and unattractive. the new paralympic and conference centre has been
located in probably the worst position on the hill. It will dominate
the view as you approach the ski hill car park and block views of
the ski hill as well as stopping skiers being able to ski back to
the car park and the revenue it is likely to bring in will probably
be disappointing for local businesses with the main benefactor being
RCR. Where will the Spring Splash Crash Zone now be located? Or is
that another item RCR have decided to discontinue?
There are far too many condos and homes to rent for
the available visitors and most remain empty for most of the season.
The lack of rental income means lots of owners are not keeping their
properties maintained to a good standard and many are now looking
very tired with flaking paint being apparent at Copper Springs and
Dewdney Way..
Kimberley Ridge has been affected by the construction of the new
Mountain Spirit complex with views of the ski hill from most of the
condos now completely blocked out.
Stemwinder Drive which is the prestige address for Kimberley
Alpine Resort has 6 of the 20 homes already up for sale
( including a home which was on the market 2 years ago for $1.2
million now available at the bargain price of $700,00) with others
due to follow as more owners realise that until there is investment
in the ski hill revenues and property values will continue to fall.
Construction on the Dreamcatcher chalets has come to a halt which we
presume is due to lack of sales. All this while ski hill operators
RCR continue to increase prices while reducing facilities. The free
ski guiding service has been discontinued, the Tiger pass for under
5's doubles in price from $10 to $20, free breakfasts are
discontinued at the now renamed Trickle Creek hotel and the
Stemwinder bar is closed for 3 days a week
Another problem is the fact that Kimberley Town Council have
deemed that out of town property owners should pay twice the tax of
locals for the privilege of subsidising locals
Unless RCR start investing in facilities property prices and
income are likely to continue to plummet and all in all
it's probably NOT the best property investment resort at the present
time.
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Fri 3rd
15 inches of the white stuff landed on the hill
overnight with much bigger stashes in places. It was an epic
morning. By mid afternoon temps had increased and the snow got
heavier and chopped up lower down. Still some great stashes off the
Easter lift though and its snowing lightly again tonight as I write
this. Only two days to go now.
Thurs 2nd
Warmer today and the snow has softened enough to get rid of most
of the icy lumps below. Easter Glades, The Face and Upshot were all
in great condition.
Wed 1st
Another few inches of the fresh stuff. We hit
Rosa first but front side was nothing like yesterday so, over the
back and through the trees between Tamarack and All Over. Fresh,
fresh, fresh and all untracked as was Upshot though that was a
little crusty underneath. Then it was time for Easter Glades and the
Face. Again virtually untracked and in superb condition. No lines No
bodies. Kimberley a great place to ski.
,
Tues 31st
Warmer today and a little bit of the fresh stuff sure improves
things. We hit the glades then Rosa and Boundary where white
stuff was untracked. A great day. The resort operators have picked
up the grooming too and for the last few days between 17 and 21 runs
have been groomed. A big improvement over the 11.
Mon 30th
Another cold day with hard packed conditions
and some icy patches. The resort is now almost deserted. Base is
excellent but we now have less than a week till the resort closes
for the season.
Sun 29th
Quieter today. The busses have all gone and most Albertans are
heading home. Conditions are hard packed and with a cold wind
blowing its icy in places
Sat 28th
A busy day with a number of coaches from
Alberta, Saskatchewan and south of the border but most runs are
still empty and no lift lines. Conditions were much better today.
The snow pack is softer and good up high and slushy from the bridge
down. 17 runs groomed overnight much improved.
Fri 27th
11 runs groomed today. Conditions still hard.
Thurs 26th
Well now I can see what they are complaining about. Conditions
today are hard and the un groomed runs have lots of icy ruts and
lumps on them. Only 11 runs were groomed today not good.
Wed 25th
I had an interesting conversation with an
American visitor while riding the lift today. He has been coming to
Kimberley as part of a large group for the last 10 years but told me
the group will not be returning as they feel Kimberley is no longer
a "Family Resort". This intrigued me so I asked a few more visiting
skiers for their opinions and sure enough everyone was of the
opinion that the resort no longer values its clients highly enough.
Some of the reasons given were:
Lifts close too early (4.00pm)
Grooming not up to standard needed ( only 13 runs groomed
today)
Nothing for the kids to do when the lifts close
(toboggans, sleds and tubes are banned from the slopes)
Lack of choice for rental equipment and limited on hill
facilities (No On Mountain restaurant, only one store selling ski
equipment, only one ski hire facility which has no foot measuring
facility for children).
I am sure the problems listed are real but they could also be
solved easily. Not normally using many groomed runs I had not
noticed this problem but I will keep an eye on the grooming
from now on and put in my own report every day as I have to agree
that as Kimberley has over 80 runs of which 37 are either Green or
Blue then if only 13 runs are being groomed then that is really not
good enough especially when you consider that the operators also run
Fernie a resort with 110 runs where over half are groomed on a daily
basis.
Tues 24th
Colder today and the runs are now hard packed
and icy. The operators need to do more grooming as many of the runs
now have rain soaked icy lumps on them. Instead RCR have started
closing quite a number of runs. With only just over a week before
the resort closes its not good!
Mon 23rd March
Very warm today and suddenly we are in to Spring conditions as
things get really soft and slushy lower down
Sun 22nd March
More of the same with light snow and showers. Snow pack is
holding up well
Sat 21st
Light snow flurries for most of the day with light rain showers
in the town. quite busy as its spring break so lots of kids and
Albertans in town.
Fri 20th
Took a day off today but I understand not much has changed since
yesterday except quite a few Albertans have hit town
Thurs 19th March
Not had much chance to post anything
over the last couple of weeks as I have been so busy guiding a group
of Brits around.. Since I last posted we have had some really good
snowfall and conditions here are perfect! Empty runs and fabulous
snow. Check out some of the new pics in our Gallery
Sat 7th March
Light snow and lots of skiers around. Most
of the fresh is now tracked out and the rest will be before the
Albertans head for home tomorrow.
Friday 6th March
Between 6" & 9" of powder dropped overnight. That together with
blue skies brought out half of Kimberley today. The news must have
got out in Alberta to as there were plenty of Alberta trucks in the
car park by lunch time. Looks like its gonna be a busy weekend
Thurs 5th
Woke up to fresh snow falling and its been snowing all day now.
Visibility was poor in places and a total white out the second time
we hit Antons (Easter Face). Conditions here are great. When Fernie
got the rain at the beginning of the week we got a couple of inches
of fresh powder. Base is in great condition and if the snow keeps
falling things can only get better.
Wed 4th March
Colder today with clear skies. No fresh but still some untracked
stashes to be found off Easter chair
Tues 3rd March
A good quantity of fresh snow all over the hill
and all runs from Easter Chair access are excellent. Check out the
pics taken in the glades today in my gallery.
Mon 2nd March
Poor visibility and snow falling with rain in the city. the hill
is in excellent condition with very few skiers around.
Sun 1st March 09
A light dusting of snow today. Nothing
spectacular but it all helps keep conditions good. Easter Face (now
called Antons) is in great shape with some huge fluffy covered
moguls. Just right for freeing up those knees!
Sat 28th
Cloudier and colder today visibility a bit flat in
places. There are still a few caches of untracked but they will
probably be skied out by locals tomorrow.
27th Feb
A partly cloudy day with no new snow but excellent
powder and packed powder conditions.
26th Feb
Up to 8 inches of fresh powder in places with 4 inches on the
lower slopes. Quite a few locals out so I suspect half the
businesses in Kimberley are closed today. Excellent day with loads
of places to put fresh tracks in. We didn't get either the rain or
high winds that hit Fernie and the other resorts around here. Quite
a few locals talking about the fact that RCR have sold back the
majority interest in Lake Louise to Charlie Lock (its former owner).
Perhaps they have similar plans for here and Fernie!
25th Feb
A couple more inches of the fresh stuff and no one around.
Empty runs everywhere! I love this place.
24th Feb
Another few inches deposited overnight, a great wake up call. We
are up early and back late. another great Kimberley day.
23d Feb
Got back from our Montana trip yesterday and woke this morning to
fresh snow. a good welcome home. Resort is pretty much deserted as
most of the Albertans and Sesquats have now gone home.
We were surprised to see that RCR (the resort
operators) have decided to rename a few runs. Probably gives them
the opportunity to claim new runs opening without having to actually
invest much money. Top of Dean right has now been renamed Anton Blue
and Easter Face Anton Black or something just as stupid. We will
continue to call them what they are. Easter Face and Dean Right.
22nd Feb
Just back from a great trip to Big Mountain Montana.
Some massive investment has taken place there over the last two
years and its a good place to visit.
4th Feb 09
Another blue sky day with warm temps. Groomed runs are in
excellent condition. Hardly a skier to be seen once you get away
from Main. Another great Kimberley day
3rd Feb 09
Blue skies and warmer temps almost spring like! Even with the
influx of disabled athletes for the races the resort is still
virtually deserted. No lift lines and empty runs away from main.
Kimberley The Place To Ski!
2nd Feb 09
About an inch of snow overnight Back to empty runs with no
lift lines on the back of the mountain. Some disabled athletes
around now and practice for the races starts tomorrow. Still quite
cold and some icy patches on front side but mostly good.
1tst Feb 09
A cold Sunday with lots of Albertans and locals out and about.
Quite hard and icy on main but the back of the mountain is still
good with some untracked fresh snow through the trees.
31st Jan 09
Saturday brought light snow and quite a busy day
with lines soon building on North Star. Quite a number of Albertans
around there are also a few disabled skiers on the slopes. A
good day but cold.
30th Jan 09
Blue skies and slightly warmer temperatures bring forth another
great Kimberley ski day. Most runs are now packed powder but there
is still some untracked to be found in amongst the trees. A few
Albertans turning up for the weekend make small lines at Main (more
to do with people chatting instead of moving rather than crowds). I
used the singles line and usually rode the quad lift alone! Same
with Easter
29th Jan 09
A partly cloudy day which was quite busy (in Kimberley terms) as
its the last day to use a guest free pass issued to season ticket
holders. No lift lines anywhere though and no busy runs. Another
great Kimberley day.
28th Jan 09
Well we woke up to 4-5inches of fresh Purcell Champagne powder
and blue skies so an early start was called for. We made the 4th
chair out of base and scooted off via Eureka to Easter chair.
From Easter we headed across to Upshot and picked up the Tamarack
chair. No lift lines anywhere even though the car park was half full
of local vehicles. Unusually we decided to spend the afternoon on
front side and found untracked powder still. Another great day in
Kimberley.
27th January 09
Light snow with cold temperatures. Very quiet on the hill again
26th Jan 09
Blue skies and cold temperatures. Good hard packed conditions all
over the mountain now. Not even many locals out today its a Very
quiet day stunning views out across the valley to the Rockys makes
you glad to be alive! I just love this place.
25th Jan 09
A return to Blue Skies with the cold temps brought out very few
skiers today. Normally Sunday is the busiest day of the week but we
experienced no lift lines anywhere. In fact there were even more
empty than occupied tables in the Stemwinder bar! Junior races (or
training) taking place on Rosa.
24th Jan 09
Greasy Rail Jam day saw cold temps but no big crowds. All runs
quiet once again except for Rosa (Junior Race Training)?
23rd Jan 09
A bitterly cold day saw the start of the Ladies Ski Clinic 5 week
sessions. With quiet slopes except for the junior racers on Rosa I
braved to cold for a couple of hours before retreating to a nice log
fire!
22nd Jan 09
Warm in the sun but very cold in the shade.
Clear blue skies and some great skiing. Busier today with a bus load
of junior racers from Fernie. Most people seemed to be staying
on front side though the Rail Park was empty again as were most of
the runs off Easter and Tamarack chairlifts. Lots of amazing scenery
around the mountain.
21st Jan 09
Another quiet day on the hill. good skiing, blue skies and no
lift lines..
20th Jan 09
More of the same with poorish visibility low down
and blue skies higher up. Snow remains in great
shape above Easter Chair. . The views of the Rockies from the top
are spectacular This was a vie of Main at around 11.30.
19th Jan 09
  Well
everyone has gone home and we have the hill to ourselves again. Blue
skies and great snow up above Easter chair, no lift lines empty runs
in fact a skiers paradise. RCR were checking lift passes at
Tamerack chair which seems a liitle funny as there is
hardly anyone using that lift at the moment, I could
understand checks at weekends but midweek seems it would cost more
for staff wages than they would gain.
18th Jan 09
Another good day in Kimberley. Snow holding up well, Blue skies
above what more could you want. This picture was taken at Pine Flats
on the way back to Tamarack Chair
17th Jan 09
Busy day for Kimberley with quite a few Albertan trucks in the car park and lots
of locals out . Poor visibility lower down but blue skies higher up. Excellent
conditions above Easter chair
16th Jan 09
Low cloud means poor visibility over most of the hill. Conditions are not as
good as yesterday with ice on a number of runs including main which could be
described as an iceberg in places lower down . Relatively busy with quite a few
Albertan trucks in the car park. The weekend must be approaching.
15th Jan 09
Most runs are now hard packed and Dean Right is showing a few small rocks but
nothing to worry about. The hill is very quiet. All in all not bad considering.
14th Jan 09
Quite a mild spring like day. Blue skies and empty runs most of which are
holding up well.
13th Jan 09
Took a day off today but I don't conditions on the hill have changed too much
12th Jan 09
The resort is really quiet and the snow is still holding up well. Upper runs are
best. Starts getting hard packed and icy in places below Easter Chair
11th Jan 09
Hard to find any untracked powder but conditions are still good higher
up. Main is icy from just below the rail park
10th Jan 09
Quite a lot of grooming been done ready for the weekend. Tamarack is now in good
groomed condition.
9th January 09
What a difference a day makes! Still some nice powder
at the top of Easter and Tamarack but boy does it change as you descend. Tamarack being
suicidal which is probably why I was the only skier on it. Everything above
Easter is still good though. Groomed runs are hard but not too bad.
8th January 09
Pretty good conditions up high with plenty of untracked
powder to be found from Easter chair and Tamarack
7th January 09
4 - 5 inches of fresh snow last night but temperatures
are warm and the front of the mountain and lower slopes are sticky. Quite a few
locals out today obviously they were expecting some nice dry powder! The
first 2 shots were taken at the top of Easter Chair and the 3rd as this fox ran
across my tracks on Easter face its not too clear because I had to hoist my
camera out while still moving. Still a blurred memory is probably better than no
memory I suppose. Any other wildlife seen
6th January 09
 No fresh snow but no lift lines and empty runs once again.
Kimberley is really a
great place. Check out the empty rail Park
5th January 09
Another good but quiet day. Ahh Kimberley its
great to be here.
4th January 09
We decided to leave the hill to the vacationers over
the holiday period and I am sure we made the right choice. Today was a good day
with empty runs no lift lines an a few inches of fresh snow.
20th December 09
Opening day not too busy but the base is not great with
quite a few rocks showing
The
2008 - 2009 season is set to kick off in Kimberley on December 20th and
I for one am looking forward to another great season of superb Purcell Champagne
Powder!!
14th December 08
Blue skies great the few skiers who turn up for the
second day of the preview weekend.
13th December 08
First day of the preview weekend and the hill is very
quiet despite the 30 cm dump of fresh powder. Only the main run is open.
12th December 2008
Kimberley gets its first big dump of the season with 30
cm of fresh powder snow just in time for the preview weekend.
8th December 2007
Although not yet confirmed or denied by RCR we are
reliably informed that there will be no Terrain park this winter. If this is
true it will be another major blow to Kimberley becoming recognised as a
major ski destination. More information as we get it!
1st December 2007
Bad news for all skiers and local businesses as RCR
admit they will close the ski hill on March 30th 2008. RCRs support for local
businesses and accommodation providers in Kimberley appears to be non existent!
15th November 2007
Unconfirmed report that RCR will close the ski
hill on March 30th 2008. We have emailed RCR and await their confirmation or
denial.
30th October 2007
RCR inform us that there has
been further tree thinning this summer opening yet more of the hill. No new lifts though so that
is a bit of a let down. With only one lift to access the mountain from
the front side it is sure to cause delays and long lift lines during the
busy holidays such as Christmas, New Year and Alberta Family Week.
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