SYDNEY, N.S. — Wintery weekend weather means the planned opening date of Jan. 18 for the Ski Cape Smokey ski facilities is almost a certainty.
In fact, if more snow falls in the coming days, Smokey just might open a few days before that date.
“We already have a nice base,” Anna Solomon, the marketing director for Cape Smokey Holding Limited, said on Monday as snow continued to fall in the Ingonish area.
“Martin (Kejval) our general manager was up the ski hill this weekend to test it out. He said he only bottomed out a couple of times, so I think we need another one and half more solid snow days and we will be ready.”
Grooming is also underway for another season of cross-country telemark skiing at Ski Tuonela in Goose Cove after 30-plus centimetres of snow fell over the weekend.
The storm’s positive impacts were felt at Ski Ben Eoin as well.
However, the ongoing warm weather and power outages at the facility that relies on making its own snow have made an impact of their own.
As a result, this week’s expected opening has been moved back a couple of days to tentative dates early next week.
“We didn’t get the weather we thought we were going to get last week so we really only had one good shot at snowmaking,” said Darcy MacDonald, the general manager at Ski Ben Eoin.
“We are not going to hit that target this week. We are going to push it ahead another couple of days to the middle of next week now.”
Cold weather more than actual snowfall is needed so that Ski Ben Eoin snow guns can make some more snow, he said.
The first full weekend at Smokey will include heli-skiing and scenic tours in conjunction with Breton Air.
Solomon said they want to make sure new COVID protocols are being followed and everything is running smoothly before they go into full event mode.
While January openings at Smokey have been the norm in Ingonish the past two ski seasons, much earlier dates are set for future openings once new snowmaking equipment is installed.
That equipment could mean a ski season at Smokey beginning as early as November 2021.
“Martin is saying November,” she said. “He wants to be the first ski hill open and wants it right after Halloween.”
Greg McNeil is a business reporter at the Cape Breton Post.
