The Clearwater Ski Hill board of directors and membership are keeping their hopes up for more snow to allow the beloved ski hill to open.
The Clearwater Ski Hill board has faced challenges in recent years to keep the rural hill operating during the winter season; particularly a lack of snow, a dilemma which kept the hill closed last year.
The area has received a good amount of fresh snow in the last week, thought this week above-zero temperatures are expected.
Aaron Murray, vice president of the Clearwater Ski Hill, said the local hill is one of the last of it’s kind in the province as a not for profit, volunteer and community-run hill and lodge.
Murray said getting insurance this year was incredibly difficult. As a result of that challenge, they have made the decision to no longer rent skis at the hill.
” … but locals will be welcome to come purchase the skis through donation that they would have normally rented.”
Murray added only the rental skis will be sold like this in the coming week or two depending on interest in the community. The first sale date will be Jan. 22 starting at 6 p.m. at the ski hill lodge.
Depending on the weather, Murray said they are hoping to open the hill in the coming weeks.
“I’ve hiked up the hill again this past weekend to check things out and we are really hoping with any luck we may be able to open soon. It is weather dependant of course, so we should know by next weekend,” Murray said.
“We are opening up this week to sell off the rental skis to the community so they will be able to use them instead of renting this year. In other words they will be buying the skis they would have rented for whatever they are able to afford to donate,” says Murray.
The ski club is suggesting if anyone is interested they can reach out via social media to them “if the price of a day’s rental is all they can afford to buy them that is totally fine” or the public is encouraged to come by the ski hill on Jan. 22 for the first sale night.
The club is also in process of planning for the future and will be “exploring new avenues for funding” to purchase new equipment to be used in the years to come.
