Skiing in Canada - Page 8

q12 · #**141** Posted **Apr 22, 2020, 6:30 PM**

Quote:

Cape Breton ski hill to get Atlantic Canada's first gondola

'We want to be a 365-day destination,' says Martin Kejval, project manager for Cape Smokey Holding Ltd.
Matthew Moore · CBC News · Posted: Apr 17, 2020 6:19 PM AT | Last Updated: April 17

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...536661?cmp=rss

q12 · #**142** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 12:14 PM**

It's open

Quote:

Equipment: Leitner-Poma lift featuring eight-passenger cars

Vertical lift: 320 metres/1,049 feet

Top speed: Journey from base to top can take as little as four minutes

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...ail-100628064/

Coldrsx · #**143** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 1:59 PM**

That looks awesome!

MolsonExport · #**144** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 3:30 PM**

Wow, I had no idea such (implied) vertical existed on a ski hill in the Maritimes.

q12 · #**145** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 4:19 PM**

The Highest point in Cape Breton (and Nova Scotia) is 535 m (1,755 ft) and is only 15 km away from Cape Smokey.

shreddog · #**146** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 4:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Wow, I had no idea such (implied) vertical existed on a ski hill in the Maritimes.

At 1750, Marble mountain in Corner Brook is the 4th highest east of the Rockies - higher than Sutton or Owl's Head.

I know you said Maritimes, but Marble is often forgotten about.

MonctonRad · #**147** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 4:45 PM**

Marble Mountain may get a whole lot busier - PAL is expanding and is now offering flights to Deer Lake from a whack of Maritime cities.

Marble gets a lot of snow in the wintertime due to squalls off the gulf. They have a more reliable snowpack than any Maritime ski hill.

q12 · #**148** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 5:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Marble Mountain may get a whole lot busier - PAL is expanding and is now offering flights to Deer Lake from a whack of Maritime cities.

Marble gets a lot of snow in the wintertime due to squalls off the gulf. They have a more reliable snowpack than any Maritime ski hill.

Marble Mountain is in dire straights, everything is ageing and the Newfoundland provincial government has been trying to sell it.

Provincial airlines is not going to make it more busy. Air Canada and Westjet had far more capacity from Halifax into Deer Lake before the pandemic than provincial airlines ever will.

Quote:

Its 2020 season was cut short by COVID-19, causing a $1.5 million loss, according to government correspondence acquired through an access-to-information request. The hill's 2021 season was even shorter, with the hill open for one month due to a combination of pandemic restrictions and poor snowpack.

Government still pondering offers on Marble Mountain
Money-losing ski resort needs private operator, finance minister says
Amid those challenges come infrastructure woes. "The facilities at Marble Mountain are over 25 years old, and require significant maintenance and replacement," a government email reads.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...lled-1.6110714

MonctonRad · #**149** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 5:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by q12

Marble Mountain is in dire straights, everything is ageing and the Newfoundland provincial government has been trying to sell it.

Provincial airlines is not going to make it more busy. Air Canada and Westjet had far more capacity from Halifax into Deer Lake before the pandemic than provincial airlines ever will.

The pandemic buggered everything up, no question.

Marble Mountain just needs inspired ownership (like Cape Smokey). It might happen.

The big difference between PAL and the other airlines is that service to Deer Lake will be DIRECT from cities like Moncton and Fredericton (direct is always better than connecting), and could draw new customers to the resort. I know of people in Moncton who are now thinking of Marble Mountain as a ski destination when they never did before.

q12 · #**150** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 5:57 PM**

If your going to make the effort and pay to fly somewhere to ski your likely flying to Montreal or out west to the Rockies.

Climate change has not been kind these past years to Marble and it needs major upgrades to their snow making equipment which is outdated and unreliable from sounds of it. They don't have the new snow making machines that can make snow in the milder winter weather that Maritime ski resorts are already use to.

It's a shame because it has so much potential, but with population still in decline in western newfoundland and climate change accelerating the outlook doesn't look great for Marble, but who knows.

MonctonRad · #**151** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 6:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by q12

If your going to make the effort and pay to fly somewhere to ski your likely flying to Montreal or out west to the Rockies.

Most people I know in Moncton who do March Break ski trips drive to ME, NH and QC.

It looks to be another pandemic winter unfortunately, so it will be interesting to see what happens this year.

someone123 · #**152** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 6:08 PM**

Did they end up completing/opening the Cape Smokey tree walk thing? It is similar to the Malahat one.

The Ingonish area is very scenic. I don't think it is on say a Banff level (though it's also a different type of scenery) but I get the impression is far beyond what many people around here think is available east of the Rockies. And for NS it is the equivalent of doing a road trip to Kelowna or Tofino.

q12 · #**153** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 6:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Did they end up completing/opening the Cape Smokey tree walk thing? It is similar to the Malahat one.

The Ingonish area is very scenic. I don't think it is on say a Banff level (though it's also a different type of scenery) but I get the impression is far beyond what many people around here think is available east of the Rockies. And for NS it is the equivalent of doing a road trip to Kelowna or Tofino.

The tree walk is delayed till 2022 due to difficulty getting supplies because of COVID.

I think the fall foliage in Cape Breton will be the big attraction of the Gondola in September and October.

They also have these planned:

shreddog · #**154** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by q12

Marble Mountain is in dire straights, everything is ageing and the Newfoundland provincial government has been trying to sell it.
...

That's sad to hear. I only skied there once , 5 days over 20 years ago and had an absolute blast. (I think it took a couple months until my liver fully recovered

)

Great mid size hill, but yeah, kinda hard to get there ...

shreddog · #**155** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 6:29 PM**

Marble's 15 minutes of fame ....

Watch MusicMusic’s Snow Job ’97 at Marble Mountain