By Justine Kelsie

Nitehawk ski hill opening to be earliest ever

Nov 16, 2017 | 4:51 PM

Nitehawk Year-round Adventure Park will welcome winter enthusiasts this weekend for their soft-opening.

The facility officially opens to the public Saturday, November 18. This is the earliest the hill has ever opened in the history of its existence which is a week earlier than 2016.

“We are always pushing the envelope and trying to get open earlier. We have done it again this year. Our snow-making crew has been busy since November 6. We have been going for just a little over a week now. With that and the temperatures that mother nature has been giving us and natural snow, We’ll have the Aquatera Tube Zone open, the terrain park with a few features, the bunny hill along with the platter lift, our 600 foot conveyor in the terrain park and tube zone, and hopefully, Bob’s Bump which is our beginner slope. We already have some lessons booked,” said Johnathan Clarkson, Assistant General Manager.

Environment Canada estimates that 25.8 centimetres of snow has fallen in the month of November in the Grande Prairie area. According to Clarkson, the snow is helpful but Nitehawk doesn’t rely solely on natural snow.

“If we don’t have the three feet base in most areas of our hill, chances that we will be able to make it to the end of the season are pretty slim. In the last 15 years that I have been here, I haven’t seen the hill open on natural snow. Snow-making is a huge importance.”

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There are 19 million gallons of man-made snow put onto the hill every year with a cost of between $250,000 to $300,000 annually. The cost is attributed mostly to wages, but diesel fuel for the air compressor and electricity for the pumps are also factored in.

A new addition to the Nitehawk chalet is a 3,000 square foot deck that cost around $160,000. The facility was able to pay for it thanks to the Doug Marshall Charity Classic Golf Tournament as well as the Provincial matching CIP Grant.

“It was a big project and it was definitely needed. That is something people will see as a brand new feature out here. We will have an outdoor lounge area with seating for 60. We have a new area just outside the rental shop that will eventually see things like a natural gas firepit for people to gather around.”

Clarkson explains that upgrades are meant to not only appeal to the winter customers but also the summer customers as well. 

Nitehawk opens for the winter officially at 12 p.m. Saturday.

With files from Jordan Parker