Photo Credit: Nitehawk Adventure Park Facebook page.

By Shane Clausing

nitehawk

Update: Nitehawk ski hill opening pushed to November 25

Nov 18, 2020 | 5:39 PM

UPDATE (Nov. 18, 5:30 p.m.): Nitehawk General Manager Johnathan Clarkson says that the opening of the ski hill will be delayed until November 25.

Clarkson tells EverythingGP that his crews need a little more time to get the hill ready for the season. He says that mother nature brought some challenges this past week and the hill needs to make more snow in order to open.

“We are still in need of one to two days more days of snowmaking, and then also need to push the snow and groom it in time for opening. We feel that this will put a lot of stress on our already hardworking Operations Team.”

“We realize that some of our guests may be disappointed, but this decision was made with the experience of our guests on our first day of the season and the health of our staff as our top priority.”

The story below, originally posted on Monday, has been updated to reflect the changes announced Wednesday.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Nitehawk Year-Round Adventure Park’s ski hill is slated to open for the season on November 25.

The hill is moving ahead despite damage to its chairlift by a landslide on the property this past summer.

For now, a geotechnical study is underway to determine the possibility of placing a new chairlift in the area. However, it won’t be until at least the 2021-22 season before it is replaced.

Nitehawk says that a new chairlift would cost over $1 million. The organization has launched a fundraising campaign, and has recently been granted $375,000 by Grande Prairie City Council from it’s 2021 budget to help cover the costs.

A motion for that $375,000 was recently passed and approved by a unanimous vote. The funding is subject to the city getting a look at final details on repairs.

“We are very happy and grateful to council and administration for bringing the motion forward. For council just having the discussion and making the comments I felt was really positive,” said Johnathan Clarkson, the General Manager at Nitehawk Adventure Park.

Clarkson says that while there will still be lots of exploring and fun to have, there are some new rules and regulations visitors will have to follow.

“Obviously, due to limited capacity and limited terrain, we are going to be setting our capacity per day at about 150 visitors on the ski hill and then about 80-100 in our Aquatera Tube Zone.”

In order to keep crowd numbers within Alberta Health Services’ guidelines, those hoping to visit the ski hill this year will have to book tickets in advanced. Tickets for ski dates will go on-sale 48-hours before the scheduled ski date.

Face coverings will also be mandatory for anyone inside the rental shop or the lodge, and also for anyone who cannot maintain a minimum of six feet physical distance when in line for the ski lift.

Clarkson also added that while ski lessons will still be happening this year, face coverings will also be mandatory during lessons because of the close contact.

While the chairlift is shut down for the season, Clarkson tells EverythingGP they have adjusted well to maximize their space.

“We’ve created a new cut across run that comes from the top of Show Off right back over to the Platter Lift, being that the Platter Lift is our main lift this year.

“We’ve also widened the Willow Way by about 33 per cent, so we’ve added about 30 feet of skiable area along the entire side there.

“Also, in the Aquatera Tube Zone we wanted something new and exciting, so we’ve got glow tubing coming this winter. We’ve installed black lights, as well as lasers and speakers over in the Aquatera Tube Zone.”

“Definitely some great changes and some new things people are going to have to get used to, but I think as we’ve all done this year and the way that we’ve all had to adapt, I’m pretty proud of the community that we’ve all made it through and found a way to support small business and organizations.”

Unfortunately for this year, Nitehawk will not be able to host school field trips. This decision was made by the provincial government because of COVID-19 restrictions. Currently all school field trips across the province are cancelled.

Updates on the status of the hill will be made on Nitehawk’s Facebook page.