‘The reality is we do not have any money’

How Mount Sima will cover outstanding debts to season pass holders and suppliers hasn’t been worked out yet, says the president of the Great Northern Ski Society.

Ernie Berken said this morning those discussions are ongoing.

He spoke to the Star in the wake of Wednesday’s decision by the board of directors to keep the Whitehorse hill closed for this season.

The decision to shutter the season was made due to several serious problems have plagued Mount Sima from the very beginning of startup operations last fall, he said.

“Work has been progressing slowly throughout the season, and there is still work that needs to be done,” Berken said of preparations to open for the winter.

“And all the while we have been spending and spending, and there seems to be always roadblocks in the way, and it seems we can’t get beyond the difficult issues.”

The society president has been with the non-profit organization from the beginning 15 years ago, and was with Dan Boyd when they cut the initial snowmobile trail to the top of the hill just to have a look around. Berken fully expects to open next season.

In fact, he suggested, deciding to close now will give the society a chance to regroup, address what needs to be addressed, and put the hill in a solid state of readiness for next year.

“The board is asking for patience and understanding from the community until they can properly close the facility and then have time to deal with all the financial and technical issues there are,” says a press release issued Thursday afternoon by Berken.

“Some of the problems have been caused by nature, while many of the maintenance issues have arisen because of a lack of consistent staffing over the years, and the limited resources available to a non-profit organization that is running a big business.

“This season’s issues are a culmination of a number of years’ problems, all coming to a head this season,” states the press release.

Berken said today this season’s problems started from day-one back in the early fall of 2007, when the crew started running into problems with the snowmaking equipment. Then there was warm weather to contend with in November, on top of no natural snow to speak of.

In December, because current maintenance records for the chair lift couldn’t be found, it was suddenly discovered the main cable was due for its three-year inspection. That meant all the chairs had to be removed, then put back on, he said.

Berken said while the chairs are all back on now, there was still some maintenance required before the lift could be operational this year.

Last Friday, during the third operation for the T-bar lift, a 45-kilogram set of guide rollers fell off a tower to the ground, but nobody was hurt, Berken pointed out.

And with the onset of the cold snap, he added, the hill wouldn’t have been open this weekend in any case.

Berken said the board decided it was time to cut its losses, quit spending money and begin to regroup for 2008-09.

The ski society will be approaching both the territorial government and the city to seek financial assistance to help cover off debts Mount Sima is facing as a result of the failed startup, Berken said.

He said there is the ability to pay the six or seven full-time staff who have been laid off, though there’ll be nothing left to cover outstanding bills with local suppliers.

Also unresolved is how Mount Sima will handle the issue of season pass holders who paid anywhere from $330 as a student or senior, or $435 as an adult and up to $1,177 for a family, Berken said. He added there are also those who purchased punch cards.

“The reality is we do not have any money,” he said. “That money we spent in the early season for startup capital.

“We will plan to address the public as far as what we want to with the season pass holders and also the people out there with punch cards.”

Berken said concerns by punch card holders started to filter in after the hill didn’t open for the Christmas break.

There were those who were worried they wouldn’t get a chance to use the entire punch cardbecause they were planning to be away for the two-week spring break in March, he explained.

Berken said initial discussions indicated the hill could simply honour the punch card next season.

He said it will be more complex to deal with the season pass holders - perhaps students going away to school next year, or individuals who simply want a full reimbursement, regardless.

Berken said he did not have the specific financial details at his fingertips this morning, though he suggested the business manager could provide that information. She could not be reached by phone.

The society’s president didn’t know how much has been spent so far trying to get the hill open for this season, nor was he sure how much money had been raised through the sale of season passes and punch cards. Berken said he wasn’t sure how much debt Mount Sima is saddled with currently.

The hill’s general manager, Gary McWaters, announced last week he was resigning from his position over differences with the board, particularly with maintenance matters related to the chair lift.McWaters was hired last October.

Berken said he didn’t want to suggest the extreme focus by staff and volunteers on last year’s Canada Winter Games somehow manifested itself into this year’s problems.

Overall, he emphasized, the Games brought prosperity to the hill in the form of new snowmaking and grooming equipment, the new chalet and the T-bar lift.

If you consider the additional requirement for snowmaking later than normal into the season last year, and the problems that subsequently developed with freezing the main water lines, one could say the extra dedication to the Games was a factor, he said.

Berken said cracks in the lines caused by freezing were located and welded up during the summer, and the lines were flushed to remove and dirt and gravel which came in through the cracks.

But when the crew began making snow this fall, dirt that had somehow remained in the system began causing problems, and it just snowballed from there.

He said, for instance, there’s never been an issue with maintenance records before, but with new staff, and last year’s move into the new chalet, who knows what happened?

Mount Sima has grown into such a tremendous community asset in its 15 years of operation, Berken insisted, adding he believes it’s high time the facility had a year-round manager.

The facility exists, said Berken, largely because of solid dedication by volunteers in the community.

Jon Standing, the program director for the Yukon’s alpine and freestyle ski teams, is optimistic that closing now for the season will lead to a stronger season next winter, with more community support for the facility.

“I trust that the community will be more involved with the hill, which I think is a good thing,” Standing said in an interview Thursday.

“I think it is a positive that the community will be involved now and I think it is also positive that the maintenance will be done properly, and I think we can only grow and develop form here.

“People have realized that they have taken the hill for granted for a long time and a community hill needs a lot of community involvement.

“I would say as well that those who have built the hill have done a fantastic job, and now I am confident that some new bodies will take the hill into the future.

“There is some big challenges right now, but there are some great people who are up to the task and I feel that we hit bottom and we are on our way back up.”

Standing said he believes rebuilding will require reinvigorating the board with fresh people to assist those who’ve been carrying the load for some time.

“It had twice the infrastructure this year as it did at the beginning of last season. This sort of growth is a challenge for any enterprise.”

Sports editor Jonathan Molson contributed to this story.