Mount Sima to open for season after receiving additional funding

The Great Northern Ski Society (GNSS) announced Thursday that Mount Sima will be opened for the 2008-09 season after securing the necessary funds.

The Great Northern Ski Society (GNSS) announced Thursday that Mount Sima will be opened for the 2008-09 season after securing the necessary funds.

The announcement was made in a press release, which stated $200,000 worth of funding has been secured for this season’s operation.
The $200,000 includes an additional $170,000 on top of the $30,000 the GNSS was given in September by the city.
“The city is very pleased that a solution could be crafted between all parties that will see Mount Sima open this winter,“ said Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway in a press release.

“We recognize the tremendous effort that has gone into addressing issues related to the growth and development of the Mount Sima operation.“
The money the GNSS is receiving is coming as a result of the Yukon government contributing to a Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Grant, which was given to the City.
The City will be working with the GNSS board in regard to issues of funding.
“The $200,000 definitely allows us to balance the budget for the current year and look into starting of year two, so we are definitely now feeling very comfortable,“ said Keith Thaxter, president of the Great Northern Ski Society.

“There are going to be many things in the works. It will be a very busy time over the next two months with lots of initiatives and planning and changing going on at the ski hill and possibly new programs.“
Thaxter said some of the possible initiatives include a partnership with the Department of Education to try and achieve a larger number of kids coming to the ski hill.
“If we could see it happen, we would like to see every kid from the schools have the opportunity to come at least for one day of the season to ski.“
Mount Sima has had all ski operations shutdown since last January as a result of mechanical problems with some of the facility’s equipment, as well as financial issues.
As a result of the hill closing for the season in January, Mount Sima will honour all of the 2007-08 pass holders for the upcoming year. The total value for the amount owed to last year’s season pass holders is approximately $70,000.
Earlier in the year, the GNSS, with financial support from the Yukon Government, was able to commission Kirk Duncan for a study on all areas of the hill.

The Duncan report addressed the current status of the hill as well as outlined what is needed to reopen for 2008-09.
Duncan, the area manager of the Eaglecrest Ski Hill in Juneau, Alaska, visited Mount Sima in May and evaluated the hill’s facility, making suggestions on how to improve operations for the upcoming season. The report was commissioned after a two day review of the ski hill.
Based on recommendations from the Duncan Report, the board expanded and now includes both elected individuals from the community, as well as nominated members from various levels of government and user groups.
The user groups include Parks and Recreation for the city, the Alpine Ski Association of Yukon, the Yukon Freestyle Ski Association, the Canadian Ski Patrol - Yukon Zone, Snowboard Yukon, the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Industry Association and the Yukon Government.
The current GNSS board was announced at a special meeting held on July 9.
Its members included four, who were elected, and eight members that were appointed. The former board had nine members.
Since the July meeting, the GNSS board has been working on financial, marketing and human resource planning.
In August, the City of Whitehorse provided an initial amount of $25,000 in funding, which was needed for the GNSS board to have an inspection done on the hill as well as ordering the parts to do the necessary repairs.
In order to complete the repairs, the GNSS contracted two mechanics for the month of September, which is what the majority of the $30,000 was needed for. The mechanics were from Summit Lift Company, which is based out of B.C.
In addition to the money, the city also provided two workers to help out with the mechanical problems with the the snow making system as well as three lift systems. The three lift systems, which include the T-bar, chair lift and handle tow. 
This past month has seen a significant amount of work completed for the lifts, equipment and the hill itself with both drainage and brushing being done.
Thaxter said the repairs are going great, adding some more parts for the chair lift have just arrived on Thursday. The workers provided by the city will complete the rest of the repairs.
The two city mechanics are presently working in the positions of head mechanic and outdoor manager.
Thaxter said the GNSS had an interview today with a potential candidate for the position of area manager, but unfortunately he had already accepted a job to work elsewhere.
Thaxter said the GNSS is in the process of actively interviewing other potential candidates and have a number of possibilities, but at this point no one has been selected. He added he is optimistic that someone can be found within the next few weeks. 
“We are hoping to secure and fill the three full-time positions, being the area manger, head mechanic and outdoor manager,“ he said.

“Having them there that means we can be confident we can have the hill safe, maintained and have the right resources there to operate the lift in summer for mountain biking and other activities.“ 
With Christmas break scheduled to begin on Dec. 22, the GNSS board would love to have Mount Sima opened around that time.
Thaxter said the board will most likely pick a target date for opening the hill sometime this coming week.
He said it was a relief to receive the funding.
“I’m really happy to see that the government, as well as the city has really seen this ski hill is a very tremendous community resource and it’s a very needed resource,“ Thaxter said.
“I think the government should be very proud that they have been able to help out and we’re really working hard to ensure them that we can push forward to be self-sustainable in a few years.“