The Blue Mountains (ON), Canada – Blue Mountain Resort was supposed to open for skiing and riding Saturday, but resort officials are still awaiting snow and colder weather.
The resort had initially been targeting November 27 as the start to their ski season but last week announced the delay. “Our systems are ready to get running as soon as the weather and conditions are favorable,” says Steve Spiessman, Director of Slope and Grounds Operations. “We are taking advantage of temperatures as warm as -2.2 Celsius and snowmaking windows as short as four hours to get the hills open as soon as possible.”
As the official opening day gets closer, the resort is still looking for seasonal staff to help serve the thousands of guests Blue Mountain draws each season. To attract student talent, Blue has launched a new Tuition Assistance Program which provides eligible employees with an opportunity to receive $500 toward their post-secondary education for each consecutive season of employment.
“This is a brand new program that is pretty unique to this area,” says Janet Hammond, Manager, Human Resources. “We know we will need more team members once the season kicks off and we want to do what we can to make working at Blue as great an opportunity as possible.”
Off-hill, the events in the Blue Mountain Village are also lined up and ready including Jingles and Joy, a festive welcome to winter that includes free activities for families from horse-drawn wagon rides and carolers, to fireworks and visits with Santa Claus. “The Blue Mountain Village has become a hub of activity every weekend of the season,” notes Claire Woodhouse, Events Coordinator for the Blue Mountain Village Association. “People know that if they are looking for something to do on- or off-hill in the winter, they can always find something fun to do at Blue.”
Blue Mountain Resort’s earliest opening day was on November 25 in 1989 and a typical season starts around mid-December. The updated opening day for the season is yet to be confirmed but Blue Mountain will be providing updates on their social media accounts and on their website.