Business has been brisk at Devil’s Elbow Ski Resort in Bethany, thanks in large part to an early winter.
The ski resort opened five ski hills on Dec. 10.
“It’s the first time in two years that we’ve experienced getting a little bit of help from so-called heaven, and it’s an early Christmas present,” said general manager John Holmberg.
The snow was a present skiers took to the snowy slopes to enjoy.
“Generally, we are probably 60 per cent more skier visits this time this year than last year, and definitely 100 per cent more than two years ago when we weren’t even open until New Year’s Day,” said Holmberg.
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Over the last couple of years, the hill has had to produce artificial snow during the holidays, but skiers told us there’s nothing like skiing on slopes with natural snow — it’s a smoother ride and makes little noise.
Glenn Wright has been skiing for over 20 years and has volunteered at the slopes for four years.
“I enjoy being here at Devil’s Elbow ski hill, and it’s a fun place to be in the wintertime,” said Wright.
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Over the course of the winter, numerous events are held at the facility to raise money for various charities around the community, like the Christmas event this year which raised money for the Omeemee Food Bank.
The next big event is the poker run, scheduled for Jan. 20, 2018. There will be five locations throughout the hill where skiers can select a playing card and the best poker hand wins a ski membership. All the proceeds from the event go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough.
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