As the snow falls and the temperature drops, it is officially time to dust off the ski boots.
On Friday, Dec. 9, Mission Ridge Winter Park officially opened its doors for the season, allowing Saskatchewan residents to hit the slopes.
People of all ages could be seen up and down the hill, with some showing up before the employees, waiting to get out there.
For Mission Ridge manager Anders Svenson, the best feeling on opening day is seeing the people up and down the hill.
“It’s so cool to see how many people are just so passionate about this sport and it really shows,” Svenson said. “It’s awesome to see people show up to the ticket window with big smiles on their faces because they finally get to do what they enjoy.”
As Svenson waved to people coming down the hill, everyone had a smile on their face as they got a taste of winter.
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“It’s been steady all day and it’s a little better than we expected to be on a Friday when the kids are in school,” he explained. “But lots of kids, including my own, decided to maybe take the day off today so they’re out here enjoying the snow.”
Svenson said they poured more than 10 million gallons of water on the hill to get ready for the season.
“Everywhere you look, you’ve got between three or more feet of manmade snow plus the little bit of natural that we’ve got mixed in and it’s made for some fantastic conditions and it’s awesome,” Svenson said.
Mission Ridge had hoped to open the ski hill last week, but the cool temperatures offered a good time to hold off on opening and make even more snow. Now, every run on the hill is open to the public on the first day, something Svenson said is rare for them.
This is the second Saskatchewan ski hill to open this season, after Optimist Hill opened in November.
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