Local mountains offering deals to woo people back after last year’s dismal ski season

NORTH SHORE (NEWS 1130) – It was a ski season to forget last winter, so operators on local mountains are pulling out all the stops to ensure people return.

Most mountains are offering some sort of credit ranging from 50 to 88 per cent off for those who had a pass last season.

If you look at Mount Seymour for example, beyond giving an 88 per cent credit to those who had a season’s pass last year, they’re also including eight days at other mountains in the region for anyone who gets a season pass — something the mountain hasn’t done before.

“We have our typical 25 per cent off reciprocal mountain deals, and that goes over and above our four partner resorts,” says Emmalee Brunt with Mount Seymour. “We’re just trying to offer as much value as we can, and staying positive for this season.”

Still, talk of a warm El Nino season is a worrying thought on the minds of many in the industry.

Joffrey Koeman with Cypress Mountain says he’s heard some of those projections but is going back to a more traditional source of wisdom.

“The old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a snowy winter, so there’s all sorts of reviews out there this time of year,” says Koeman.

Cypress is doing more than just thinking hopefully; it has spent around $500,000 on new equipment.

“We’ve just finished a major snowmaking expansion,” says Koeman. “That includes five new snowguns. That should help preseason get going earlier. But when we look back at the historical stats, if it is an El Nino year, usually what that means is 10 per cent less snow [which] doesn’t really come into factor too much. It’s nothing like last year. Last year was truly a 100-year anomaly.”

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