Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

ANNUAL TRADITION – Sam Reimer prepares for a cold plunge during Sunday’s Slush Cup.

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Photo by Photo Submitted

SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE – Finley Sparling celebrates making it across the 45-foot Slush Cup pond. Photo by KRISTINA YOUNG

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

ANOTHER SEASON WINDS DOWN – Skiers and snowboarders flocked to Mt. Sima on the weekend for Simapalooza.

Simapalooza caps strong season for Mt. Sima

The Yukon downhill ski and snowboard season went out with a bang over the weekend.

By Marcel Vander Wier on April 14, 2015

The Yukon downhill ski and snowboard season went out with a bang over the weekend.

The annual season-ending event dubbed Simapalooza featured a snow prom theme, and saw many Mount Sima enthusiasts don tuxedos and dresses under sunny skies.

Saturday and Sunday featured everything from live music to fat bikes and was capped with the fan-favourite Slush Cup event, which saw participants attempt to glide across a 45-foot span of water at the base of the hill.

The weekend was an exclamation point to a strong year for Mount Sima, said general manager Cindy Chandler.

“As a whole, I would definitely say the hill was well-used this year,” Chandler told the Star today. “We had great snow and good attendance.”

The introduction of a new menu in the chalet kitchen received rave reviews, as did new programming in the facility’s snow school.

“We have new features on the hill that people were saying was great. I think what they see is just a lot of good effort being put into the hill.”

Mt. Sima was able to open every weekend this season except once in February, when temperatures dipped well below -30 C.

“We were very lucky that way,” said Chandler.

Contrary to two years ago when the hill was on the brink of closure, Chandler said things have stabilized.

“I see a lot of growth happening with the hill as we look at possible activities for summer, and as we head into the shoulder season, some opportunities we have there. ... I think it’s very sustainable.”

Competitive teams from other provinces have shown interest in using the hill to train in November for early-season training, she said.

A visit from former Olympic alpine skier Julien Cousineau this season had local media abuzz with the possibility of Alpine Canada coming North to train at Mt. Sima.

“That was not accurate,” said Chandler. “He was just looking at the hill and offering up advice for us.”

Last season, the Whitehorse ski hill welcomed 21,000 visitors. This year, Chandler said it was much of the same.

“We’re running fairly similar in visitations to what we had last year,” she said. “Simapalooza did surpass last year in terms of revenue and visitors.”

Meanwhile, the WildPlay adventure course on Sima’s grounds will not open for summer operation.

“It did not make money last year, and therefore is not a good business decision to operate,” said Chandler.

See tomorrow’s paper for coverage of the 2015 Snowboard Yukon championships, also held over the weekend.

– – –

The Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club announced today that its ski season is officially over as well.

While skiing is still possible, the club’s management deemed it necessary to declare an official end date to the season.

More details are available on the club’s Facebook page.

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