‘It was great to see the hill with skiers’

After the city's only ski hill has virtually been closed for about a year, it appears the weather is finally favouring Mount Sima.

After the city’s only ski hill has virtually been closed for about a year, it appears the weather is finally favouring Mount Sima.

Several weeks of -30 C and colder temperatures left Mount Sima closed for all but one day.

However, it was able to host skiers and snowboarders on Sunday when the temperature came down to around -26, Guillaume Rochet, the hill’s new manager, said this morning.

“It was a pleasure,” he said. “It was great to see the hill with skiers.”

While officials won’t operate the chair lift when the temperature is colder than -25, the T-bar and rope tow were used Sunday, with about 100 skiers hitting the slopes.

Mount Sima doesn’t open when the temperature falls below -30.

That left Christmas Eve as the only day it’s been able to open this season. Hill officials ended up handing out half-day passes to hill users that day when a breaker blew, shutting down the chair lift and rope tow.

While cold temperatures have left the hill closed for almost all of this season, it was idled after only a few days of operation last winter amid an array of issues ranging from equipment problems to weather.

Over the course of that closure and this season, the hill has undergone major restructuring at the board level. Its operators have also received funding from various sources to get the hill open this season and plan for the future.

To celebrate the warmer temperatures expected to hit the territory this week, Rochet said the hill plans to be open every day this week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rather than its regular schedule of Thursday to Sunday.

While it was still a little too cold to operate the chair lift this morning, Rochet said the T-bar and rope tow were running, with the chair lift expected to be fired up this afternoon, provided the weather warmed up.

“Now everything is ready,” Rochet said, noting the 20 to 30 staffers at the hill are happy to get things going.

He was pleased to see the snow falling this morning, pointing out the powder would provide excellent conditions for Mount Sima.

Rochet admitted it hasn’t been easy to deal with running a ski hill in -30 or colder temperatures; however, it’s something that has to be accepted in the Yukon.

“It’s a big challenge,” he said.

Focusing on the positive though, he pointed to the plan to keep the hill open every day this week.

In a statement last week, Rochet said he’s excited about his new job and working to ensure Mount Sima reaches its potential and contributes to the community at large.

Rochet took over the hill’s operation from acting manager Greg Meredith, who had temporarily left his position with Sima’s board to operate the hill.

Wanting to live in the Yukon since childhood, Rochet moved here last September, bringing with him experience working in the European Alps, where he grew up, along with sporting events like the Tour de France.

He holds two Masters degrees, one in tourism development from France’s Grenoble University and the other in international sport management from Nice University, also in France.

“I have wanted to live in the Yukon since I was three,” he said in last week’s statement. “Now, not only am I living in my dream location, but I am working at my dream job.”

Rochet also has experience as a ski instructor with the equivalent of a Canadian level 3 alpine (level 4 being the highest level).

As Linda Rapp, a Sima board member and chair of the human resources committee, pointed out, it was important to find the right candidate for the job with the right skills and attitude to take the hill forward.

“Guillaume has all of the attributes and experience we were looking for,” she said.

Along with the hill’s opening, Rochet also pointed out the Snow Pit Restaurant and Last Run Lounge will be open, with new items on the menus.

Ski and snowboard programs will also soon be underway.

As Rochet focuses on the current season, the Jan. 19 deadline for proposals on Sima’s sustainability plan that will take it into the coming years is approaching, with documents to be in by 5 p.m. that day at the Sport Yukon Building on Fourth Avenue.

Meanwhile, skiers and snowboarders can call the hill’s snowline at 667-7547 for the most up-to-date information on the hill’s conditions.