A tornado was the only thing that Mount Sima's area manger joked would prevent the ski hill from meeting its season opening target date today.

However, Mother Nature has done the next worst thing by sending a sudden cold front, resulting in the shutdown of all of the hill's ski lifts until Friday at the earliest.

"I had everybody thinking cold for snow making, but now I need a little warmer thoughts for skiing," said Greg Meredith. "We are just anxious to host everybody up here."

Unfortunately for Mount Sima, temperatures are expected to be around the same on Friday. Meredith said a decision on whether the hill will remain closed won't be made until Friday morning at around 6:30 a.m.

Despite the lifts being shutdown, the hill has both its cafe and lounge open for business today.

Mount Sima has had all ski operations shutdown since last January as a result of mechanical problems with some of the facility's equipment, as well as financial issues.

As a result of the hill closing for the season in January, Mount Sima will honour all of the 2007-08 pass holders for the upcoming year. The total value for the amount owed to last year's season pass holders is approximately $70,000.

Earlier in the year, the hill's operator the Great Northern Ski Society (GNSS), with financial support from the Yukon Government, was able to commission Kirk Duncan for a study on all areas of the hill.

The Duncan report addressed the current status of the hill as well as outlined what is needed to reopen for 2008-09.

Duncan, the area manager of the Eaglecrest Ski Hill in Juneau, Alaska, visited Mount Sima in May and evaluated the hill's facility, making suggestions on how to improve operations for the upcoming season. The report was commissioned after a two day review of the ski hill.

Based on recommendations from the Duncan Report, the board expanded and now includes both elected individuals from the community, as well as nominated members from various levels of government and user groups.

The user groups include Parks and Recreation for the city, the Alpine Ski Association of Yukon, the Yukon Freestyle Ski Association, the Canadian Ski Patrol - Yukon Zone, Snowboard Yukon, the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Industry Association and the Yukon Government.

The current GNSS board was announced at a special meeting held on July 9.

Since the July meeting, the GNSS board has been working in the areas of financial, marketing and human resource planning.

In August, the City of Whitehorse provided an initial amount of $25,000 in funding, which was needed for the GNSS board to have an inspection done on the hill as well as ordering the parts to do the necessary repairs.

In order to complete the repairs, the GNSS contracted two mechanics for the month of September, which is what the majority of the $30,000 was needed for. The mechanics were from Summit Lift Company, which is based out of B.C.

In addition to the money, the city also provided two workers to help out with the mechanical problems with the the snow making system as well as three lift systems. The three lift systems, include the T-bar, chair lift and handle tow.

Meredith, who was a member of the Mount Sima board and has more than 20 years experience as a tourism and business consultant, was hired as acting area manager back in mid-October.

Mount Sima has been making snow, on and off, for the past month and was right on schedule to open for mid-December, which is when it normally begins its winter business operations.

When the temperature is -25 C. with a wind chill, the hill's chair lift is shut down for safety reasons, Meredith said, adding that having the T-bar gives Mount Sima some flexibility in cold conditions.

However, when the temperature is around -30 C, Mount Sima would evaluate whether to open or not, Meredith said.

Today, it was reported on Mount Sima's snowline that temperatures were -20 C. at the top of the hill and -30 C. at the bottom.

Meredith said that skiers and snowboarders should always check the snowline to find out an accurate hill temperature because it often differs from conditions in Whitehorse. The snowline is 667-7547 and the hill's web site is www.mountsima.com.

Mount Sima had been planning on remaining open from today until Jan. 4, with the exception of New Years day and Christmas, Meredith said. The hill's operation hours run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This year, Mount Sima is offering some seasonal sales until Christmas, including a season's pass or a 10-day punch card offer that will include the purchasers choice of receiving either a free five day lunch card or a Last Run Lounge gift certificate worth $15. Passes can be bought at Hougen's Sports Life.

Some upcoming events at Mount Sima include Christmas Snowcamps for participants aged seven to 13 years old. The camps include both skiing and boarding and will run from Dec. 26-28 and 29-31.

The camps will include three days of instruction, lunch each day and rental equipment (if needed).

Pass holders receive a discount and registration can be done by calling Mount Sima's ticket office at 668-4557.

"We're delighted and excited to be opening again this year and we have lots of improvements, lots of changes over last year," said Craig Hougen, president of the GNSS.