The new area manager at Mount Sima says the ski and snowboarding hill will hopefully be open to the public by next weekend.

Gary McWaters and his seven-member team have been putting in long hours of work for the past couple of months in an attempt to get the ski and snowboard lodge ready for business.

'We have been working here for two months, which isn't nearly long enough, but we do the best we can and we are getting close to being ready to go,' he said. 'Most people think you start in December and go to work, but there is a lot of maintenance and months of work to do before you can open up a ski resort.'

McWaters started working at Mount Sima two months ago, but he has been in this business for 27 years, which includes time spent at lodges from B.C. to Newfoundland. In 2007, he helped out at Mount Sima during the Canada Winter Games and liked the area so much that he decided to come back to manage the hill.

Preparation for the hill is running 24 hours a day and McWaters and his team have to do a little bit of everything to keep it going smoothly, which includes things such as lift maintenance, hill grooming and snowmaking. McWaters' schedule at the lodge involves a lot of early mornings, late evenings and even sometimes calls to come in the middle of the night if problems arise. He is so committed that he even keeps a cot in his office.

The unseasonably warm weather has also created challenges for team Sima. The weather has delayed the snow pumping process and could result in it taking a little bit more time to open the lodge.

Most ski hills have people on all year round, but because Mount Sima is a smaller operation it can't afford to do so. On average it takes three to four months to open a ski hill.

McWaters is confident that, weather permitting, the hill will be ready to go by mid-December.

Despite the challenges, McWaters said they are right on schedule for the start of the season.

'I don't think Mount Sima has ever been open before the middle of December, so we are pretty much on schedule,' he said. 'I would have liked to be open earlier, but it hasn't happened.'

He thinks there are a few reasons why Mount Sima is so popular within the community.

'Mount Sima is a great local hill, it is not a destination resort and never will be, but it is a great local hill,' McWaters said. 'For this size of mountain the terrain is really good and the people of Whitehorse, I think, are very fortunate to have a hill like this so close to town and so available to them.'

McWaters is looking forward to the start of ski season.

'It is always nice once you get open,' he said. 'The prep is just a huge amount of work, physical labour, long days, so once you get open it is nice. You get into a schedule, sort of a routine.'

He credits his team for all the hard work they have put in helping to get the lodge up and running.

'I am proud of my team, they are working great and doing a great job,' McWaters said.

Ski season at Mount Sima runs from December to mid-April. For more information on Mount Sima visit www.mountsima.com