Work has begun at the Mount Sima Ski Area in Whitehorse as part of the development plan for hosting the 2007 Canada Winter Games apline and freestyle ski competitions.

A capital development master plan, which provides an in-depth analysis of the upgrades that are needed to the ski area in order to successfully host the Canada Games compeitions, was recently completed by Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners Limited, out of Whistler, B.C.

A contract has been awarded to local company Blisten Creek Services and Landscaping, to begin the clearing of the alpine training run and the freestyle mogul and aerial runs.

'I'm thrilled,' said Kevin Rumsey, president of the Great Northern Ski Society, which runs Sima. 'This is going to be a huge deal.

'Trees are falling as we speak.'

Other work scheduled for this spring includes grubbing and blading the new runs, work to the chair lift, preliminary engineering and costing for the expansion of the snowmaking system.

'We have established a strong partnership with the Great Northern Ski Society to plan what is needed to get the ski area ready to host Canada's best young alpine and freestyle skiers in the country in 2007,' added Host Society president Piers McDonald in a news release. 'Mount Sima is a great ski area for this community and local skiers will be able to take advantage of the area improvements for many years after the Games are done.'

The Host Society has approved $100,000 in spending for the first phase of the project.

'We had an engineer on site last week, doing a very thorough lift assessment,' said Rumsey. 'We can't afford a new lift so this one had better not go down. So he said we'd better invest some money into it.'

Money has also been allocated for snow making, and the society is hoping to replace the main pipe at the bottom of the hill.

'Top to bottom snow making, what a treat,' stated Rumsey.

The main run, Dan's Decent, will be widened and graded as part of the first phase of the project. A new training run will also be added, the freestyle area will be widened and the mogul run will also see some work.

All of the phase one work will be completed by next ski season, with phase two work beginning next summer.

'We'll also be looking at a parking lot expansion, a face lift on the lodge and we're hoping for a new building as well for other services,' said the president. 'Maybe just some expansion on the bottom of the hill as well.

'The list is huge. It truly is just huge and it's a bit daunting.'

Rumsey said the hill can be really wet in the summer, which may cause workers some grief over the phases of the project. But he said it will all be worth it.

'The legacy left behind for the community, it's really going to be something,' he said.

The funding for Sima is strictly for capital projects, which means the cash-strapped ski area will still rely on volunteers and ticket profits to stay open for the public until the Games.

Rumsey said the hill had an excellent season this past year, with about 15,500 ski visits.

'We had so many firsts this year,' he said, such as the snowboard park and a music festival.

'All the numbers are up, there were more skiers, more familes and more people renting.

'There are certainly concerns about the O&M (operation and maintenance) after the Games. It will be a very different place. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.'

Randy Schewen has been appointed as Sima's project manager for the 2007 Games. He will be overseeing all of the capital developments.

Rumsey said Schewen, a past board member, has been with the hill since the 'very, very beginning.'