Almost two metres — and growing. With a deep early-season base, conditions are looking great for nordic and downhill skiing at Manning Park over the Christmas break.
Quentin Granger is the new general manager of Manning Park Resort, having started on the hill in September. Before that, he was general manager at the Tobiano golf and real estate development on Kamloops Lake.
From what he’s heard, there was a lot less snow here at this time last year.
“We had our opening on the [Dec. 15] weekend and most of the skiers I talked to said they’d never seen such good snow and so much of it on opening day.”
Granger said the ski lifts went through extensive testing in the off-season and came through “with flying colours.”
“There have been quite a lot of mechanical upgrades to the ski lift controls and grooming equipment and we’ve made decorative improvements to the accommodations,” he added.
“We’ll be open every day till April 5, unless weather conditions necessitate an early closure. Who knows… maybe we’ll stay open longer, if we still have good conditions.”
Over the years, Manning has developed traditions that Granger intends to continue.
“We’d also like to bring back ones that have fallen by the wayside,” he said.
“My intention is to re-establish Manning as a family destination. We want to see people that came here as kids come back with their families.”
The resort is hosting a torchlight parade on Christmas Eve and the floodlit Polar Coaster slide will be open until 7 p.m. On Christmas Day, Santa will be on the hill to frolic with the skiers and snowboarders. A guided Full Moon snowshoe tour will take place on Dec. 28 as well.
“We’re also bringing back fireworks on New Year’s Eve,” said Granger. “We’ll have torchlight skiing, then the fireworks.”
For an in-depth description of events — and to check snow conditions — visit the resort’s website at Manningpark.com.
