Panorama Mountain Village is adding another downhill activity to its winter lineup.
Starting December 22, the local ski resort will feature a new after-ski-hours activity at the base of the mountain, when its new inner tube park opens for use.
Construction on the park began two weeks ago, alongside a toboggan run opened last year and the Red Carpet lift.
The new tube park will offer several lanes for sliding down the hillside, and complement the already popular tobogganing track, says Panorama marketing co-ordinator Jamie Hurschler.
“It’s basically three long channels that tubes can ride down, with one person per tube. It’s just a long, long course they can ride down and have some fun,” he says.
With the park beginning where beginner and intermediate runs such as Powder Trail and Horseshoe end, crews are also widening out the area around the park so skiers will be able to finish their runs without disrupting tubing activity.
The tube park will open at 2 p.m. in the afternoons, and Hurschler says the resort is hoping to see families, especially those with children, take advantage of the area.
“Giving them another opportunity to experience something fun and different in the evenings is just a bonus for us,” he adds.
“We really want to help families have another activity and keep them busy.”
With Panorama’s public opening less than two months away, the tube park is one of several pieces of construction underway on the mountain.
Near the summit of Panorama Mountain, double black diamond run Stumbock’s is set to double in size this year.
Hurschler says increasing the size of the run will make it easier to get grooming equipment into the area and “just make it a little more accessible to people and a better ski experience by having it groomed more often.”
In the Taynton Bowl area, the Ktunaxa run is also in for some glading. As well, snow making equipment is being set up around the mountain in preparation for the coming season.
