BC ski resort operators are heralding the return of La Nina in marketing materials as they get ready for what some weather forecasters have projected will be the coldest winter in Vancouver in decades.
Accuweather.com noted in October that this weather pattern, which involves sea temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean being cooler than normal, is coming for a second straight year. So did the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. La Nina last winter produced so much snow that some ski resorts stayed open into early summer.
Resort operators, however, do not want to bank on cold, snowy weather.
Offering new products such as heli-skiing and being dedicated to offering a great value ski experience are far more reliable ways to draw skiiers.
Silver Star Mountain Resort CEO Ian Grant told Business in Vancouver that his resort plans to offer heli-skiing in 2011 for the first time in its 52-year history.
?That?s the biggest thing for this season,? Grant said. ?We have a contractor who is supplying the helicopter. One helicopter will be based out of Silver Star and it will have access to untracked areas that could extend out to Revelstoke if need be.?
Up to now, Grant said, Silver Star has focused on the the core ski offerings that drew about 400,000 people last year.
?Our season pass sales are up about 2% from last year, so things are looking good,? he said.
?That?s our first indicator of how the season is going. Our accommodation bookings are on par with 2010. There are some ups and downs in different properties, but our premium property bookings at places such as Snowbird Lodge are going well.?
Things are positive at the much-smaller Hemlock Resort, which recently won a national award from the Canadian Ski Council (CSC) for operational excellence.
Once a year, the CSC collects data and surveys guests from ski hills across the country.
?Basically they rate us on everything from first impression – the parking lots and the ease of getting tickets – to the quality of grooming,? said Hemlock?s director of operations, Samuel Hicks.
?The CSC also considers rates us on value – the amount of money spent on the rental experience down to how clean the bathrooms are to the taste of the food.?
Hemlock attracted about 60,000 guests last year – a 25% jump from the 48,000 guests who visited the mountain in 2009, Hicks said.
His company is also in the final stages of getting its 25-year master development plan approved. Resort operatives have been in close contact with the provincial and federal governments, as well as the Chehalis Indian Band, on details of that grand vision.
The plan envisions five hotels and two golf courses at the year-round resort.
It?s that perception as a year-round resort which Hemlock has been trying to cultivate recently.
Whistler Blackcomb, which has ranked as B.C.?s most visited ski resort for decades, has long tried to position itself to summer day-trippers as much as it does to those who want winter adventure.
Its Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre resort recently ranked as the fifth most popular resort in Canada, according to Conde Nast Traveler Magazine.
B.C. resorts ranked highly overall in the Conde Nast Traveler survey of its 28,876 readers, which was made public October 13. Readers voted that B.C. has the best five resorts in Canada.
Ahead of Whistler?s Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, which was ranked on a range of aspects and achieved a 91.6 score, was:
?Rosewood, B.C.?s King Pacific Lodge (97.0);
?Field, B.C.?s Emerald Lake Lodge (94.9);
?Vancouver Island?s Long Beach Lodge Resort (92.2); and
?Vancouver Island?s Wickaninnnish Inn (91.8). ?
