Mission Ridge welcomes colder weather

Saskatchewan’s run of warmer-than-average temperatures is expected to come to an end this weekend.

While some might be dreading the chilly weather, it’s good news for a local ski hill.

Mission Ridge Winter Park in Fort Qu’Appelle has been open since late last year, but not every one of its runs has been operating.

Anders Svenson, business manager and part-owner, said Friday that all the snow in the park is man-made. That’s difficult to maintain in warmer weather.

“We need about three solid cold days to finish our snow-making for the season and get the remainder of our runs open,” he said.

“We are closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and we are certainly going to take advantage of it and finish the remainder. Then, we’ll have the full resort operating as it should be.”

According to Environment Canada’s forecast, the high in Regina on Saturday is to be -14 C, but the temperature is to fall to -19 in the afternoon with a wind chill that will make it feel like -28.

The high on Sunday is expected to be -18.

While the recent warmer temperatures brought more customers to the slopes at Mission Ridge, the snow issue is a significant drawback.

“We don’t rely on any natural snow. Where we haven’t made snow, it’s not open,” Svenson said.

“One hundred per cent of what people ski on when they show up to Mission Ridge is man-made snow. We need cold temperatures to do that. So we’ve had some fantastic temperatures recently that make for really great skiing conditions, but really poor snow-making conditions at the same time.

“It’s kind of a welcome little blast of winter that we’re going to get.”

However, even with some of the runs closed and a wealth of COVID-19 rules in place, Svenson said business has been good since the facility’s opening Dec. 26.

“It’s been very steady — very good and very steady …,” he said. “There have been people where there historically wouldn’t be … It’s been a good start to the year.”