By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

let 'er rip

Canyon Ski Resort hopeful for smooth season

Nov 15, 2020 | 2:54 PM

The folks at Red Deer’s Canyon Ski Resort are cautiously optimistic that they can have a safe season of shredding.

Robin Martel and the crew at Canyon opened up this week, just the second resort to welcome skiers and snowboarders this season after Banff.

Martel, co-owner, says there’s a noticeable vibe around the venue as people are excited to get outdoors in a COVID-safe environment.

“Things are definitely different. We’ve had to adjust our operations to minimize risk, but skiing and snowboarding is a naturally distanced outdoor activity that represents a low risk of exposure anyway,” she says.

“It’s a little bit less of an adjustment than it might be for other sports, but we do have a whole list of COVID-related policies and procedures that affect the entire resort, mostly inside.”

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Martel is asking all visitors to utilize their vehicles as base camp as opposed to inside the lodge. Because there is a restaurant, they must adhere to all AHS mandated public health and capacity guidelines.

“Face coverings are required on the entire resort, inside and outside,” she says. “We want people to limit their time indoors in terms of washrooms and the time they spend eating so we can allow other people to rotate in, and have time to clean and disinfect between people.”

The magic carpet beginners area is open, and there are three runs coming down. The tube park won’t open until the week of Dec. 5.

“It’s one of those things — if skiing and snowboarding aren’t safe, I’m not sure what else would be. We’re on over 80 hectares of skiable terrain and we can safely have thousands of people out here easily socially distanced outside,” says Martel. “As long as we respect the capacity inside, there’s no reason we can’t have a fantastic season.”

At the end of last season, Canyon Ski Resort lost out on seven days of business due to the pandemic beginning. They also won’t have national or international traffic through the venue this season, as has become a regular occurrence since the run-up to the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

“I’ll be really honest; we’re really relying on the public to come ski in their own backyard this season.”

Most importantly, she points out, the snow and weather conditions to date have been “absolutely fantastic.”

Lift tickets are also available online this year, further reducing the need for person to person interaction at the resort, and for people to be inside buying tickets.

More info is at CanyonSki.ca.