Dear Friends,  

The 2023-24 winter season delivered extremely challenging weather conditions. We were only able to operate for a total of 54 days. This is a stark contrast to the previous season’s 82 operating days. This wet and warm winter did point out a glaring need for MMC-Shames Mountain to prepare more aggressively for adverse weather and so birthed the Climate Change Resiliency Project. The goals are: 

• preparing the lower mountain so it can operate on a minimum of 30 cm instead of the current 80 cm, this will be achieved through infill and grading.  
• addressing drainage problems to ensure the hill is better positioned to withstand major winter rain events.  

This project is essential to the long-term viability of our ski area. Had this work been completed ahead of the 23-24 ski season, we would not have lost any operating days due to low snow levels.   

Larger ski hills have been conducting “summer grooming” operations for many years and have proven the value of this kind of investment. As a not for profit, capital for this kind of effort is very difficult to obtain from operations alone. Fortunately, we have one of most supportive communities in the ski industry.  

Our corporate community understands how important our ski area is regionally in terms of attracting and retaining workers, ensuring families and individuals have a space for outdoor recreation. The disastrous 23-24 winter season has acted as a rallying cry, banding together multiple local contractors and local government from across the region to give what they can to make our ski area more resilient to the effects of climate change. We are very proud to be announcing both this project and the partners making it possible.  

Our partners included on this project valued at approximately $450,000 are: 

• Prince Rupert Port Authority 
• Axis Mountain Technical 
• Progressive Venture LTD 
• Emil Anderson Group 
• RollyWorks
• Allnorth Consulting LTD 
• Maltin Consulting Services LTD 
• Westpoint Rentals 
• Regional District of Kitimat Stikine 
• District of Kitimat 

We would like to take this moment to thank each one of these organisations for recognising the value in a healthy, sustainable and economically viable MMC-Shames Mountain.  

Warm regards

Your MMC-Shames Mountain team