Manager Jurgen Grau was thrilled to tell MD of Bonnvyille council that after some stubborn weather at the beginning of the season, Kinosoo Ridge saw an unprecedented January.
“We started off with a pretty tough season this year,” Grau relayed to council. “Snowmaking started late and as you can see there’s not a lot of snow out there. So we ended up starting about two weeks later than usual and December was a slower month than usual. Our business was down about six percent from last year.
“But January has kicked back and we’re seeing the largest numbers we’ve ever seen at the ski hill for the month. We’ve seen weekend visits up. we’ve seen school visits up and tubing park visits are way up. We’re at the point at our tubing park right now that people are not quite begging us, but requesting we expand that park. That’s not in the works yet. We might be looking at making a little more efficient before we consider yet, but the park is full all the time. There’s not a single date left this season where it’s not booked up.”
Grau said they planned to recover the costs of building the tube park over the course of four years, but they’re likely way ahead of that estimate now. School visits are in unprecedented territory as well.
“We’re seeing more schools coming to Kinosoo Ridge than we ever have. A lot of the schools we don’t even recognize, they’re coming from an almost three hour radius now. There have been requests that we move into the days that we’re closed -Monday and Tuesday- to honour those schools. We’re not quite there yet.”
February looks to be just as busy, if not even busier for the Ridge with Snojuhla getting underway. Finnish for “Snow Festival”, the Ridge is putting events on all month long. The biggest item is a music festival over the Family Day long weekend featuring acts like Coleman Hell, The Funk Hunters and former Cold Laker Lexi Strate. There will also be some stunning ice sculptures and an ice slide for children there too. Being on a ski hill, expect to see lots of winter sport competitions as well.