President's Message
Pass Powderkeg in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta
The enthusiasm and anticipation of the first crisp fall mornings and snow is as thrilling as the first run of the season. And sorry Santa, but at this stage in my life, even Christmas morning now takes a back seat—fortunately that day is also reserved for skiing.
The past several weeks has brought CWSAA from the Bike Park Forum in Whistler to the ASM Division meeting at Winsport and the BCY Division gathering at Red Mountain. Between these meetings, there have been visits to the new Richardson’s Ridge Express at Lake Louise and Stagecoach Express at Castle, as well as stops at Pass Powderkeg, Salmo, Kimberley, Fernie, Whitewater, Mt Baldy, and the students and faculty at Selkirk College's SROAM program. Across all these visits, one observation is clear—winter is coming, and ski areas are on overdrive to prepare for the season.
Throughout all these opportunities to learn and share with industry, my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude, service, and camaraderie. On my travels I met with a new Board of a rural ski area. The challenges faced by any group contemplating how to commence operations of a small rural area can be overwhelming. However, it has been done multiple times in recent years and can speak to resident spirit and the value winter recreation brings to communities. It also speaks so well of the broader ski industry family. In preparation for the meeting, I enquired with some neighbouring areas on potential expertise and resources. And here is what makes our industry so special. Without hesitation or being asked, support was offered to assist with this community area. The collaboration and leadership within the ski community is exceptional, and it is as motivating as any bump run under three feet of fluffy dry powder.
The CWSAA team is now halfway through its six fall meetings. A year ago, we did not set out to double the number of events in fall. But with the Association’s new directives and the Board’s emphasis on education, the opportunity to combine the Bike Park Forum with SAM’s Summer Ops Boot Camp, and with the success of the northern regional meeting, it came to be. Enough thanks and appreciation cannot be given to the presenters at these meetings. The content shared at the fall and spring meetings often overshadows the unheralded dedication of these contributors throughout the year on industry committees, working groups, and initiatives.
A summary of the many resources presented at the fall meetings will be forthcoming as the meeting schedule concludes. Please do not hesitate to contact the CWSAA office if there is immediate information needed for on-boarding or early season preparations. The first snows have hit the high peaks, and many areas are now within days of snowmaking season. Enjoy the ride.
Cheers
– Christopher Nicolson
Industry Events
We are half way thru the CWSAA Fall meetings, and we are excited with so many more upcoming events on the calendar.
- Mentorship Fall Virtual Session - October 15 | more info
- Northern Small Areas Meeting (Grande Prairie) – October 16 | Delta Hotels Grande Prairie Airport
- Fall Protection Course – October 22 | Hart Highlands
- Northern Small Areas Meeting (Prince George) – October 23 | Hart Highlands
- SSAOA Fall Meeting – October 26–27 | Table Mountain
- 2026 CWSAA Spring Conference – April 27–30 | Whistler, BC
More info on most of these events can be found HERE.
CWSAA Awards
Nominations are now open for the CWSAA 2026 Awards. This is a great opportunity to recognize a team members or an industry colleague for their exceptional contributions. Nominations will be accepted until January 15 for the following awards, which will be presented at the Spring Conference in April.
- Jim Marshall Leadership Award
- Lars Fossberg Excellence Award
- Rod Chisholm Operations & Maintenance Award
- CWSAA Peak Performance Awards
View more about the awards HERE.
Alberta Economic Budget Forum & Premier’s Dinner
Hosted by the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA)
Alberta ski area managers are encouraged to attend this signature tourism policy event, bringing together executives, policymakers, and community leaders to shape Alberta’s tourism future.
The forum will explore policy and funding priorities ahead of Budget 2026–27, emphasizing tourism’s vital role in Alberta’s economy.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Edmonton Convention Centre
Early bird rates are available until October 10.
Program Highlights:
- Pre-Conference: Aligning Compensation Culture in Tourism (12:00–1:30 PM)
- Main Forum: Alberta Economic Budget Forum (1:30–5:00 PM)
- Evening: Reception, Dinner, GRIT Awards & Premier’s Q&A (5:00–8:45 PM)
Learn more and register through the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA)
Alberta Municipal Election
TIAA has put together a suite of resources for tourism businesses (including ski areas) to help them navigate this months Alberta municipal election. The resources include tourism information by riding. Learn more HERE.
Mentorship Networking Fall Virtual Session
Join the CWSAA Young Professionals Working Group for another great virtual mentorship session October 15th from 12pm-1pm PST/1pm-2pm MST.
These sessions provide the opportunity to connect young or new professionals early in their ski industry career to seasoned veterans, promoting interconnection and the Canada West Way of collaboration amongst peers. The group is looking for both mentors and mentees to connect for this one-hour session. You’re welcome to bring your lunch and break virtual bread with the person you are matched with. The group will pair people up based on shared interests or positions. This can be as serious or as casual as you would like and doesn’t necessarily mean a long-term mentor/mentee relationship.
Please sign up HERE no later than October 13. It will be a surprise on the day of as to who you will be paired with!
Selkirk College Ski Industry Programs
Selkirk College continues to play a central role in developing talent for the ski industry through its full-time Ski Resort Operations and Management (SROAM) program and flexible online course offerings.
Online Ski Industry Courses
Selkirk’s online ski industry courses provide a flexible learning option for ski industry staff.
Lift 150 – Train the Trainer (Ongoing Intake)
Designed for experienced lift operations personnel, Lift 150 – Train the Trainer supports in-house leadership in lift operations training. The course is offered through ongoing intake and can be started at any time between August and March. This is a great resource for staff leading training programs at their ski areas, and a regulatory requirement in some jurisdictions.
🔗 Learn more about Lift 150 – Train the Trainer
The following Passenger Ropeways courses run from September 2 to December 8, 2025, with final exams held December 9–11:
- Lift 151 – Surface Passenger Ropeways and Passenger Conveyors
- Lift 152 – Aerial Fixed Grip Passenger Ropeways
- Lift 153 – Aerial Detachable Grip Passenger Ropeways
These micro-credential courses offer practical training that supports on-the-job learning. It's not too late to join this semester!
🔗 View Lift 151-153 course details and register
Small Ski Area Scholarships
Selkirk College offers scholarships to employees of small ski areas (under 20,000 annual visits). Up to five small ski area employees can receive a 50% discount on Lift 151 or 152 tuition.
New Recruiting & Onboarding Tools to Elevate Your HR Strategy
go2HR has expanded its HR Toolkit with new, free resources to help Tourism & Hospitality employers streamline hiring and strengthen onboarding. New tools include 30-Day and 90-Day Performance Review Templates to guide early feedback and set clear expectations, plus a Step-by-Step Recruitment Process and Recruitment & Selection Checklist to bring consistency and efficiency to hiring.
You’ll also find practical resources like a guide to Candidate Ghosting, a legal overview for Hiring Youth 15 Years & Younger, and customizable Application for Employment Templates (formal and casual) for different roles.
Together, these tools provide ready-to-use support for attracting, assessing, and retaining top talent in a competitive market.
CWSAA Members are invited to post their jobs on the CWSAA Job Board.
Classifieds
HKD Snowmaking Equipment for sale: Springhill Winterpark has 3 HKD volt snow makers for sale. The machines are barely used on three-wheel sled with 20ft wand and 600 volt compressor. Contact Vivianne or Brayden at Springhill.
- Member's can login to the CWSAA website, and access member contact info HERE.
The Canadian Ski Council launches 25-26 programs
The Canadian Ski Council (CSC), along with the consumer-facing GoSkiingGoSnowboarding website and new skier programs, is moving into the season with exciting momentum.
The primary fundraising product, the Canadian Lift Pass, launched successfully this summer, and there’s still time for partners to get involved. Meanwhile, the newly rebranded SnowStart Kidz Pass (formerly the SnowPass) had its official August launch and is already seeing strong uptake with families. Watch your inbox for more details on Never Ever Days, the popular learn-to-ski and snowboard initiative, which is poised for success this season.
Beyond program growth, the CSC continues to advance government relations initiatives and expand research offerings to deliver deeper insights for the industry. You can read more about these efforts and other FY25 highlights by downloading the CSC's annual report – CLICK HERE.
CWSAA Partners
EASY RESERVATIONS: drivingforce.ca
For Leasing enquiries CONTACT Jordan:
(306) 261-6110 or JArsenault@drivingforce.ca
Driving Force has locations across western Canada to serve the ski industry.
Driving Force was prominent at CWSAA Fall meetings, pictured here at RED Mountain Resort.
Quality Tires at an affordable price
Good tires are important for everyone in the ski industry!
Learn More about Kal Tire's current promotions
HERE.
100% Price Match Guarantee
Kal Tire matches any eligible competitor’s quote for the purchase of four eligible passenger or light truck tires. Learn More.
Places & Faces
The Whistler Blackcomb Team were instrumental in a very successful SAM Magazine Summer Operations Camp and CWSAA Bike Park Forum.
Left to Right: Wendy Robinson, Olivia Rowan (SAM), Kate Roddick, Belinda Trembath, Omer Dagan
Marlin Van Zandt of was recognized last month for 35 years of service at Snow Valley in Edmonton. Marlin is one of 113 Snow Valley team members that have 5 or more years of tenure at the ski area. Congratulations to Marlin!
The Honourable Andrew Boitchenko, Minister of Tourism & Sport visited Canyon Ski Resort. Picture left to right: Thomas Kunc, Robyn Martel, Minister Boitchenko and David Martel. The Minister recently visited Banff colleagues, toured Lake Louise, and is keen to engage with tourism operators and advance tourism opportunities within the province.
NSAA's Mike Lane joined Canada West at Winsport last month to bring their Lift Safety Bootcamp to Canada. 26 individuals attended the bootcamp and a small group joined Mike for an extra day to discuss lift safety and learn about facilitating this program.
BC Ski Industry marketing Executives and CWSAA met with Destination BC to discuss winter tourism marketing opportunities.
Allison Sharpe recently joined the Canadian Ski Council team as Director of Operations. Get to know Alison in this video!
Trevor and Brandan of Mt Baldy are ready for the winter season. The southern BC interior ski area has many advancements for the coming winter including F&B, ticketing, grooming, and overall guest experience.
Andrew Lunt tours BC-Y delegates around the new RED Mountain Bike Park. Many thanks to Andrew and the team at RED for all their efforts in hosting the Fall Division meeting.
Kate Roddick, BCY Division Chair, kept the BCY meeting on task as chair. Many thanks to Paul Pinchbeck for traversing the country to attend ASM, BCY and next weeks Alberta Northern meeting in between the OSRA event among others!