President's Message

The city lights make a beautiful impression when skiing at Edmonton Ski Club.

Mid-season is often when the realities of operating a ski area come most sharply into focus. Across Western Canada, unpredictable weather patterns continue to demand agility, creativity, and steady leadership from operators. Some areas have had an enviable winter, while others have experienced variable conditions and have required rapid adjustments to terrain offerings, staffing, guest communications, and cost management. One of the recent CWSAA industry calls convened small community area operators to exchange practical solutions and shared learnings. CWSAA has been told that the reconnection between peers is just as important as the operational insights.  In the midst of a busy winter, it is easy to feel isolated when one thinks they are pushing the proverbial rope uphill. These conversations remind us that industry colleagues are not alone and that connection matters.

Ski industry collective strength is also reflected in the remarkable commitment of many volunteer cadres.  The volunteer Mountain Professionals CISM Team quietly provides critical incident stress support to colleagues across the industry, offering time and understanding when it is needed most. Their contribution speaks to the culture of service and solidarity that defines the ski community.  These traits are also found in the many volunteers that run over 35 non-profit ski areas in the west.  Their motivations are most often to ensure winter recreation exists within their communities.  Given that most of their work relates to administration, repair, fundraising or operating rather than actually sliding on snow, our industry salutes every volunteer.

This period has also been active on the research and reporting front. Numerous industry presentations and reports have been shared with members, equipping operators and suppliers with data and analysis. Ski areas participating in the CWSAA financial analysis have now received their individual reports, which are informing the finalization of the broader ski sector economic impact metrics. Reliable data strengthens not only internal planning and benchmarking, but also industry advocacy efforts with government and external partners.

On that front, CWSAA has been actively engaging with government partners. In early February, CWSAA met with Alberta government with officials in Edmonton and visited ski areas. Tourism Minister Andrew Boitchenko has been notably engaged, visiting several ski areas during his short tenure. He has demonstrated a clear understanding of the vital role ski areas play in their local communities and has shown interest in addressing key pressures to industry. Similarly, in British Columbia, the provincial government and Tourism Ministry has prioritized the mountain resort sector within its economic policy framework and is consulting with the ski sector on future policy considerations. This work is critically important as the Province navigates a path to build investor confidence, in light of the uncertainty brought forward by economic conditions and recent court decisions.  In all jurisdictions, the ski and tourism sector represents a proven opportunity to be leveraged as a strategic pillar in building sustainable economies, while also providing valued outdoor recreation for residents,.

Lastly, this is also the time of season when reports of lift ticket fraud are at their highest, and other challenges to conducting business come to the fore.  Ski areas are focused on their loss prevention programmes, and are encouraged to report any trends to CWSAA.  As needed, CWSAA will facilitate connections between members to source solutions.  The power of our industry lies in its connectedness—between ski areas, suppliers, volunteers, and partners.

As industry navigates the heart of winter, thank you for your resilience, your openness to collaboration, and your continued engagement with industry peers and CWSAA. 

Cheers
– Christopher Nicolson