New Brunswick ski hills enjoying busy March Break

Many New Brunswick students are hitting the slopes for March break.

It’s March Break for students in New Brunswick, and for many that means a full week of hitting the slopes at one of the province’s ski hills.

Both Poley Mountain outside of Sussex and Crabbe Mountain near Fredericton have been busy through the first half of the break. The hills have been filled with both students taking a break from books and families enjoying some time together.

“It’s a beautiful day, I get to hang out with my family and go on a few runs,” one father at Poley told CTV Atlantic. “It’s the best.”

“It’s kind of slushy but it’s awesome,” one student says after a full morning of ripping the Poley Mountain slopes. “I love snowboarding during the March Break.”

Heather McCaig, marketing supervisor at Poley Mountain, says they have events planned through March Break, including live DJs and an appearance from Mrs. Dunster’s Bakery, which gave out free sweet treats Wednesday at the hill’s triple chair.

After previous winters that seemed to feature more rain than snow, McCaig says this winter campaign has been one to remember. As of Wednesday, all 27 trails were open for use.

“Everyone loves coming to the mountain during March Break,” she says. “Lots of kids here this week, which we love, and we love seeing entire families here too. We’re a big family friendly hill so we really love that.”

It’s a similar sentiment just northwest of the capital city at Crabbe. General manager Jessica Spalding says they have also seen a lot of first-time skiers and snowboarders trying out the sport over the break.

Crabbe hasn’t seen the same levels of natural snowfall as Poley season, but even so the hill has 32 of its 37 runs open for the week. Spalding says it’s a testament to the mountain’s snowmaking and grooming team.

“They’ve been working really hard just to keep the conditions strong with what we have,” Spalding says. “We will have snow up here even when there is no snow in Fredericton, so there’s still lots of winter left to enjoy.”

Spalding says the hill will be welcoming winter sport enthusiasts all the way until March 29, which has been set as closing day.

Poley has yet to set a closing day, with McCaig pointing out how the snow team made a strong base at the start of the season in hopes of extending their season well into the spring.

“We are very optimistic about spring skiing,” says McCaig when asked if people should put their skis and snowboards away after the March Break.

“We’re going to keep it going for as long as we can. We have a lot of stuff planned for this winter season, so keep coming back.”

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