Chicopee Ski Hill opens 91st winter season with earliest start in five years

Skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes at Chicopee Ski Hill Saturday as they opened for the winter season. CTV's Karis Mapp was there and has the story.

Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort opened for its 91st winter season on Saturday, marking the earliest opening the resort has seen in the past five years.

Despite the pre-Christmas shopping rush, visitors were out early to take advantage of the slopes, including many students who had their last day of school on Friday.

“The keeners who are out here today, it’s fantastic,” said Bill Creighton, Chicopee’s CEO. “We have a lot of new staff who are getting up to speed, so it actually works really well.”

One visitor said they were “dying to get out” and enjoyed spending the day snowboarding with friends.

“We were really aiming for getting first chair but also coming in the morning earlier and having a lot of time to snowboard. It’s been going great. We’ve gone down 16 times and it’s been really fun,” a pair of siblings told CTV News on the hill.

Creighton said the early opening was made possible by steady snowfall since November.

“The biggest thing about getting snow early is that people actually think about winter, this great Canadian winter,” he said. “They want to know: what can we do? Well, one of the great things is Chicopee here in Kitchener-Waterloo.”

He adds the hill is designed to accommodate skiers and snowboarders of all experience levels, including beginners.

“Doesn’t matter your level of skill, you still ride up the lifts together. And we have an amazing discovery program here. So, we take people who have never skied before in their life. They can come here and we’ll teach you how to do it on skis or on a board,” Creighton explained.

“The hills are pretty beginner friendly, so all my friends who want to learn how to ski can come here,” one visitor said.

“I have so much fun every year, it’s my favourite thing to do in the winter,” another visitor said.

“It’s amazing. Best hill around here…it’s nice to have a hill close to home and it’s regularly maintained and they do a really good job here,” another visitor added.

According to officials, hours vary throughout the holiday season, but beginning in the new year, the hill will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the season expected to wrap up at the end of March Break, weather permitting.