The hill where most people in Kenora learn to ski and snowboard is getting ready for the new season.
The Mount Evergreen Ski and Recreation Area is scheduled to open on Dec. 19, barring any last-minute technical issues.
Kyla Mclaughlin, the hill's chalet manager, said the community based ski hill opened in 1946 and is run as a non-profit organization with lots of volunteer support.
“We are a little hill with a big heart is what we like to call ourselves,” she said.
She said it takes many hours of outdoor operations and volunteers to work on the lift lines to make sure they are good to go. In the summer, they basically keep everything outside maintained, she said.
“Then when it comes up to the season, they spend countless hours out here making snow, [and] grooming. Basically, getting all of that done.”
McLaughlin said the ski hill is able to make snow once the temperature of hits -10 C consistently.
She said membership is very important for the organization and that they usually have between 300 and 400 members each year.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected operations, forcing them to adapt the first couple of seasons, she said.
“We had to do a full flip of everything because we were only open four weeks [the first year],” she said.
“Last season we did pretty good out here. We had a lot of people come out,” she said. “We had close to 400 [members].”
Mclaughin said membership and the ski school program are what helps keep the ski hill going financially.
“We have a lot of kids that are in our ski school programs and even adults that want to come and try skiing,” she said. “It’s a community out here. We like bringing people together.”
