^photo of proposed location of Bridal Veil Mountain Resort in the Fraser Valley seventy five miles east of Vancouver, BC

December 15, 2024

We know the perhaps “politically correct” answer is of course we don’t! Despite a significant decrease in the absolute number of ski areas in North America over the last couple decades, don’t we have enough? We have the Aspens and the Vails, we have the Bridger Bowls and the Fernies, and we even some mom and pops local hills left. Where there are mountains and hills we have carved them up pretty well for our ridiculous skiing pleasure. Given the damage we have already wrought on nature shouldn’t we leave untouched what we haven’t developed?

But…we have a true confession. We want more! And it’s not because we are piggy (ok, there might be a tad of that). A new or reopened (think Saddleback Mountain in Maine) can spark a moribund mountain town/region that deserves better. It can provide more opportunities for folks to get off their fat arses and get the hell outdoors. And purely from the skiing point of view, a new ski area offers the unknown – new terrain, new vistas, new friends and hope.

Case in point. We were fortunate enough to ski Kicking Horse in British Columbia the year after it opened. This spectacular mountain shades the town of Golden, BC, and it has spectacular in and out-of-bounds terrain. We only had one day to ski Kicking Horse, but on the first gondola ride we met a local who generously became our guide for the day. The energy on and off mountain was as fresh as the 18 new that fell the night before. Time stopped as we sampled this brand new area on a magical day. The trek north post-skiing was halted by closed roads so we were welcomed by cheery folks at the one local watering hole.

You may have noticed that it has been a loooooog time since a major resort was developed in the United States. There have been expansions of existing areas (the most recent example being Dear Valet’s development (Deer Valley Expands), but you have to reach back into the early 1970’s when Snowbird was developed on private land for the most recent development of a significant resort in the United States. Tamarack in Northern Idaho was opened in 2004, but it has unfortunately floundered badly (see the NYT article Tamarack Struggles).  The roadblocks to ski resort development in the United States are many – local resistance; environmental; access to both private and public land; climate change; high development costs…

The latest ski area proposal to bite the dust in the US appears to be a proposal to develop an area in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada. (Yes, apparently there is very good ski terrain in Nevada with 300+ inch snowfall.) After recently purchasing a 3,000 acre parcel (Ruby Mountain Ranch) an individual asked for zoning changes in order to build a ski area. After steep local opposition he was turned down and is now contemplating building a private resort (read the Nevada Independent article for more). And to read our further rants about private ski areas see Privatization of the Ski Industry.

In contrast, Canada, and in particular, British Columbia, has actually welcomed development. Kicking Horse (December 2000 opening) and Revelstoke (December 2007 opening) have been developed in British Columbia, and these areas aren’t small. Revelstoke has a vertical drop of over 5,000 ft. (although our experience is that the bottom 1,500 ft. of that can be skipped) and Kicking Horse’s vertical is over 4,000 ft.

But the news in recent years on ski resort development in BC tells a different story – one of failed attempts and classic broken dreams. There has been an impressive run of glowing press releases from yet undeveloped ski resorts promising the second coming of Aspen. Girabaldi at Squamish found new life earlier this year after having been on the drawing board since 2001. New owners are repeating the promises of the original developers to build an all season resort focused mostly on skiing. See The Squamish Chief article for details and Garibaldi at Squamish for the updated fluff piece released by the new owners.

Next up – Valemount Glacier Destinations (gotta love the names), which received government approval in 2017 to develop a ski resort near the town of Valemount in the Cariboo Mountains. Despite continued promises of vertical of more than 6,000 ft. (See Valemount Glaciers) Covid and funding issues are being blamed for stalled development. For more specifics see  Rocky Mountain Goat Article.

And proving they may be smoking too much weed in Canada, there are several quite recent announcements of planned ski areas. A First Nation group announced in January 2024 their intent to develop a new ski resort several hours east of Vancouver. South Anderson Resort (needs a sexier name, eh?) would feature 11 lifts opening up roughly 1,000 acres for skiing (Powder Canada). And then there is the proposed Bridal Veil Mountain Resort in the Fraser Valley seventy five miles east of Vancouver, BC. Read the Bridal Veil Project for more on that proposal, but see At-Risk Owl Kills Bridal Veil? for the latest.

Proving that weed smoking is not confined to British Columbia, Alberta has recently woken up to the fact that their residents are spending millions vacationing in BC. Hence they have announced new regulations to make it easier for developers to build resorts in Alberta. Stay tuned.

Be Well; Ski Well!

By Kevin Dennis
conSKIerge co-founder

Kevin Dennis is a life long ski bum with a 34 year legal career on the side. Now retired, he skis 80+ days a year. While he lives in Alta UT in the winters, he has traveled extensively through skiing and has skied almost every major resort in North America (and many you have never heard of). He continues to hit the road often throughout the western United States and Canada and trips over the last several years have included ventures in British Columbia, Montana and Colorado. Whether you want to know about the behemoths like Aspen or Squaw or are interested in the road less travelled (Lost Trail Powder Mountain in Montana or Whitewater in BC anyone?), Kevin has been there, has an opinion and you will most likely have to tell him to shut up after a half hour!