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Agassiz ski hopes revive

Parks Canada does a 180 on reopening closed slopes

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Posted: 01/9/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Skiers and snowboarders may once again shred down Mount Agassiz after an about-face by Parks Canada.The federal agency plans to undertake a feasibility study on the once-bustling ski hill and surrounding area in Riding Mountain National Park. Just 18 months after ruling out any proposal to return the property to its former skiing glory, a Parks Canada official said they are now open to the idea.

"What we have learned in the past year is there's still a tremendous amount of interest in skiing (at Mount Agassiz)," said Roger Schroeder, external relations manager for Riding Mountain. "We continue to get calls about this. We thought, 'What do we need to do to get an idea of what's possible? Let's step back and do an area strategy.' "

That was music to the ears of Kelly Rose, a spokesman for a group of ski-enthusiast investors who have been hoping to inject new life -- and money -- into Mount Agassiz for several years.

"The door is open," he said. "The support with phone calls and emails has been overwhelming."

The chairlift at Mount Agassiz Ski Area hasn't carried a single skier or snowboarder since 2000, when the owners at the time filed for bankruptcy. After sitting dormant for three years, the lease and assets were purchased by people affiliated with Asessippi Ski Area, which is located about four hours northwest of Winnipeg. Parks Canada subsequently cancelled the lease and ruled that it would not be renewed for a ski resort.

Ryan Morphy, a partner at Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd., a Winnipeg-based structural engineering consulting firm brought in to assess the condition of the ski lifts, towers and rope lines, said he found them in "good condition" when he examined them last winter.

"The chairs are all galvanized, so they had very little deterioration. The towers had some minor damage and some of the machinery could use an engine tune-up here or there. You've got to remember these things have been exposed to the elements since 2000 and not used (or maintained)," he said. He estimated it would take $100,000 to get the towers and equipment running again, assuming nothing has to be replaced.

The chalet and other buildings on the site are likely another matter, however, and would probably need to be replaced. Morphy said that from his casual observation, vandals had broken a number of windows and there was ice damage in at least one structure.

"The buildings were in poor condition," he said.

Estimates to get Mount Agassiz operational again have ranged from as little as $2 million up to $10 million.

Before anybody gets too excited that a new Mount Agassiz could open up in the not-too-distant future, Schroeder cautioned that the process is at the top of the run, not the bottom.

"The feasibility study will give people a base of information on which to make a decision whether it's a viable project or not. There are hopes and dreams and then there's the economic reality. We have to put both of those things together," he said.

"This will take more than a year or two. We need to finish the area strategy, get the (go-ahead) from Parks Canada, change the management plan and open it up for tenders. It's not something you do in a week or two. We've got to give people time to get a management plan together."

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 9, 2010 A6

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