ropeways.net | Projects | Archive | 2008-07-08

Batawa skiers welcome news of new chair lift

BATAWA/ Fifty years of hard work and tremendous volunteer effort have paid off for the Batawa Ski Hill who announced June 15th that a new Leightner/Poma Quad Chairlift will be installed for the upcoming 2008/2009 ski season. 

Leightner/Poma is one of the most prominent ski lift manufacturers in the world and the chairlift at Batawa Ski Hill will be the newest lift in

Ontario this coming year. 

With the addition of a state-of-the-art snowmaking system in 2007, and the ability to make more snow per acre than most other Ontario ski areas, Batawa Ski Hill is quickly moving from a small unknown Ontario ski hill whose racers tear up the slopes in competition across Ontario, to a ski area that can now rival most in Ontario for quality ski terrain and skier satisfaction.

Over the past two seasons Batawa Ski Hill has invested heavily in the facility’s aging infrastructure and it’s been paying off. “We’ve doubled previous average skier visits, “days open” and seen great increases in ski and snowboard lessons in the past two seasons,” said Steve Spiessman, ski area general manager.  “We anticipate an even larger increase in volume this year as a result of the chairlift installation.”

The new quad Chairlift, with padded seating for 4, will take guests up the hill with ease and comfort. “Two luxuries we never had before,” Spiessman explains. “The new chairlift will make skiing and snowboarding easier for people of all ability levels.  It will make us much more inviting to schools and give people in the Quinte region one less reason to drive an hour or more to take their family skiing. Everything they need is right here in their own back yard.”

The Chairlift will initially transport 1800 people per hour up hill, and can easily be upgraded to 2400 people per hour with the addition of 6 more chairs. With an uphill travel time of 1.5 minutes, skiers and snowboarders will get more runs in less time than ever before.  

The T-Bars will remain in place for special events or high volume holidays and weekends, giving Batawa Ski Hill a total uphill capacity of over 3800 people per hour. 

Batawa Ski Hill has celebrated other announcements recently, including funding support of over $18,000 from Trenval Business Development Corporation for internship and training and a $22,000 grant from the

Trenton Memorial Hospital’s Kay Stafford Memorial Fund to purchase Ski Patrol emergency equipment, training equipment and supplies.

A recent announcement was made in partnership with Research Castings Inc that a new dinosaur play structure will be constructed on site at the ski hill that will offer children an opportunity to excavate a life size tyrannosaurus rex.  Plans were unveiled at a Homecoming Celebration this past weekend.

The ski hill won’t sit idle this summer, with plans for summer Eco Adventure Day camps for local children as well as teen and adult dances and family events, the hill will be a lively spot.  Watch the ski hill’s website for information on events and project progress at www.batawaskihill.com.  Watch for early bird seasons pass sales starting soon.

Back
Add Photos
Print


Google Adsense