Kimberley Alpine Resort enjoys epic preview weekend in the B.C. Kootenays

Courtesy of plenty of early season snowfall, cold temperatures and aided by the addition of new snow-making machines to their fleet, Kimberley Alpine Resort was able to open for a preview weekend Dec. 8 and 9, ahead of their Friday, Dec. 13 opening.

“We’ve had a great start to the season, lots of natural snow, good cold temps, so the combination of being able to make snow on the lower mountain as well as getting lots of natural snow allowed us to open up a lot of terrain this early in December,” said Ben Cohen, Director of Maintenance and Lift Operations and Kimberley Alpine Resort.

Much to all the delight of all the skiers and boarders, both local and visiting, the resort was able to open lots of terrain and had all three lifts turning.

“Preview weekends, it’s always a bonus, so when we were out there assessing conditions it all came down to getting as much as we could and when the patrol team was out there they determined that there was a lot of good coverage all the way down to Tamarack, so it made sense to keep everything open,” Cohen explained.

First chair bragging rights this year went to Tayton Robison, Callum Roche, Cliff Jarvis and Jack Riche, all 16-years-old, who camped out overnight to secure their place at the front of the lift line.

This year, Kimberley Alpine Resort not only added a new, more environmentally friendly snowcat to their fleet, they also added two new snow-making fan guns, which makes five new ones added in the last three years. This helped get a lot of terrain open and the front-side looking especially good for this preview weekend. They will now get right back to work ahead of the official opening date on Friday, Dec. 13.

“It’s exciting getting the preview weekends going but it definitely takes a lot on the staff, it’s a lot to get it rolling, so I’m sure everyone’s looking forward to a little bit of rest, just as we’re closing up the lifts here today the snow-making team’s getting ready to head out, so the work never stops,” Cohen said. “We’re looking forward to getting a bunch more work to make opening weekend even better than the last one.

“We got a couple of new fan guns this year, the snow-making team is quite experienced and adding to that fleet has really upped our capabilities and made it a super productive fall so far. Any time you’re looking at getting new equipment and especially additions to the fleet it just opens up our capabilities and allows us to make more with what we’ve got.”

READ MORE: SilverStar opens all ski trails early in Vernon

While it may have been a tonne of work, Cohen said it was all worth it getting to see everyone kick off the 2024/25 ski season early and in such fine form.

“Highlight for me during this preview weekend, it’s a lot of locals coming up here and having lots of fun,” he said. “Familiar faces saying hello, it’s a big welcome-back party and it was super fun to have everybody and we can’t wait to see them next weekend.”

Guest services hours are below:

Dec. 9 to 12 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dec. 13 to April 6 – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Plan your visit at skikimberley.com

READ MORE: ‘Snow’Vember has hit hard’ in B.C.

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