Laurentian Ski Hill marks 100 years as cold weather brings out skiers and snowboarders

Despite a bitter storm, Laurentian Ski Hill is thriving. The early cold allowed an early opening, including chairlift operation for the first time in a decade.

Not everyone is hiding indoors sipping hot chocolate amid a recent winter storm and freezing temperatures.

Recent weather has been perfect for the start of the skiing and snowboarding season at Laurentian Ski Hill in North Bay.

“It’s a great little hill. It’s a great place to learn,” said snowboarder Mark Ladoucer.

“Even if you are more advanced, there’s definitely some good terrain and some nice jumps.”

Getting some runs in on Thursday, their skis and snowboards strapped to their feet, a few dozen keeners were off to a fast start, looking to shred the slopes and shake off a bit of rust.

“The other day they were really slippery,” said young skier Elliott Mancini.

A blast of cold temperatures and snow before Christmas allowed the team to start grooming a lot earlier than usual. Already open is the Bunny Hill, Slingshot, with more terrain opening over the Christmas Holidays as weather permits.

“It feels good. Last year, it opened a bit later,” said skier Hannah Twigg.

“I like it because I get to hang out with my friends and my family. I get to do cool tricks with my skis.”

Ski hill executive director Duncan Cornthwaite said this year is the first time in eight to 10 years that the chair lift has been able to operate this early.

The hill is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It was one of the first ski hills in the area when skiing transitioned from a mode of transportation to an outdoor winter activity.

“Not only are we Canadian, but we’re northern Canadians. So, in the wintertime, people are looking for things to do and skiing brings people together,” Cornthwaite said.

“We’ve seen the emergence of obviously different types of equipment over the years. We were known for ski jumping way back when.”

For its centennial season, the ski hill is expecting the slopes to be packed.

The North Bay Ski Racing Club is scheduled to host a race in February and the Elite Alpine Ski Team also trains here.

“The Nipissing trackers, once again, are going to run a very successful program this year,” Cornthwaite said.

“They bring disabled youth and adults out to the hill to enjoy the slopes, be it by skiing or helping individuals just learn how to ski.”

For casual keeners who got new gear for Christmas -- like Hudson Demeis -- they’re just hoping the cold will be here to stay so their runs will be sleek and fast.

“It’s like a lot of adrenaline and really fun,” Demeis said.

“I love it when there are jumps.”

The ski hill is open New Year’s Day from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. From Jan. 2-4, its hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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