Northern Ontario ski resort opens slopes, prepares for busy Holiday season

Mount Jamieson Resort in northern Ontario is set to open Saturday, aided by abundant natural snow. Most runs, the bar and restaurant will all be ready.

Eric Phillipow, the general manager of Mount Jamieson Resort in Timmins, Ont., said he’s been staring at the snow long enough this fall – it’s time to make use of it.

For the past two weeks, preparations have been ongoing to ensure the resort is ready to welcome alpine skiers this weekend.

“We’ll go for another week and a half. We still need the base to survive the spring, so no matter what, we make snow,” said Pillipow.

“We’re definitely on par with our opening day, but we’re way ahead on natural snow, which makes our lives a lot easier, so just the whole process to make snow and get open has been a lot easier on our equipment and our staff this year.”

The majority of the runs will be open, as will the bar and restaurant. The tube park is expected to be operating by Dec. 20 – just in time for the Holiday season, which is one of the resort’s busiest times of year.

Something else, Phillipow said people can get excited about is a new trail map produced by a famous artist.

“His name is Brad Smith,” he said.

“Anyone that knows James Niehues is retired, (the) world famous ski map artist who’s done almost every resort in the world. So, Brad is his longtime project protege that has taken over his business.”

Opening day is set for Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. and staff said they hope that skiers will be able to enjoy the resort until Easter.