Northern Ontario ski hills face uncertain season with no provincial COVID-19 regulations

Since it started re-opening the economy after the lockdown in the spring, the province has set out COVID-19 regulations for almost every type of business — but not ski hills.

"We didn't want to beat our drum, so to speak, in the middle of summer, when nobody's thinking about winter," says Kevin Nichol, president of the Ontario Snow Resorts Association. 

"Over the last month, we've been more vocal with government about that, but also recognizing that our elected officials have a significant workload on their plate."

Nichol is pushing to at least know whether a hill can stay open if their area sees a spike in cases and falls back into Stage 2, so ski operators can at least plan for the season ahead. 

"That's a work in progress as we continue to work with government," he says. "We're confident we're going in the right direction."

The Ontario Ministry of Health did not respond to CBC's request for comment.

Without provincial direction, the snow resorts association has drawn up guidelines, including how to limit crowds in chalets, and where people should wear masks. 

Individual ski hills are also working with their local public health officials to make plans, which could mean different regulations at different slopes.

While some have been told there is no limit on how many people can be out on the hill, the Adanac and Lively ski hills run by the City of Greater Sudbury have been told to only sell lift tickets by reservation. 

"We're going to have to set caps and limits. We're looking at all those pieces to determine what the best plan's going to be, but we're going to have to limit how many people can be out on the hill at the same time," says recreation co-ordinator Kevin Joblin. 

"There's a bit of a gap between what the province has said to other industries and what they've said to the ski industry. There's going to be some challenges and there's likely to be some changes throughout the winter."

Boogie Mountain in Espanola is one of the many non-profit ski clubs in the northeast and general manager Tom Hutchinson says it's already been a tough financial year, after the pandemic wiped out the usually lucrative March Break and forced them to cancel summer fundraisers.

But he says they plan to stay open, even if they are limited to only 25 skiers at a time. 

"We would stay open longer and we would open more days to make sure all our members get as much skiing as they can. We're supplying the service. People need something to do," says Hutchinson. 

"What we're trying to do it is make it a real safe environment where everyone can come and forget their problems."

Sarina Goad, the social media and marketing manager for Antoine Mountain in Mattawa, says they've been planning for the season all summer and aren't worried about how much they'd lose if there is a COVID-19 outbreak.

"By chance that we have to shut down, we're all in the same boat. Everyone around us would have to shut down," she says. 

"So I think that's a risk we're willing to take to give people what they need — and that's to get outside and ski."

But the largest ski area in the northeast, Searchmont Resort north of Sault Ste. Marie, has decided not to go ahead with costly snowmaking this fall because of the uncertainty of the ski season ahead.

If it doesn't open, it could be bad news for the Sault, which will also not see American visitors this winter with COVID-19 border closures. 

"It drives a lot of our winter economy," says chamber of commerce CEO Rory Ring. 

Ring says he knows the province has its hands full with the second wave, but has been pushing for a little more notice of COVID-19 restrictions, which could really help businesses survive the pandemic. 

"Last minute changes, while they've become the norm, are a challenge to deal with," he says.