April 14-17, 2017
It's hard to believe it's already Easter. It seems like yesterday we were gearing up for the ski season, and now here we are, with Spring in full swing. If anyone is in doubt, remember how it was 26 degrees on Monday? Easter is late this year, and this has benefits for skiers. Many ski hills try to stay open until Easter, because people are more likely to go skiing over the long weekend. On the flip side, many hills shut down as soon as the holiday is over, even if there is snow to last another week. Indeed, this appears to be the case this year. There will be 28 ski hills open at least some point this weekend, but by next weekend, this number will fall to about a dozen, with only 4 in proximity to an urban area. For a list of ski hills still open, don't forget to check our recently-updated openings list. Of course, there are still many ski resorts open in New England, and starting next weekend, stay tuned to our openings list for coverage of these mountains.
Fortunately, for all the hills who have stayed open until now, the weather looks good for this weekend. Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday look great, both sunny with highs in the teens both days. It looks like rain will move in on Saturday evening into Sunday, and as a result, many hills are packing it in on Saturday. For places staying open right through, Easter Monday looks like a mix of sun and cloud, and a bit cooler. Based on webcams and recent pictures, most open ski hills still have complete coverage on artificial snow trails, and there's a good chance natural snow trails will be accessible depending on location, orientation, etc... The massive late-season snowfall we had back in March certainly helped! For the whole weekend, expect spring conditions, and don't forget to pack your sunscreen!
Of course, if you haven't yet heard, the big news this week is the acquisition of Intrawest by Aspen Skiing Co. and investment firm KSL Capital Partners. For industry experts,this does not come as a surprise, since there have been big rumours swirling around since January, and even as far back as last year, when Whistler-Blackcomb was sold to an American company. Intrawest owns Mont Tremblant, as well as Blue Mountain in Ontario. Approved for US $1.5 billion, the deal is expected to go through in the third quarter of this year.
It will be very interesting to see how the acquisition affects Tremblant, both in terms of day-to-day operations and long-term development and strategy. Looking back to 2004, the South Side pedestrian village had long been completed, and Intrawest unveiled their 10 year development plan. This included extensive development on the Versant Soleil, particularly another pedestrian village with 700 hotel rooms and 1000 condo-hotel units. There was even talk of a third pedestrian village, or a significant expansion to that of the South Side. As we now know, the recession of 2008-2009 ground these plans to a halt, and they never really took off again. Today, Versant Soleil remains relatively undeveloped, with a small number of condo-townhouses, an under-performing casino, and the under-used gondola link. It will be interesting to see how the acquisition will affect the stalled development on this side, as well as what changes it will bring to other places on the mountain. Currently, development plans seem more oriented to the old village, which is being revitalized with an entirely-renovated town center, new green spaces near the water, and a brand-new, $15 million indoor aquatic centre. Tremblant closes out their ski season this Monday, April 17.