Hidden Valley opening delayed a day due to cold

By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 7, 2022.

The expected reopening of Hidden Valley Ski Hill didn’t take place quite as planned Thursday. Due to the extreme cold weather, the reopening was moved to Friday with anyone who had pre-purchased tickets for Thursday being offered a full refund.

Staff at Hidden Valley were on site despite the closure and the ski lift was running. While Alberta Parks did not provide a comment as of Thursday evening, one staff member had described the reopening as something they were “looking forward to.”

The Elkwater Ski Club is also getting ready to start its winter season, especially after the fate of Hidden Valley was undetermined for several months in later 2021.

“Our time on the hill is as much about building relationships, community and resiliency as it is about skiing,” an official from the Elkwater Ski Club told the News. “Access to a local ski hill, means we will keep building a community of young skiers in southeastern Alberta, in a sport which would otherwise be inaccessible to many in this region.”

Leading up to the 2021/22 winter season, Alberta Parks – owner and operator of Hidden Valley – would not commit to reopening the hill, as it had previously been searching for a partner to carry out seasonal operations.

During this time, the Elkwater Ski Club launched a campaign titled #littlehillontheprairie, which encouraged local skiers and snowboarders to share pictures of themselves at Hidden Valley in the hopes of persuading Alberta Parks to keep the hill open. Several days after the social media campaign was launched, the reopening was announced.

“We’re grateful for the supportive community that surrounds us. The outpouring of pictures, videos, messages (and) signatures from our ski community truly demonstrated Hidden Valley’s importance,” the official said. They confirmed members of the ski club were excited to hit the slopes on opening day, with the official club opening taking place Saturday.

Hidden Valley Ski Hill opens today at 9 a.m., weather permitting.

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