Powder King Mountain Resort

Last updated
Powder King Mountain Resort
Location British Columbia, Canada
Nearest major city Prince George, 194 km (121 mi)
Coordinates 55°21′47″N122°37′29″W / 55.36306°N 122.62472°W / 55.36306; -122.62472
Vertical640 m (2,100 feet)
Top elevation(lift serviced) 1,575m (5,166 ft)
Skiable area597 ha (1,475 acres)
Runs 37 total
33% beginner
43% intermediate
24% expert
Longest run6 km (19,685 ft)
Lift system 3 total
1 triple chair
1 T-Bar
1 Rope Tow
Website www.powderking.com
Powder King Powder King 2017.jpg
Powder King
scenery of Powder King BC Powder King Dec 2017.jpg
scenery of Powder King BC
Powder King 1 Powder at Powder King.jpg
Powder King 1
more pow T-bar at PK.jpg
more pow
Another Pow! Day at PK Pow Day at PK.jpg
Another Pow! Day at PK

Powder King Mountain Resort, commonly referred to simply as Powder King, is located in the Pine Pass area of the Northern Rockies of British Columbia's Northeastern Interior. It is the only year-round destination alpine resort in North America found alongside a major route (Highway 97). [1] Ranked #4 in all of North America for snow, [2] the area boasts the best snow quality of all Canadian ski hills.

Contents

Powder King's slopes offer a mix of beginner, intermediate and expert runs, with one three-person chairlift to mid-mountain, one T-bar to the top, and a handle tow at the base to assist and teach beginners. Most of the 37 run names have a Beatles theme (including Upper & Lower Abbey, Octopus’s Garden, Anytime At All, Good Day Sunshine, Twist and Shout, Come Together, Roll Over Beethoven, Nowhere Man, Hard Day’s Night, Hippy Hippy Shake, Ticket to Ride, Paperback Rider (sic), Get Back, Revolution, Let It Be, I Will, Blue Jay Way, Getting Better, Penny Lane, Lovely Rita, and Strawberry Fields). [3]

Originally envisioned as a "Whistler of the North", little of the grandiose plans of various owners came to fruition. Now known for its less crowded and more intimate environment, “Whisper of the North” has become the slogan. The current complex has a full-service restaurant, 35-room ATCO hostel-style hotel, and a small resort community of individual homes and condominiums. [4] Members of the Canadian Ski Patrol regularly keep watch over the hill. [5]

Transportation

All Greyhound busses are now cancelled in B.C. [6]

During the ski season, the PK Express Bus runs every day from Prince George and Mackenzie. It also runs every Saturday & Sunday from Grande Prairie. [7]

History

Strobl Consortium

Opened for the 1965/66 season, the Azu Ski Village added a T-bar lift for 1968/69. [8] A rope tow came the following season. [9] By this time, the village comprised a 60-person capacity day lodge, 50-seat dining room, 80-vehicle parking, motel units and 36-bed dormitory. For 1971/72, the 2,000-foot (615-metre) T-bar lift reached 4,000 feet (1,231 metres). [10]

Graham Family

In 1979, Kerry O’Connor purchased the operations and proposed a $2 million development, which included a 2,800-foot (862-metre) double chairlift, plus two more T-bars. [11] The 1981 master plan relocated the village one kilometre north to an adjacent site, [12] but it is unclear when O’Connor disposed of his interest. In 1983, Peter Graham Jr., president and majority shareholder in the family-owned company that had operated Azu Village for the previous four years, and Peter's then-wife Claudia, presented a $7.7 million expansion plan. Renamed Powder King Ski Village, the proposal included 14 more ski runs (five existed), a 1,400-metre triple chairlift, a 1,000-metre T-Bar and a 230-metre platter lift for beginners. A real estate development at the base of the mountain would comprise 47 single-family lots and 106 multi-family units. [13] The plan, approved 15 months later by the regional district, also included modular (construction site style) buildings for a restaurant, bar and ski services, two buildings for equipment storage, a gas station and upgrades to existing buildings. [14]

The $4 million first phase was completed for the 1984/85 season. The former T-bar had featured a 360-metre vertical drop and 1,225-metre slope length. The new Doppelmayr triple chair had a vertical drop of 360 metres over 1,296 metres, while the new Doppelmayr T-bar featured a drop of 255 metres over 878 metres, all with a 1,600-skiers-per-hour carrying capacity. On reaching the top of the triple chair, skiers had the option of skiing down a moderate distance to the new T-bar that took riders to just below the tree line. Base facilities included 1,115 square metres of day lodges and a 500-car parking lot. [15] A 60-room hostel opened the following fall. [16]

In 1988, one tender called for the laying of sewer pipes, site grading, an access road and parking lot. Another tender covered the construction of two three-storey clusters of six condominiums. [17]

A proposed $3.3-million second phase expansion included a 3,450-square-metre 80-bed hotel/lodge complex with condominium units, and a residential subdivision entailing 14 single-family cabins. This accommodation was intended to replace the existing facilities nicknamed Chateau ATCO. The former Azu Village lift would augment the other lifts. [18] A month later, the regional district gave initial approval to the plan, but noted concerns over recovering the district loan for the sewer connection if the business failed. [19]

Mitchell Syndicate

In 1991, a new 669-square-metre day lodge was under construction when a group of seven investors purchased the ski village. Rob Mitchell became the general manager and chief executive officer. [20] The scope of the 1994-96 highway reconstruction included relocating the Powder King turnoff about 60 metres to the south to provide safer highway access, and constructing a snowmobile parking area. [21]

In arrears, the 1983 development loan was restructured in 1994, but continuing in default, the B.C. government placed the business in receivership less than a year later. Arthur Andersen advertised the sale and announced the ski village closure. Carrying about $1 million in debts, a further substantial cash injection was needed to repair and upgrade the equipment. [22] Rick Merton, with local partners Steve Johnson and Gary McIntyre, bid $967,000 for the facility. [23] Failing to arrange financing within the required five business days, North Star Powder Resorts, their partnership, forfeited its $48,000 deposit. [24]

Doyle partnership

Richard Doyle headed the group tendering the second-place bid of $811,000. Named Powder King Skiing Inc., six of the eight partners were members of the Doyle family. [25] Completing the legal paperwork delayed the resort’s reopening [26] by a few weeks. [27] The facility operated as the Powder King Mountain Resort. [28] The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George supported, but the Prince George City Council opposed, the 1997 Powder King bid for a casino licence. [29] The B.C. government rejected the proposal. [30]

Navigating foggy conditions, a bus owned by the resort hit the tail end of a logging truck backing onto the highway, just north of Salmon Valley. Seven of about 40 passengers on their way to the ski hill sustained minor cuts and abrasions, but one was seriously injured. [31] The truck driver was charged with driving without due care. [32]

Salisbury family

In 2005, Jim and Heidi Salisbury acquired the business. The early-season skiing conditions enabled the Canadian Olympic ski cross and boardercross teams to practise there for the three seasons from 2007/08, which benefited Canada’s 2010 medal count. During the 2009 summer, the B.C. Job Opportunities Program provided an $850,000 grant, which largely funded out-of-work loggers to brush down all the willow and do some thinning in the lead up to the hill’s silver jubilee. [33]

The 2010/11 season offered eight additional trails, providing 37 different runs. [34] The following season brought a permanent snowboard-cross track, [35] and the resort applied to expand its liquor licence beyond serving dining patrons. [36] Named Wanderer, Explorer and Challenger, three new snowshoe trails opened for 2012/13. [37] In 2016, the company purchased the mothballed Azouzetta Lake Lodge and rebranded it as Cafe 97. [38] The renovated cabins, suites and bunkhouses are available for guests. [39]

In 2022, Powder King Mountain Resort and Cafe 97 was placed on the market for $8,250,000. [40]

Related Research Articles

Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at the top. With all of this capacity, Whistler Blackcomb is also often the busiest ski resort, often surpassing 2 million visitors a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thredbo, New South Wales</span> Ski resort in New South Wales, Australia

Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of Sydney, accessible by the Alpine Way via Cooma, Berridale and Jindabyne. The village is built in the valley of the Thredbo River, also known as the Crackenback River, at the foot of the Ramshead Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypress Mountain Ski Area</span> Ski resort in British Columbia, Canada

Cypress Mountain is a ski area in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located in the southern section of Cypress Provincial Park, operated under a BC Parks Park Use Permit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarloaf (ski resort)</span> Ski resort in Maine, USA

Sugarloaf is a ski area and resort located on Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley, western Maine. It is the second largest ski resort east of the Mississippi in terms of skiable area and snowmaking percentage (95%); its continuous vertical drop of 2,820 feet (860 m) is the second longest in New England. Sugarloaf recorded a total of 352,000 skier visits in the 2005–2006 season, ranking it second among Maine resorts and 11th in New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Peaks Resort</span>

Sun Peaks Resort is an alpine ski resort located in Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada, 56 km (35 mi) northeast of Kamloops.

Silver Star Mountain Resort is a ski resort located near Silver Star Provincial Park in the Shuswap Highland of the Monashee Mountains, 22 km northeast of the city of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. Silver Star's snow season runs from late November to mid-April, weather permitting. Silver Star provides summer lift access for mountain biking and hiking from the end of June through September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver Creek Resort</span> Ski area in Colorado, United States

Beaver Creek Resort is a major ski resort in the western United States, near Avon, Colorado. The resort comprises three villages, the main Beaver Creek Village, Bachelor Gulch, and Arrowhead to the west. The resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts which operates multiple additional resorts. Beaver Creek is a regular host of World Cup events, usually in early December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff Sunshine</span> Ski resort in Alberta, Canada

Banff Sunshine Village is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighbouring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the town of Banff. By car, it is about a ninety-minute drive from the city of Calgary; the Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5 mi) west of the town of Banff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solitude Mountain Resort</span> Ski resort in Brighton, Utah, United States

Solitude Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in the Big Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains, thirty miles southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. With 66 trails, 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) and 2,047 feet (624 m) vertical, Solitude is one of the smaller ski resorts near Salt Lake City, along with its neighbor Brighton. It is a family-oriented mountain, with a wider range of beginner and intermediate slopes than other nearby ski resorts; 50% of its slopes are graded "beginner" or "intermediate," the highest such ratio in the Salt Lake City area. Solitude was one of the first major US resorts to adopt an RFID lift ticket system, allowing lift lines to move more efficiently. It was followed by Alta Ski Area in 2007. Solitude is adjacent to Brighton Ski Resort near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Solitude and Brighton offer a common "Solbright Pass" which provides access to both resorts for a nominal surcharge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitewater Ski Resort</span>

Whitewater Ski Resort is a ski resort in western Canada, located a 25-minute drive from Nelson in southern British Columbia. In the Selkirk Mountains, the resort is situated in Ymir bowl, beneath the 2,400-metre-high (7,874 ft) Ymir Mountain. The Selkirks receive plentiful, dry snow, and the location in a high alpine bowl provides an annual snowfall average of approximately 12 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park City Mountain Resort</span> Ski resort in Park City, Utah

Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) is a ski resort in the western United States in Park City, Utah, located 32 miles (51 km) east of Salt Lake City. Park City, as the ski resort and area is known, contains several training courses for the U.S. Ski Team, including slalom and giant slalom runs. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, it hosted the snowboarding events and the men's and women's alpine giant slalom events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Mountain (Washington)</span> Ski area in Washington, United States

Crystal Mountain is a mountain and alpine ski area in eastern Pierce County, Washington, United States, located in the Cascade Range southeast of Seattle. It is the largest ski resort in the state of Washington and lies within the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. The resort is accessible from the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area via State Route 410.

Schweitzer is a ski resort in the northwest United States in northern Idaho, 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Sandpoint. Located in Bonner County in the Selkirk Mountains, it overlooks Lake Pend Oreille to the southeast with views of the Bitterroot and Cabinet mountain ranges. The ski area is approximately 45 miles (70 km) south of the Canada–US border. Doing business as Schweitzer Mountain Resort since 1988, in April 2021 the ski area adjusted its brand name to drop the words "mountain resort" to now be known only as "Schweitzer."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breckenridge Ski Resort</span> Alpine ski resort in Colorado, United States

Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Recognized for acres of skiable terrain across five mountain peaks, it welcomes thousands of skiers and snowboarders each season. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Breckenridge is owned and operated by Vail Resorts, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vail Ski Resort</span> Ski resort in Colorado, USA

Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located near the town of Vail in Eagle County, Colorado. At 5,289 acres, it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behind Big Sky and Park City, featuring seven bowls and intermediate gladed terrain in Blue Sky Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Pass Ski Area</span> Ski area in Washington, United States

The White Pass Ski Area is a ski area in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, in the Cascade Range at White Pass in the state of Washington. It is located 53 miles (90 km) west of Yakima on U.S. Route 12, and 53 miles (90 km) east of Morton. As the crow flies, the pass is 25 miles (40 km) southeast of the summit of Mount Rainier and 30 miles (50 km) north of Mount Adams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revelstoke Mountain Resort</span>

Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR) is a ski resort on Mount Mackenzie, just outside Revelstoke, British Columbia in Canada. It is owned by Northland Properties.

Horseshoe Resort, formerly Horseshoe Valley Ski Club, is an Ontario ski resort and four season vacation destination. Located north of Barrie, the resort is about 1 hour 15 minutes driving time from Toronto. The resort enjoys a long ski season due to snow making abilities. Acquired by Freed Hotels and Resorts in 2021, Horseshoe Resort is spread out over 680 acres (280 ha) of land. The resort offers 28 ski runs, over 30 kilometres of Nordic trails, 12-hole Valley golf course, Amba Spa, 101 rooms at the on-site inn, 40 condo-style suites, two year-round restaurants, 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) of meeting and banquet facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a full gym, and over 25 miles (40 km) of trails connected to the Copeland Forest suitable for hiking, biking and snowshoeing.

Belleayre Mountain, in Catskill Park, New York, United States, is a ski resort owned and operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority or ORDA. It is the only Catskill resort that contains a gondola and attracts many new visitors from New York City. Skier and snowboarder visits have grown from 70,000 in 1995 to more than 175,000 in 2007.

The Pine Pass, in the Hart Ranges of the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, connects the Peace Country of the province's Northeastern Interior. Highway 97 and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) traverse this mountain pass, which is the location of the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park, the Pine Le Moray Provincial Park, and the Powder King Mountain Resort at Azouzetta Lake.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 5 Oct 2009
  2. ↑ "North America's Best Snow for Ski Resorts".
  3. ↑ List of songs recorded by the Beatles
  4. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 11 Oct 1984 & 5 Oct 2009
  5. ↑ https://www.skipatrol.ca/
  6. ↑ http://bustracker.greyhound.ca/routes/5045/I/Dawson_Creek_BC-Prince_George_BC/
  7. ↑ "ski.powderking.com :: PK Express Bus". ski.powderking.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-01.
  8. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 20 Dec 1968 & 7 Mar 1969
  9. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 20 Feb 1970
  10. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 30 Nov 1971
  11. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 12 Jan 1979 & 4 Dec 1979
  12. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 10 Jul 1981
  13. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 23 Mar 1983
  14. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 25 Jun 1984
  15. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 11 Oct 1984
  16. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 24 Aug 1985
  17. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 21 & 24 May 1988
  18. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 21 Apr 1989
  19. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 19 May 1989
  20. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 9 & 12 Sep 1991
  21. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 3 Jun 1994 & 25 Jul 1994
  22. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 27 Sep 1995; 20, 21 & 31 Oct 1995; & 16 Nov 1995
  23. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 8 & 10 Nov 1995
  24. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 15, 16 & 17 Nov 1995
  25. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 17 Nov 1995
  26. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 25 Nov 1995
  27. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 1 Jan 1996
  28. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 16 Sep 1996
  29. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 19 Sep 1997 & 7 Oct 1997
  30. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 9 Jun 1998
  31. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 23 & 24 Dec 1999
  32. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 11 Jan 2000
  33. ↑ Prince George Citizen: 5 & 31 Oct 2009; & 17 Feb 2010
  34. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 24 Jan 2011
  35. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 7 May 2011
  36. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 21 May 2011
  37. ↑ Prince George Citizen, 2 Feb 2013
  38. ↑ "Purchase of Azouzetta Lake Lodge a sign of things to come for Powder King".
  39. ↑ https://stay.powderking.com/cabins-suites/
  40. ↑ "Colliers International". Colliers International. December 14, 2022.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.