 Congratulations to our winners of our 2018 Fundraising Raffle!
1st Place - Big White Ski Resort 5 night, 5 lift passes, rentals & lessons for four people (value $5850) - winner Carole Pitchko 2nd Place - Sun Peaks Resort 4 night, 4 lift passes for four people (value $2340) - winner Shawn Silva 3rd Place - Revelstoke Mountain Resort 3 night ski and stay for four people (value $3300) - winner Ryan Milne 4th Place - Hart Highlands Winter Club (Hart Ski Hill) Family Pass (value $400) - winner Mike Jurcic
2 Comments
We welcome Jess Koppe as (our) manager of the Hart Ski Hill. Jess is a professional ski instructor, freestyle ski coach and former Snow School Director of Tabor Mountain Ski Resort. Jess brings her many years of experience from several different mountains and resorts and has been a large part of last years activity at the Hart Highlands Winter Club. In May, of 2017 we started a 10 year development plan to bring in much needed assistance for our hill like snowmaking to help keep us going for another 50 years. Jess jumped into the role of a director with our board, her expertise in the ski industry, marketing and connections helped us with many new programs like bringing in the school district programming and, after a successful winter season, we are thrilled to have hired her on permanently as our Hill Manager. She brings many years of skiing, marketing and administrative experience to the Hart Ski Hill, as well as deep-seated dedication to promoting and growing the sports of skiing and snowboarding and their culture in our community. She can’t imagine life without being on a ski hill. 
 Hello Members, January 19, 2018
It’s been awhile since you have heard from me. It has been a very busy time for many of us. But first let’s celebrate, today is our 30th open day for the ski/board season of 2017/2018. We have surpassed last year and the year before. This is what we needed and it’s all because of the HUGE project we took on called SNOW MAKING. That new building you see is the pump house which is 95% completed. We need to do a few things on the outside of the building and landscape around it but it has definitely been doing it’s job of pumping the water to the Snow Gun. Matt Johnson has been our Snow making person. He has been learning all about our Silent Pole Cat Snow Gun called GAIRNS GUN. Matt has spent many a night at the hill with his bed and checks on the gun on the hour. He calls it his winter lodge, where when the lights are off on the hill he gets to see the deer or the foxes walking about. Many of you may see him walking about the hill and just checking to see how people are doing. Thanks Matt, you are proving to the community that having manmade snow will make our season longer. You have been a huge help to the hill. Thank you. Concession has had a fresh look thanks to our new Supervisor, Carrie Johnson. She has brought in new food items, like homemade soups, chilli, breakfast sandwiches, and BLTs. We are super excited about the new grill that has arrived and will soon be installed. If you thought the burgers are good now wait till it’s up and running. Carrie also designed our new logo that we have put on some toques and they have been flying off the shelf. Our concession is building a name for it’s self and the poutine fries are pretty darn good. Wayne Andrews is still at the hill and doing what he does best, puttering, fixing, grooming, helping kids, giving me heck and eating his pepsi and cheezies (his regular diet). He’s a happy camper if those two things are in stock and at his disposal. Thanks Wayne for all your hard work on the hill. We so appreciate it. Perry, Ryan and Cindy have been managing extremely well in the rental shop. I’m told that he has a 2 year waiting list for employees that want to join. How cool is that!!!! They have been busier than ever and I’m told that the equipment sometimes get’s cycled through twice in a full day. Unbelievable!!!!! New equipment arriving soon. Good job you guys. Hart Snow School has new management, Adam Dumonceaux, who took over for Lisa and Wayne Kemp. Adam is also a very busy with lessons and we have already had 5 weeks of kids going through his 4 day lessons. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that their children went through the program, loved it and have now joined as Members. Adam has also added a website www.hartsnowschool.com A few new things happening, is our relationship building with other Ski Clubs. Nancy Greene program is back at the Hart and we are thrilled to see these young kids learning the sport of skiing. We welcome them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are also seeing the older Alpine Ski teams come and practise on the hill. They tell us that they get more runs/practise time in a shorter period of time than at any other hill and they love that. We are also really looking forward to when the Northern BC Freestyle Ski club is ready to come and practise at the Hart. They were instrumental in helping us with the Terrain park in the fall and all their volunteer time when the pump house was being built. We too will welcome them with open arms. Our NEW Ruckus Terrain Park has been busy. Sure wish I could get some of our manmade snow over there but for sure next year. I spoke with a few people last night and they said they had a blast in the park. Remember Helmets are MANDATORY and only do what you feel you are capable of doing. Thanks to Mark and Stephanie at Ruckus. You guys ROCK. I do want to remind you all of some REALLY neat happenings for the Hart Ski Hill. Tonight is the Integris Revamped Mega 50/50 Jackpot at CN Centre. Integris in partnership with the Cougars 50/50 Society, will be purchasing $20,000.00 worth of 50/50 tickets, and starting at noon today, they’ll be giving a Free $10 strip of 50/50 tickets to the first 2,000 fans (19+). The Cougars are playing the Lethbridge Hurricanes. For the first time ever, 18 local non-profit agencies will benefit from the Integris Mega 50/50jackpot, thus a larger jackpot makes a larger impact in our community. I highly encourage you to attend this game tonight so that everyone benefits from this extremely generous donation by Integris for the community of Prince George. Also on Sunday we are having the Wendy’s World Snow Day. There will be a barbeque set up, thanks to Wendy’s, and it’s all by donation with 100% coming to the hill. Our ski groups are coming out and setting up, so that our members will be able to try a Salomon course or try a few tricks on a rainbow rail that will be brought closer to the lodge. If this day turns out to be a success, next year will be bigger. I also want to let you know that we are going to open for a full day on the first Pro D Day in January. That is January 29th. Regular hours of 10 – 4 and we will still open that evening. Thanks to all our employees who have made themselves available on this day. Speaking of people. I want to thank all our employees (Liftees, Rental and Concession) for taking their training, for showing up for their scheduled shifts, and for working hard. We couldn’t do it without you. Also want to thank many volunteer individuals that are behind the scenes like our mechanics that work on the groomer, snowmobiles, kabota etc. These two men Jim and Dave make sure the equipment is ready for the summer season and winter season. I’ve also got two volunteers Ben and Lee that are very helpful when it comes to our lights on the hill. Without those two, night skiing wouldn’t happen. Ski Patrol is vital to our hill and a huge thank you to our Lead Patroller, Matt Pacholko for ensuring that the Hart Ski Hill is well covered by CSP members. They all seem to be very happy at our hill. Also the Junior Ski Patrol is one of the largest we’ve ever had and the kids are so committed and excited to help our Ski Patrol. Thanks Nathan and Leanne for training our young Junior Ski Patrollers. We are so lucky to have this program that was started many years ago by our Past President Mike Gareau. Thanks Mike, you are missed. Adult Supervision is going extremely well and thank you to everyone for placing your name down on the calendar and fulfilling your mandatory volunteer time. Again because of this program our children are safe and secure on the hill. Thanks Carrie. You are doing a great job with managing the volunteers. Big thank you to Pat Bell, who has been our Fund Raising lead. If it hadn’t been for this man, the Snow Gun, the pumphouse and everything that goes with it would not have happened. We are not letting him go. Many of you may see him on the hill, as he also joined us as a Ski Instructor. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the individuals, companies, business owners that donated products, equipment, materials, money towards the Project of Snowmaking. We have a plan to thank them personally but I do want to thank them here and now as it was so heartwarming to see a community come together for our facility. It has overwhelmed me the generosity of so many people. But let’s not forget we have a huge spring ahead of us. We plan on burying TR Flex ductile pipe in the ground to cover the entire hill. We will be needing more community support and definitely volunteer labour hours. You will be hearing from me J I also will take this time to mention our Board Members. We met a lot of new people this spring due to the snow making project and because of that we made some very good friends who decided they wanted to join and help our Club. Each of them bring their expertise to the table and for that I’m grateful. The Board of Directors for the Ski Season of 2017/2018 is: Bernadette Kipping, President Josh Bergen, Vice President Janet Mobley, Treasurer Matt Pacholko, Secretary Directors: Jessica Hudson Trudy Pacholko Deryl Truman Harold Spensley Curt Steeves Thank you everyone and hope to see you at the events I noted above. If I have forgotten somebody or something, I apologize. As I mentioned before it’s been a hectic year and I don’t know how Mike did it from going from the paid job to the non paid job. Allows a girl to getting her 10,000 steps on her fitbit. Happy Friday. Bernadette Kipping President of HHWC DECEMBER 14TH UPDATE
Although at this time we are very close to being able to open for the season; we do have a couple areas of concern that weather permitting we will be working on as soon as we can. Our Snow Gun can only begin to operate at -5 and lower so at this time the difficult decision was made that we will NOT be able to open this Saturday as we had hoped. An update will be given every morning until we can open. Thank you for your understanding and patience . A big thank you to all who have made the Hart Highlands Ski School great!
It is with appreciation and mixed emotions that we, Wayne & Lisa Kemp announce our retirement from the Hart Highland Ski School. The Ski School has been a true source of pride and enjoyment for our family over the years. Our own children grew up on the hill learning to ski and snowboard and when they were old enough, they too became certified instructors and taught for many years before entering into careers of their own. Prince George is very fortunate to have such a unique hill located in the heart of the community and only minutes from town. We have been privileged to instruct so many of your children, grandchildren and even yourselves. To have been able to watch the confidence of a beginner grow with the proper guidance as they learn to navigate the hill and the sport of skiing and snowboarding has been truly rewarding. We have been operating the Hart Highland Ski School from the Hart Highlands Winter Club for about 30 years and during that time the community, staff, and volunteers have been a big part of our winter family. The time has come for the next generation to continue and grow the ski school. Adam Dumonceaux has been a loyal, dependable instructor, and assistant director for more than 10 years and is the only level 3 certified snowboard instructor in Prince George. We are lucky to have someone with his credentials and passion for the sport and we are confident that Adam will do wonderful things as the next director of the Hart Snow School. Wayne and Lisa Kemp again would like to thank each of our loyal and dedicated instructors and admin staff along with all the directors, staff, and volunteers at the Club from the cafeteria, to rental staff, lifties and ski patrol; and especially to all of you that have participated in lessons with the Hart Highland Ski School making it successful for the past 30 years. We wish all of you great success in the future winter seasons to come. Wayne & Lisa NOTICE
Annual General Meeting (AGM) HART HIGHLANDS WINTER CLUB WHEN: November 28th, 2017 WHERE: 3740 Winslow Dr. (ski hill) TIME: 7:00p.m. AGENDA: Election of Board of Directors Anyone interested or knows of anyone interested in putting their name forward as a Board of Director, please contact Bernadette Kipping. This is an opportunity for members to ask any questions regarding the past year and any decisions the Hill will take in the future. Hope to see you on November 28th, 2017 at the Ski Hill.  LIFT OPERATOR
Lift operators are responsible for the safe and efficient operation of mountain lifts, and the customers that use them. They spend their days helping customers, of all skill levels, load and unload from lifts, in all kinds of weather. As a result, enjoyment of the outdoors is a must! The job of a lift operator is critical to the success of any ski operation because much of the customer’s time is spent with them. Responsibilities: Provide excellent customer service and create positive memories for the guests Operate the assigned lift safely and efficiently Provide physical assistance to guests as required Maintain all operational aspects of the assigned lift – ramps, mazes and signs Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Possess excellent employee and public relation skills and enjoy working with the public Mature, energetic, dependable and self-motivated Able to reason and react with quick, thoughtful judgment, while remaining calm under pressure Capable of performing physical/manual duties Enjoy working outdoors in all kinds of weather Please email Resume to [email protected] September 19th, 2017Hello Members. RE: First Official Work Bee set for Saturday, September 23rd, 2017 at 10:00am Just letting you know that we have been very fortunate with many people coming forward to help us at the hill in one way or another. Not sure if any of you noticed, but last Friday we had Curt Steeves, one of our members, close up his Acklands-Grainger’s office so that himself and his workers came to our hill to do a massive workbee. WOW that was super and a big Thank You to Curt and his crew. What this means is there isn’t too much left to do but . . . . . This Saturday I do need your help. If you own a weed whacker, please bring it. Please also bring work gloves as we are going need help in the following areas:
If we have a good turnout I don’t anticipate that we will be long at the workbee. Sure would be nice to see our members show as this is the time we need you. Thank You. Bernadette Kipping, President of HHWC August Update 2017Your Community ski hill run by volunteers
Hello members. It’s been awhile since I last sent out an e-mail. I thought it was time that I provided an update as to what has been happening at the Hart Ski Hill. Nothing that you can actually see . . . . yet, but there have been lots and lots of meetings and tons of e-mails. You may or may not have heard the rumours about the Hart bringing in Snowmaking. Well that is true and our plan. We are close but still have lots to do and this is where I need some help. First though, let me tell you what has been going on behind the scene. We have many things on the go.
I want to acknowledge and name some of the people that have come forward with ideas and to make this happen. They are:
We are looking for the following: Project manager/coordinator:
It’s also that time of the year for our annual work bees and we are looking for a: Fall maintenance coordinator:
Then we are hoping to find the following: Phone callers:
If you are able to find time to help us in any one of these positions, please contact myself at 250-617-3452 or [email protected]. These are very important jobs and we need help. Please come forward. Thank you in advance. I also want to ask that you share this information. Spread the word, let them know that donations are welcome. Snowmaking alone is roughly a $200,000.00 venture. But we truly believe, after the few rough years that we have had, with very few days open in the past two years, that we all want a great year. The basis of snowmaking is to make a firm, hard base, so that when the actual snow comes we are ready for tons of kids to ski or board and they won’t ski off all the snow and go down to dirt. I also want to advise any of our members/neighbours that back on to the hill that we apologize in advance for the sewing machine sound (as that is what we were told a silent pole cat sound is) for that potential two week period that we are making snow 24/7. Please be patient, please understand why we are doing this, and why it’s happening. It will be well worth it in the end. Our kids will be having so much fun, that all this time, effort, and money will have been put to great use. Thanks for your time and again, please, please members come forward and help the rest of us out. We need you. Thank you very much. Bernadette Bernadette Kipping President of HHWC |
Up Next..Will you be there? Archives
December 2018
Events |
RSS Feed