‘Best in the last 10 years,’ Local resorts reap the benefits of mild March Break weather

Local resorts are booming this March Break with the perfect mix of snow and mild temperatures.

This Wednesday marked the middle of March Break, which meant that local resorts were packed with families as they have been all week.

For many resorts, March Break is also an important turning point in the tourism calendar, as it represents the last big week for winter activities and the first big week for spring activities.

Additionally, this week’s ideal combination of snow on the ground and mild temperatures in the air, presented an even greater opportunity for local tourism. “We’re feeling really positive about March Break,” said John Ball, general manager of Snow Valley Ski Resort. “Lot’s of people coming in, and it is going to be sort of the icing on the cake for this season, which has been fantastic so far.”

Around this time last year — on March 17 to be exact — Snow Valley was forced to close for the season due to persistent mild temperatures and melting snow.

This time around, a one-metre snow base and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark have allowed all of the resort’s eight lifts and 20 trails to be open for March Break.

Ball confirms that thousands of skiers and kids off school have hit the slopes this week.

“If we do close with a fantastic March Break, it lets us get into next season and do all of the improvements we need to do,” added Ball.

The week has also been a crucial week for year-round resorts, as nearly a hundred families have been visiting a sold-out Fern Resort in Ramara Township.

“Best in the last 10 years, we’re actually up 150 per cent year over year,” said Mark Downing, Fern Resort president and owner. “March Break is sort of the very end of a great winter season for us, then we do transition from winter activities in the spring and into the summer.”

Snow Valley management says they expect the ski resort to stay open until at least the end of March. Blue Mountain’s hours as of March 31 are to be determined, while Mount St. Louis Moonstone’s and Horseshoe Valley’s ski resorts typically run until the end of March.

Mount St. Louis Moonstone’s general manager told CTV News they expect to run out of customers before they run out of snow this season.