Kimberley News
What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire
Check out this article by Jeff Pew, which is appearing in the upcoming issue of GO Cranberley magazine. It is an excellent chronicle of the year the resort and the community has just worked its way through.
We couldn’t agree more with quotes from the article like this, “Everyone picked themselves up and looked for the positive. We have so many reasons to feel proud and positive about our community.” And, “There’s a reason for all the adages about how we deal with adversity: It’s where our true nature emerges and Kimberley was no exception.”
https://www.jeffpew.com/
https://kootenaymedia.ca/winter-2022
We love you Kimberley skiers and riders! We are so stoked to have the Northstar Quad turning again, and to be getting you up for skiing and riding on the best early season conditions in almost a generation!
It’s showtime!
The Kimberley Alpine Resort Team
- Published in News
Opening Day is Sunday!
We are very excited to announce work on the Northstar Quad chair is complete and we will be open for the season this Sunday, December 18th!
Tickets are available for purchase online.
Guest Services will be open tomorrow (Saturday, Dec 17th) for season pass pick up from 10:30 – 5 :00, then 8:30-4:30 daily.
Please check our Snow Report for all the most up to date information in regards to terrain open and resort services hours.
Take a look at our Facebook & Instagram post to see the lift spinning!
- Published in News
Kimberley Northstar Quad Update – December 2022
Hello Kimberley skiers and riders!
We’re happy to report that the latest Northstar Quad Chair update is all good news at this point!
The lift has been turning daily for 10 days now, and the Leitner Poma crews and our teams have been working hard to get it ready for the certification and load testing process, which we are excited to say begins TOMORROW!
This process will take several days, after which the engineers from Leitner Poma will be in a position to certify the lift for public operation. We suggest getting your skis and boards waxed up and ready, and check back soon for our imminent opening day announcement.
Stoked to see you all up here soon!
Thanks,
Ted Funston and the KAR and RCR Team
- Published in News
Northstar Quad – Repair Update November 30th, 2022
Hello Kimberley Skiers and Riders! We are excited to report that things are shaping up beautifully for the ski season in Kimberley!
We have had over a metre of snow so far this fall, with about a foot in the last week, making for rapidly improving conditions up on the mountain. Also, the last month has been the best month for snowmaking we have ever had at the ski resort, so we have seen major progress on the Main and in our beginner for our imminent opening.
And we are stoked to report that the repair is proceeding really well on the Northstar Quad! All the required parts have arrived on site and have been installed in the lift. The Leitner Poma crews are back on site and are working diligently to get the lift operational as soon as they can. We hope to see the lift start turning as early as this weekend! And then once the testing and certification process is complete, we plan to open on the earliest date we can, sometime during the third week of December. We will publish an exact date as soon as we can.
We want to thank Leitner Poma once again for doing everything they can to get us all skiing and riding before Christmas. Please check back very soon as we will be excited to update you when the lift first turns.
With the rapidly improving conditions we are seeing increased uphill traffic on the mountain. We need you to stick to the designated up-track route on the Boundary run to go up and down, no exceptions. Skiing or riding anywhere else on the resort is strictly prohibited right now. We had skiers walk past our closed signs and ‘winch cat operation in progress’ signs today, which created a very dangerous situation and slows down our ability to get the resort open for everyone. Review our up-tracking and preseason mountain travel guidelines here.
Our team is stoked to get the resort open in full operation very soon. Can’t wait to see you all back up at the resort!
- Published in News
Up-Tracking & Pre-Season Mountain Travel Guidelines
Due to the recent snow, we have been seeing uphill traffic on the mountain. To keep everyone safe, we ask you to please stick to the designated up-track route on the Boundary run starting now.
We have snowmaking guns, high-pressure hoses, high voltage cables, plus snowmobiles and snowcats on the front side, and all our cats and snowmobiles traveling around the mountain, including the winch cat and cable, which is very dangerous. We are proud to be one of the only ski resorts around with a designated uptrack and we ask that you stick to it, and not go anywhere else on the mountain. Please see and follow the up-tracking rules here.
One of these rules is that there is no up-tracking after 8 pm or before 6 am. This means no skier traffic on the mountain anywhere, including Boundary, at night, period. This is primarily for everyone’s safety, but it’s also because seeing people on the resort at night is now a cause for alarm. To help protect everyone’s ski season, we have no choice but to consider these people to have possible ill intent. We remind you that we have cameras installed around the resort and on-site security personnel to monitor and respond to people’s activities, including up-tracking.
Also, if you chose to up-track on Boundary, please be aware that the ski resort is not currently open, there are many early season hazards, you decided to enter at your own risk, and there is no ski patrol or rescue available.
We share your excitement for the ski season and appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to safely get the resort open for everyone.
- Published in News
North Star Quad – Rebuild Update – November
Hello Kimberley Skiers and Riders! With the weather changing and the winter season quickly approaching, we wanted to provide another update on the North Star Quad Chair repair.
The team has been making great progress, and the timeline for opening the chair and starting the ski season is still within range of the normal opening day for Kimberley Alpine Resort as it is expected to be within the third week of December.
Very recently the lift manufacturer ran into some challenges and required additional electronic components to complete the repair. The good news is that these parts have been secured and are on their way with what we are told is a firm delivery date later this month. The installation crews are scheduled to be back on site within hours of these parts arriving and will resume their work to complete the repair and commission the chair.
The lift manufacturer has reaffirmed that they understand the critical importance of the North Star Quad Chair to the operation of the resort, and the importance of it for the economy and the well being of the whole community. There is no question that they are prioritizing our lift within their work schedules and parts assignments, and that they are committed to getting us up and running for this ski season, which we greatly appreciate.
There is a lot of excitement and optimism within our team for the upcoming ski season and we are in full preparation mode to get the resort ready for opening! Our snowmaking crews are trained up and ready to start making snow, which we expect to start this Saturday night due to the dropping temperatures. (For your safety please do not approach or get close to our snowmaking equipment or work crews.) There is a job fair this coming Thursday night in the Stemwinder to get all our departments staffed up for full operation. More information is available here.
We appreciate your excitement for getting the lift going soon and for the coming ski season, and look forward to providing further updates on the progress of the repair soon.
Thanks,
Ted Funston and the KAR Team
- Published in News
North Star Quad – Rebuild Update – October 2022
We are pleased to provide another progress update on the North Star Quad chair rebuild, especially since everything we have to share at this point is good news!
All parts required for the rebuild arrived on time, and the Leitner-Poma crews moved into Kimberley in September and have been working with local electrical crews on the lift daily. Once the components are installed, the next step will be commissioning by our crews and Leitner-Poma, and finally testing and approval to operate by Technical Safety BC. We expect the lift to be turning within weeks and the lift to be commissioned and cleared for operation by mid-November.
All indications continue to be that the lift will be ready to go well before our opening date in December. Thank you once again to Leitner-Poma for generously prioritizing the repair of our lift in their busy schedule.
Time to get your skis and boards waxed and ready for the upcoming season. We recommend you get your season pass before the end of the fall sale on October 14th.
Once again, please remember to give our work crews space around the lift and on the mountain roads. Our cameras and night security staff continue to report the odd person getting a bit too close.
- Published in News
North Star Quad Chair – Rebuild Update – August 2022
- Published in News
North Star Quad Chair – Rebuild Update
- Published in News
Northstar Express Quad Update – May 2022
Thank you once again for all your support this winter! We are really proud (and not surprised!) to see that Kimberley won the best small town in BC by CBC readers! And we were really stoked to see the Kimberley Alpine Team win the Mackenzie Investments Top Peak contest! Next up is voting for our friend Heather Gemmell and her powerful song about the arson on the Northstar Quad chair. Please give it a watch and vote for her now. Last winter is not too far behind us, but we want you to know that we are very focused on getting the Quad chair fixed and operational for next winter. Here is an update on our progress on the reconstruction of the Northstar lift control building and systems:
Immediately after the fire we placed orders for the primary components that are needed for the rebuild. This includes the drives (the electronic devices that control the speed and braking of the lift), the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) which is the computer system that manages the information coming from the various safety and control systems of the lift, and the communication lines that connect these systems from top to bottom.
Over the next few months these components are scheduled to arrive at Leitner-Poma’s facility in Kelowna, where their experts will assemble and program them to control the lift. They will then deliver them all to Kimberley and install them in a newly rebuilt lift control building (currently being planned), and reconnect all of the components to the Northstar.
It is hard to give an exact timeline of this process, but Leitner-Poma has generously prioritized the rebuilding of our lift in their production schedule and all efforts are being made to ensure that the Northstar will be running before next winter. We look forward to providing you with further regular and more detailed updates on the status of the project as it progresses.
Enjoy your spring!
The Kimberley Alpine Resort & Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Team
- Published in News