Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Ski Smithers, a small community ski hill in central British Columbia, is being transformed into a four-season resort. The 20/20 Group, a resort development company whose president Lorne Borgal once was CEO of Whistler, has designed a three-year expansion plan that includes both slope improvements and real estate totaling $75 million.

A change in name inaugurated the development. Ski Smithers is now known as Hudson Bay Mountain, the name of the mountain that houses the resort rather than the name of the local community of Smithers.

The immediate expansion plan includes the addition of another chairlift and 10 more runs. The Trail To Town, a run linking the mountaintop with the town, will be eight kilometers and have a vertical drop of 3,700 feet, catapulting the trail into one of British Columbia's longest runs. Future development plans could raise the number of lifts to nine.

The 20/20 Group also launched the first phase of real estate development by putting 37 fully-serviced home sites up for sale. These are part of the new ski in-ski out residential community of 148 home sites with architectural guidelines in place to control development. Home sites ranging from 8,500 to 20,000 square feet start at $137,900.

"Hudson Bay Mountain is the exact opposite experience to what Whistler is," said Borgal. "It provides a rare opportunity to build a safe, secure cabin surrounded by nature in a four-season mountain resort."