Alberta's Nitehawk To Re Open With T Bar After Landslip Damage To Chair

In May 2020  a landslide  damaged several runs at Nitehawk Year-Round Adventure Park, causing the not for profit to close whilst damage to the resort's chair was assessed. 

Slope movement on the hill is constantly monitored. As a precaution, steps to mitigate potential damage were taken this spring with the removal of chairs, tower assemblies and the haul rope was de-tentioned.

At the time  Acting General Manager Johnathan Clarkson said “We have been monitoring things when we saw some increased movement, [but] this isn’t definitely isn’t something that we anticipated happening,” 

“We’re thankful this event occurred when no one was on location,” says Board Vice President Whitney Wild. “Our Board of Directors and Management are working with geotechnical professionals to determine next steps and possible solutions.”

“We are thankful our management and maintenance staff had completed preventive measures so damage to chairlift infrastructure appears to have been avoided,” Wild says. “All other lift, snowmaking and guest experience infrastructure was not affected.”

“A landslide of this size was not anticipated,”says Wild. “Nitehawk is no stranger to facing and overcoming adversity. Operating a successful community ski hill in Northern Alberta is no easy feat. Our resiliency, along with the incredibly supportive community, will help us deal with this new challenge head on.”

The Grande Prairie Ski Club owns and operates the Nitehawk Recreation Area, and is dedicated to Nitehawk’s operation and future expansions. The Grande Prairie Ski Club was incorporated as a non-profit society on November 10, 1960. The first ski area for Grande Prairie was on the banks of the Smoky River near Bezanson.

The upcoming season brings good news with a New tbat being installed. The resort says:

Nitehawk is Preparing for an Enhanced 2021/22 Winter Season! And our Board of Directors & Management Team are very excited to be able to announce that a New T-Bar Lift is currently being installed on the west side of the Showoff Run.

General Manager Johnathan Clarkson says shovels are already in the ground and the project is moving forward.

“If everything goes smoothly and we don't experience any roadblocks, we hope to have the new T-bar lift operational by early January 2022.”

Once the T-bar Lift is in place, Nitehawk’s Management and Board of Directors plan to open more terrain on the east side of the Ski Hill, including Showoff and Connector.

Other runs such as Easy Street, Temptation, Home Run, Rollercoaster, Slowpoke and The Shoot are expected to be reopened over the next few seasons in a phased approach, as work will be done to ensure long-term stabilization of all areas of the hill.

“We will also have all the terrain the public had access to last season, which included Bob's Bump, Upper Showoff, the Inked Energy Pipeline, Will-O-Way, the Terrain Park and the Aquatera Tube Zone,” Clarkson says.

Community support has been tremendous, Clarkson says, adding Nitehawk has been seeking assistance from heavy equipment operators and trades people to ensure the project is completed on the tight schedule.

Fundraising Initiatives

A Landslide Recovery Fund is in place to help Nitehawk raise money for renewed facilities. This includes proceeds from the past year’s fundraising events such as the Annual Comedy Nite as well as a partnership with the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta allowing donors to receive tax deductible receipts: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/51709

Upcoming Events:

• The Annual Ski & Snowboard Swap is set for November 5 and 6 at Evergreen Park. Information for this event is available at: https://gonitehawk.com/annual-ski-snowboard-swap/
• Targeted Winter Season Opening, Saturday November 20th (weather dependent)

The Ski Area was relocated to its present location in 1972 / 1973. A chalet was built at the bottom of the hill and a T-Bar lift was installed. The Ski Club grew rapidly in the 1980’s from 385 members in 1981 – 1982 to 900 members in 1984 – 1985. In 1987 the chalet was relocated to the top of the hill, new runs added along with a platter lift. Major additions, including a lounge and pro shop were added to accommodate the larger skier numbers. In 1994 the Club installed a used Yan triple chair lift to replace the T-Bar Lift.

In 1998 The Grande Prairie Ski Club took over all revenue generating operations of the hill including the Rental Shop.