The Kimberley Alpine Resort finished off their Christmas season with a bang — literally.
To cap off the final day in the holiday season, fireworks bloomed up and over the ski hill on New Year's Eve, finishing off a busy Christmas for staff at the resort.
Ted Funston, area manager for Kimberley Alpine Resort, said it was all about the snow. The ski hill has had nine feet of snow fall so far this year, which is two feet ahead of last year's incredible ski season.
"These great conditions combined with strong partnerships and a lot of hard work on the part of many people and organizations in the community including Tourism Kimberley, the local accommodators, the many other tourism providers, the City of Kimberley, and our team at Kimberley Alpine Resort resulted in what we feel was a busy and successful holiday season for the tourism industry and the community," Funston said.
Vacationers traveled from far and wide to hit the powder, but Funston said locals revelled in the white stuff as well.
"It was great to see so many local and visiting families having fun out there," he said.
To keep everyone busy the resort held a number of activities such as opening up the popular skating rink at the base of the hill, doing a night time glowstick run down the hill on New Year's Eve and launching a new Kids Trail at the top of the Midnight run.
The resort also offered a historical tour of the mountain, showcasing the original mining sites. The fireworks were perhaps the most exciting event of the holidays, which was done thanks to partnerships with Tourism Kimberley, Kimberley Snowmobile Adventures, Mountain Spirit Resort and Rocky's Ski and Snowboard.
"We'd like to thank the people of Kimberley for their support over the first part of the ski season," Funston said.
But the season is far from over, and so is the fun to be had. Night skiing continues, there is music and entertainment planned for the Stemwinder and plenty of fresh tracks to be had. It was a chilly day on the hill January 3, but with two centimetres of new snow and more in the forecast, this weekend will be a great one on the slopes.
Live music is planned for the Stemwinder all weekend. Recent bands have included local favourites the Hollers and 60 Hertz, among others. There's a great line up of performers slated for the rest of the season too, with the always popular Shane Phillip stopping by in early February.
On February 2, MADD Kimberley/Cranbrook will hold its first major event at the hill.
"We look forward to seeing everyone back up at the resort for what is promising to be another great ski season in Kimberley," Funston said.