HEADING UP in order to rush back down, these skiers ride the chairtif(t at Grouse Mountain.

SUNDAY
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SURVEYING THE SLOPES

SECTION

ENTERTAINMENT
AUTO - BUSINESS
REAL ESTATE

North Shore skiers
heading downhill

WITH THE lhghts on Grouse Mountain beginning
to shimmer hke a frosty diamond necklace, the ski

And with our recession-
bound province heading into
a winter where moncy will be
tighter than ever, there is
some sunshine amidst the
gloom — at least for local
skiers. You won't be paying
any more this season for
schussing the North Shore
slopes than you did Last year.
One area in fact has actually
reduced prices.

You see, the North Shore
skiing spots -— Grouse,
Mount Seymour and Cypress
Bow! — have been in a reces-
sion of ther own, but one
that is only slightly related to
the current economic slump
that has the entire country
reeling. The managers of
these ski areas would much
rather talk about the weather
than gross national product.

‘*The focal mountains
(resorts) have really been hurt
in the last six or seven years,”’
says Gary Keefer, the general
manager of Grouse Moun-
tain Resorts Led. Earl
Pletsch, the area manager for
the provincially-run Cypress
Bow! and Mount Seymour
resorts, agrees: **We’re at the
whim of the weather and it’s
been rough the lfast few
years.”’

Anyone who has paid cven
Passing aftention to the local
| slopes in recent umes knows
all about that. Although the
past (wo ski seasons were ac-
| ceptable in the snowfall
category, "76-77 and °71]-78
were very poor and 80-81 1s
generally acknowtcedged as
the worst winter for che white
stuff (as in lack of) in 25

SESS

X’MAS
SPECIALS
20% ott an HOCKEY

equipment
(skates not included)

20% ot: an CLOTHING
40% ott a TENNIS

(excluding oversized racquets)

20% ot: a RUNNING SHOES

NE WS photo Eric Eggertson

season must surely be upon us.

By JIM JAMIESON

years.

Faking all this as a back-
drop, then, let’s have a look
at what kind of skung we can
look forward to on the North
Shore this season.

GROUSE MOUNTAIN

Grouse is the real gem of
the local ski slopes. The tram
whisks you from the parking
fot at the top of North Van-
couver’s Nancy Greene Way
to the Chalet 1,100 metres
above Burrard Inlet. The
Panoramic view during the
day is breathtaking. At night
it’s better. With four double
chanrlifts, two T-bars and
two rope tows servicing an in-
teresting variety of beginner-
to-expert runs, the only
serious flaw Grouse has is the
fickle West Coast weather.
But the way things have

started off this season that
may not be a factor.

“*This is certainly one of
the best fall weather patterns

we’ve ever experienced,’’
says Keefer of his operation
which, thanks to some cooler
than usual temperatures,
opened for business the third
week in November. ‘‘ Because
of the good snowmaking con-
ditions, we’ve managed to
build up a very strong base
on our two main runs (The
Cut and Blueberry Bowl). I'd
say show conditions are the
most stable they’ve been in
eight years.’’

After spending $10 million
in 1976 to install the then
state-of-the-art Skyride tram
system and improve facilities
at the top of the mountain,
Grouse — along with the rest
of the coastal slopes — was
hit with a senes of brutally
mild winters. The eventual

result was receivership in
1981.
That turn of events

stabilized the company and
promptly put it back into the
black. ‘‘We tightened our
belts two notches and then
four more,’”’ says Keefer,
who has seen a positive cash
flow since "81. It is that
renewed fiscal confidence
that sparked Grouse to lower
ils prices this year.
CONTINUED ON PAGE B3

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