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Filled with some of the most devastating weather disasters in North America, this summer has been a tough one. Besides all the news about the hurricanes hitting the U.S., you may not even know that one of the WORST wildfire seasons on record is happening to our north in Canada. The devastating tally is over 1,031 fires burning over 2.2 MILLION acres since April 1. And, right in the center of this firestorm is Mt. Timothy, a small ski area that needs your help to open its doors this season. Let’s show our support and save Mt. Timothy.

What happened?

Just think for a second. If you’re a local skier and suddenly the entire region is engulfed in flames, would you be focused on buying a season pass or worried about the devastation around you? I don’t know about you, but I’d be thinking about everything BUT my season pass at this point. Well, that’s exactly what happened.

Mt. Timothy hasn’t been able to generate the season pass revenue they normally would because of this devastation and a few other factors. What about taxes you ask? Unfortunately, they’re outside of any municipal area boundary so can’t be supported by local service taxes. They must rely on ticket sales, donations, fundraising events, grants and volunteer time. Although they have a balanced operating budget and were able to generate a small profit last year, the prior debt hanging over them won’t allow this season’s needed preparations and to run operations during the upcoming 2017/18 season.

Why should you care about Mt. Timothy?

Mt. Timothy is 100% about the skiing. It’s not privately owned or managed by a mega-corporation like KSL or Vail Resorts. This ski area is 100% volunteer-driven and not-for-profit. This is THE soul of skiing where so many other places have been forced to shut down over the years. This is our chance as a ski/snowboard community to help them out.

How can I help?

They have a go fund me campaign running right now to raise over $50,000 (CDN) by Mid-October. This amount should provide sufficient funding to allow them to begin the recruitment process of key staff and start the required work on equipment in preparation for a December 15th opening. Let’s join in and help Mt. Timothy see another ski season.