TIMMINS – While the early arrival of winter may not be bringing a smile to everyone's faces, it was hard to spot a frown on Saturday at Kamiskotia Snow Resort in Timmins.
The site was celebrating its earliest opening in decades.
"It's pretty awesome. Actually, I think everybody's pretty stoked that we're open… and to tell you the truth, the staff and I are really happy too," said J.P. Clutier, Operations Manager.
The resort has 18 runs offering a variety of terrain and views. Frequents users say conditions on opening day are comparable to those later in the season.
"First off, the fact that we have this much snow this early is unprecedented. I haven't seen this in a long time… this kind of skiing didn't happen until January last year," said Carson Sharp, ski enthusiast.
Kamiskotia has been a Timmins jewel for over 80 years, of which for 40 of them, Arv Senkus has worked as a Ski Patroller.
"I live here and I enjoy the skiing and I enjoy the ski patrol, I so stay with it," explained Senkus.
"I'm hoping that public's starting to see that we're really trying to improve and open it up as early as we can," said Cloutier.
Although it was all smiles on opening day, there's somewhat of a dark cloud hover over Kamiskotia Snow Resort as they owe money in back taxes to the City of Timmins.
On September 10, resort officials asked council for a grant that would wipe away most of it.
Council is waiting for an official financial statement from the resort.
The city says if the resort does not get the financial help it needs, it runs the risk of being tax registered.
