Plans to build the first year-round ski destination in North America have come a step further with the company behind the plan, Valemount Glacier Destinations Ltd. (VGD) announcing that they and the Province of British Columbia have completed a Master Development Agreement (MDA) for, "a major year-round glacier sightseeing and skiing destination" near Valemount, British Columbia.
British Columbia is of course already home to the two ski areas with the biggest skiable vertical in North America at Revelstoke and Whistler Blackcomb, the latter also offering around an 8 month snowsports season thanks to its own glacier skiing but Valemount, which is located inland on the eastern side of BC, just across the provincial border from Jasper in Alberta, has much bigger plans.
The MDA is the culmination of a five year approval process taking in all the various stake holders and Tommaso Oberti of Oberti Resort Design and the Pheidias Group, who are behind the resort project commented,
"It brings great satisfaction to reach this milestone and to design and work to build a destination that is world-class and truly community-driven."
"This location opens lift access to one of the best snow zones and reliable climates for snow sports on the continent," Oberti added, " A modern lift system designed for both sightseers and skiers will take visitors to the summits of Mount Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Twilight Glacier, and the majestic McLennan Glacier. It will be a true multi-peak experience surrounded by stunning glaciers,"
The project is in the Premier Range, in the territory of the Simpcw First Nation, from whom VGD has secured support and has worked with from the beginning. "We have appreciated that Chief Nathan Matthew and his Council have seen positively the promise of a significant tourism destination in their territory" says Oberti. The Simpcw have participated extensively in the project through their environmental consulting company, Estsek.
The company say that this summer will now be dedicated to final surveys and engineering of the lifts with the aim that construction work gets underway in summer 2018 with the objective of an opening for Christmas 2018.
The first phase of resort development will not reach the year-round snow fields, this is due to happen in a second phase of lift development which would see lifts reaching 3,025m opening up a vertical drop of 2,090m (the new largest in North America and one of the largest in the world).
"At that point the public access to large glaciers at over 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) elevation – the only such access in North America – will make Valemount a major sightseeing and year-round skiing destination, welcoming visitors from the nearby National Parks and from around the world," a company statement reads.
The Master Plan can be downloaded from the project website: http://www.valemountglaciers.com/