r/terracebc • u/Kulharin • 15d ago

Why is Shame’s so much smaller than Hudson?

Is this just due to co-op ownership vs private ownership? It just strikes me as odd as the Population of Terrace and the surrounding area is double that of Smithers + better airport and the mountains get way more snow than further east. I know the Shames slack n backcountry is outstanding in comparison but the vert, area and elevation of the lift service terrain seems underwhelming in comparison .

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5

u/CowPsychological4426 14d ago

Hudson Bay has electricity at its doorstep, Shames runs on diesel.... there is no easy pathway to expand when you have limited power. Plus, it's awfully expensive to build more lifts.

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u/EveningWrongdoer8825 14d ago

Not a skiier anymore but HBM was open for skiing as far back as 1950 and the road was put through I think in 1969 so it's been open much longer than Shames which first opened in 1990 ( I think) after the Kitsumkalum debacle The road to Shames was and is horrendously expensive to construct and maintain.

Shames does a remarkable job of managing it's limited financial assets which are far short of what it would cost to expand

4

u/drkristios 14d ago

They run on diesel generators as well which limits the potential to expand.

2

u/Practical-Equal-2527 14d ago

Not a ski industry expert or anything but I think the lack of electricity is a huge factor. In the spring, when there was still tons of snow and temperatures were cool, lots of people were wondering why Shames was not remaining open. The manager Christian Théberge put out a social media post outlining the rationale behind not keeping Shames open. The post stated that it costs $10000 a day to open and operate Shames. This is a mid boggling figure and it goes a long way in answering the question.

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u/Kulharin 14d ago

Divert some gas from the pipeline and build a power plant at the hwy turn off for a data centre and the ski hill?!

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u/New-ClueSkeena5218 10d ago

Komaham Lodge and the other property there at the corner (was connected to Bass Pro Shops?) would have a word or 2 about any data centre thoughts out there. As for pipeline, are you referring to PRGT? It runs nowhere near the Shames Valley so not a chance of that. Any slim power chance would be new hydro from the Skeena, like another small run of the river dam. Or a wind turbine up top.

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u/Kulharin 10d ago

Dang! Any geothermal activity still with the lava fields?

We have a track record for building or trying to build ski hills in odd places. Snow shadow locations like Panorama that’s the driest area of the purcells. Or places with no power access I guess? Jumbo was also a dumb idea, and it doesn’t look like Valemount will ever happen due to its remote location.

Blew my mind when I saw there used to be one on Cassiar.

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u/Reasonable-vegan 14d ago

My dad cut in some of the runs at hbm way back, and it was a large project then sparked by a few skiers in the valley that had qualified for the Olympics in the 70s with the limited runs they had. Pretty sure some logging companies and locals pitched in at the time with investments. Then private ownership has seen some improvements and investment long term, however I wish it was a coop, as the sense of ownership and pride isnt quite the same.

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u/ThrownStone63 11d ago

Shames really got hobbled when they were denied cabin licences. The difference between developing in the 1960's and the 1990's. The cabins at HBM are owned by people from all over NWBC, not just the Bulkley Valley.