Local Ski Resorts Delight World-Class Athletes

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

L-R: Mercedes Nicoll, 2006 & 2010 Olympian and professional Snowboarder, Justin Van Der Poelen, pro Snowboarder, Dominique Vallee 2006 Olympian and pro Snowboarder, Geoff Andriuk, photographer, Helen Schettini, pro Snowboarder, Nate Laverty, videographer

Prince George, B.C. - Tourism Prince George rolled out the red carpet for a six-member contingent from Snowboard Canada Magazine this past week, then sprinkled it liberally with powder - as in, amazing spring skiing conditions.

The group arrived in the city last Monday evening to explore the region's offerings when it comes to the sport of snowboarding - and to collect pictures, videos and board-on-snow experiences for a feature article in next season's Women's Annual edition of the magazine. 

Speaking at Tabor Mountain Ski Resort yesterday, on the final day of their visit, spokesperson, Dominique Vallee, says, "We've been really impressed and also surprised - we didn't know what to expect, but this was way beyond our expectations."

First up for the crew was a trip to the as-of-yet unopened Bearpaw Heli Skiing Lodge in the McGregor Mountain Range for two days of heli-boarding.  The new business will go operational next year.  Vallee says the company's backcountry tenure is the size of a small country.  She says the terrain was unbelievable and the people were very welcoming.

The group spent another two days at Powder King Mountain Resort, where the snowboarder says there was incredibly great powder for this time of year.  But Vallee says they were also taken by the people at the hill.  "It was more of a lifestyle, whether they were 60 or 20, they were just embracing the mountain everyday," she says.  "We called it 'soul riding' - they were just loving it so much."

In wrapping up their tour, Vallee describes the area and its opportunities as a 'hidden gem', saying what sets the local resorts apart from their southern counterparts, "is there's nobody around you and you're not fighting for powder turns."

Tabor Mountain Ski Resort Manager, Virginia O'Dine, says it was a lot of fun to have the world-class athletes close out the ski season at the hill.  "They seem like a really friendly, outgoing and hard-working crew," she says.  "It's really neat to see the higher calibre of riding."

And Tourism Prince George CEO, Aidan Kelly, says there are already spin-offs to the visit, as the group is planning to return next year.  He says they've been using social media to its fullest during their time in Prince George and the surrounding region - Facebook, Twitter, blogging - "and that stuff travels all over the world."

In addition, Kelly says the pictures and videos will also be used by Tourism Prince George to update its resort guide.  He points out Tabor has never been included in the guide and the pictures promoting Powder King are from the 1980s ad 90s.  "It's material we can use to get the message out there that, 'Hey, this is the experience that these top-level athletes had when they were here and you can come along and have the exact same experience yourself.'"

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