As Mount Washington Alpine Resort puts the finishing touches on more than $2,000,000 of improvements, the resort has put their season passes on sale for the upcoming winter.
The offerings include a Gold Pass for both alpine and Nordic skiing, a Nordic only pass, and the return of a pass for mid-week use only.
Also returning this season will be the popular "six-pack" of alpine lift tickets which can be shared among family and friends.
The resort improvements include the installation of 10 new snowmaking guns plus a new restaurant, a new retail store, a new demo centre, 500 new pairs of rental skis and snowboards, and three new snow cat grooming machines to bring the total groomer fleet to eight.
Peter Gibson, the general manager at Mount Washington, noted, "The resort is going through a resurgence, and all of the changes are designed to improve or augment the guest experience.
“For example, with the purchase of three new snow cats, our pass holders will see more consistency on our groomed runs. One of the machines is a winch cat which will allow us to get to some of those spots that are hard to reach on steeper terrain with a regular groomer."
Don Sharpe, director of business operations, explained that there is a pass to suit almost every need.
"The Gold Pass is the highest level of membership we offer. It gets you downhill skiing and boarding day and night, access to all of our Nordic terrain, and numerous other perks such as two free days at three other B.C. ski areas.
“In addition, most other ski areas in B.C. offer 25 per cent off of their day tickets to Mount Washington Gold Pass holders. If you want it all, then the Gold Pass is for you."
Sharpe announced the return of two popular passes to Mount Washington's product line, "We are very pleased to be able to reintroduce the Midweek Pass to the lineup this winter.
“We heard from some of our guests, especially retirees, who told us they only want to ski and ride Monday to Friday, so I guess you could say we brought it back by popular demand.
“The same could be said of our six-pack of tickets which lots of people buy at Thrifty Foods, and will be available at the beginning of November."
Nordic season passes are very affordable for cross-country skiers and snow shoeing, and a regular Alpine Pass is a good basic sevn-days-a-week option. There are special discounts for the Student Pass, and the biggest winners are Super Seniors who are more than 75 years young because they get their seasons passes for free. Families of three or more also get a special deal on season passes with 10 per cent off of each pass for a family member.
To help encourage new participants to learn to ski and snowboard, kids who have never been skiing or snowboarding can buy a Rookie Year Pass, which combines an unlimited season pass, unlimited ski or snowboard rentals and unlimited afternoon group lessons all season long.
Gibson concluded his remarks by noting, "This is all part of our emphasis on the guest experience and the lifetime of enjoyment we hope our customers will have at Mount Washington."
More information is available at www.mountwashington.ca. Purchases can be made online or by calling or visiting the Season Pass office at the mountain. Early bird pricing is in place until Oct. 10, 2016.
About Mount Washington
With over 1,000 cms of snow in the winter of 2015-16, Mount Washington Alpine Resort is located just 30 minutes from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and hosts over 300,000 visits per year.
In the winter guests enjoy five chairlifts and five carpet lifts accessing over 1,700 acres and 1,657 vertical feet of alpine terrain. The resort also has 55 kilometres of designated cross-country skiing and 25km of snowshoeing trails along with a dedicated Nordic lodge.
Summer activities at Mount Washington include lift-accessed mountain biking, a new quad bungee trampoline, scenic chairlift rides, disc golf, miniature golf, boardwalk chess and checkers, shopping and dining.
The resort also plays host to over 30 weddings per year plus numerous group and corporate events.
Off-island visitors can use WestJet, Air Canada, Central Mountain Air, and Pacific Coastal Airlines which provide air service to the Comox Valley Airport (YQQ) or they can fly right into Comox Marina via Harbour Air. Additional carriers serving the Victoria Airport (YYJ) includes Alaska Airlines out of Seattle.