John Korobanik
Unbelievable. That was the word Dave Gibson, president of Marmot Basin, used a number of times Wednesday evening to describe the newest area that will be opened in the resort this winter – Tres Hombres.
From experience, I can say it will be an area of incredible expert skiing that will complete the transformation of Marmot from a family ski hill to a full-blown mountain resort offering everything a person wants to ski or ride.
“I skied Tres Hombres and it is an absolutely amazing experience that will blow you away,” said Gibson. “It is unbelievable.”
Five runs, black or double black diamond, 367 vertical metres, and Marmot’s longest uninterrupted fall-line. The five Tres Hombres runs are accessed from the top of the Paradise quad chair and have an average slope angle of 32.13° with the steepest sections at 45°.
With a run length of almost 700 metres, Tres Hombres is equivalent to three times the length of Charlie’s Bowl.
While Marmot opens on Friday, Tres Hombres will open once all the required fencing and gates are in place and the area deemed safe to ski by the Marmot Basin avalanche control and safety team.
“I have to tell you this is a major accomplishment,” Gibson said after Wednesday’s formal announcement in Edmonton. “This area, which is in our leasehold area but has never been open to the public, represents more than 10 years of work, a great deal of patience and endurance and the never-ending support I have from our ownership group.
“I truly do believe if you can dream it you can make it happen. I have to tell you there was a lot of dreaming in this project.”
Gibson said they hope to get the area open before Christmas.
“We have to get the wind in there, get the snow, you’ll never be able to groom it, it’ll all be boot packed, and then we’ll jump in there and hopefully we’ll get it open before Christmas.
“A north face slope, which means it gets little sun and the prevailing southwest winds that come over the Knob area fill that area with unbelievable Rocky Mountain power snow.”
Approval to open the area came after a three-year goat study and two-year caribou review. Marmot agreed to an 18 per cent, or 118-acre reduction in its leasehold area to address concerns Parks Canada had about potential caribou habitat in the Whistler Creek area.
“Marmot also voluntarily removed the option of a future chairlift in the Tres Hombre area,” said Gibson.
With this amazing news still buzzing around the room of the Royal Mayfair Golf and Country Club Wednesday, we also learned that Marmot is also moving ahead with even more dramatic plans.
Next on the drawing board will be a lift, a high-speed quad, taking skiers and boarders from a base area near the mid-mountain chalet to Marmot Peak. That will bring lift-access to Peak Run, that stunning open bowl that looms so enticingly above the resort and currently is only accessible to those hardy souls willing to hike above the top of the Knob Chair.
There’s still plenty of work and negotiations to be done on this step, and it will require another huge financial commitment from the ownership group that has already poured about $35 million into the resort’s development over the last decade.
In the meantime, Marmot opens Friday morning with some of its best opening day conditions ever, so get out the skis and boards and take advantage of the early opening.
