Shames Mountain is facing a mounting deficit as inflation and higher wage costs weigh on the popular ski hill located off of Hwy 16 between Terrace and Prince Rupert.

General manager Christian Th茅berge from My Recreational Mountain Cooperative, which runs the facilities on the mountain, called the past year 鈥渃hallenging鈥� in comparing expenses before the pandemic and now afterward.

Shames Mountain supplies its own power through diesel generators and fuel prices have skyrocketed.

鈥淲e were paying about $85,000 a year in diesel pre-pandemic and now we鈥檙e spending $180,000 in diesel,鈥� Th茅berge said. 鈥淥ur diesel expenses, since 2019, have nearly doubled.鈥�

Other costs that have increased exponentially since 2019, including insurance and wages, Th茅berge said.

Th茅berge said the co-op membership had voted to maintain ticket and season pass pricing, but it has been struggling to keep up with increasing expenses.

In 2019-20 season, Shames had pre-pandemic revenue of $1.3 million versus $1.8 million in the 2022-23, Th茅berge said. In contrast, expenses have increased from $1.3 million to $1.9 million in the same period, leaving the cooperative with a roughly $100,000 deficit.

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Th茅berge acknowledged that this year鈥檚 numbers aren鈥檛 finalized yet, so they鈥檙e mainly estimates, but they鈥檙e working hard to fill that budget shortfall.

鈥淲e just can鈥檛 seem to keep up with the rate of increasing expenses,鈥� Th茅berge said. He added that, while there is concern, Shames is planning improvements and has ideas to generate more revenue.

Th茅berge said Shames Mountain will start renting its facilities out for social and other functions this year.

Night tubing is also on the season鈥檚 pass revenue-generating list.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at a dog season鈥檚 pass so we have a good way of registering all the pooches that frequent our mountain,鈥� Th茅berge added.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really hoping our business community helps us sponsor events so that we can have more bands, more activities and more offerings to add value to our already great experience,鈥� Th茅berge said.

One of the most significant measures Shames Mountain will be undertaking is reducing its operating hours.

Shames Mountain is also contemplating cutting its openings to four days a week compared to five as one way to control expenses.

鈥淭he final decision on what those four days will be 鈥� if we will be a Friday to Monday operation, or if we will be a Thursday to Sunday operation 鈥� is still yet to be decided.鈥�

When asked about the impact the budget shortfall may have on capital projects, Th茅berge said that was a separate issue because those are covered by grants or corporate contributions.

鈥淪eeing that we lost money last season, we knew that changes had to be made or else we would鈥檝e lost more money,鈥� Th茅berge said. 鈥淭he changes that we鈥檝e put in place 鈥� the reduction of operating days, the advent of new programming and products 鈥� is what鈥檚 going to make sure that we get to the finish line.鈥�

Th茅berge said the membership was asked whether ticket prices should be increased to compensate for losses but instead preferred to cut operating days.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very happy with that decision, as this allowed us to continue our offering at the same price as we did last year,鈥� he said.

Shames Mountain is Canada鈥檚 first non-profit ski cooperative. Season pass holders have risen from 946 in 2019-20 to 1,426 in 2022-23. Pre-pandemic visits in the 24,000 range each year have grown to approximately 35,000 now.

Viktor Elias joined the Terrace Standard in April 2023.

Tips or story ideas? (250) 638-7283 ext. 5411 or viktor.elias@terracestandard.com.

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