Last week I had my first shift as Director on Duty (DoD) for the 2021/22 season. I had just finished my evening check-in with Jamie at Turk’s Tavern and Sue at Staff Accommodations and was making my way back to my cabin when I noticed that John had returned from clearing the snow on the road with the grader. The snow was coming down hard and he had kindly volunteered to get a start moving snow before Stuart’s shift in the morning. Campbell called John over the radio to check and make sure everything was working properly.
During the night my radio crackled and I heard Megan and Mason, in their respective groomers, switching over to channel 2 so they could work together without chatting on the main Cain station. While the rest of the mountain slept the night away, they spent many hours grooming the beginner and intermediate slopes for us.
At some point early in the morning, Stuart went out on the grader to continue the job of clearing snow. Mount Cain is one of the only ski hills in BC that needs to plow its access road. While Campbell clears the 16 km road on Thursday and Friday, we have a team of volunteers who keep the road plowed on weekends.
As the sun came up, the mountain awoke. Jamie had the coffee on by 7:30 and by 7:45 the Shovel Crew had already made their way to the top of the Upper T. The terrain of the Upper T makes it impossible for the groomer to clear the snow between the towers so it is done with shovels by a group of hardy volunteers. Scotty is the team lead for today’s Shovel Crew and I heard him talking with Lifty Supervisor Sabastian as they worked together to clear ice from the cable and sheaves before moving the T’s. Without the hard work of the Shovel Crew, none of us would have T bar access to the wilds of the Upper mountain.
While this was underway, the Ski Patrol was checking the boundary lines, digging out the toboggans that got covered overnight, and marking streams, exposed rocks, or anything else that could be a hazard for skiers or boarders. Our Ski Patrol is made up of mostly volunteers who are dedicated to ensuring we are safe when we are skiing and cared for if we are injured.
Back at the base, a steady stream of youth emerged from Staff Accommodations. Some went to work with June at the Ticket Booth, others with Kim and Jenna at the Ski Shop, and the final group made their way to the T bar where they would work as Lifties.
By 9:00 the Lifties were doing the necessary safety checks and making sure the T bars were working and Jeff, Pilon and Chief of the Parking Lot, was fitting cars into the parking lot like a Tetris expert. In anticipation of lots of powder snow, the lineup at the Lower T had begun. I believe that one of the happiest places on earth is with a group of powder hounds waiting, with unbridled anticipation, to have the first tracks down Old Glory.
Around 9:15 I started to get the “all clear” from the team leads. Scotty let me know the shovel crew was done. Lucas, who took over to finish the grooming, radioed in to say the groomers were off the hill. Greg at Ski Patrol let me know the hill was safe to open and Sabastian called in to say the T bars were good to go. I had the honour of declaring the mountain open and that we were “clear to load the public”.
There is not enough space in this post to describe all the work done by many people during my 24-hour shift as DoD. Mike and Mason doing a late-night run for more fuel, Jean Luc and Sally always being in the right place at the right time, multiple folks helping dig out buried cars in the parking lot – I could go on and on.
My first shift as DoD this year reminded me that behind the scenes at Cain is a team of amazing, kind, and generous people who go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure we can all go skiing. And for that, I am forever grateful.
See you on the slopes,
Jen
