By admin 
“We bought our passes (to Horseshoe Resort) in the summer and we’ve been itching to get out ever since,” said Barrie resident Brittany Brownless
Local ski resorts received the best Christmas present they could wish for yesterday: about 6 inches of fresh snow.
With the kids on vacation and many parents taking the rest of the week off, traffic at Snow Valley, Horseshoe and Mount St. Louis Moonstone is expected to reach a fever pitch by the end of the week, with skiers, snowboarders and other winter sports enthusiasts. to take advantage of the excellent conditions.
“This is the best day of the year for us here at the resort,” said Horseshoe Resort Sales Director Amber Currie, as Michael Buble’s Christmas hits filled the air next to the chalet. “Here it is, Christmas Eve, and we’re going to have one of the best holidays I think we’ve had in the last few years.”
Located about 20 minutes north of Barrie, Horseshoe Resort has the majority of its slopes open both day and night. The resort also offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snow tubing.
Mount St. Louis Moonstone, about five minutes north of Horseshoe on Highway 400, has all but one of its trails open for daily use.
Snow Valley, which is about 10 minutes northwest of Barrie, has about half of its slopes open. Like Horseshoe, Snow Valley offers snowshoeing and snow tubing in addition to skiing and snowboarding.
Horseshoe Resort is the only local resort open on Christmas Day, but all three are open from 9am on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a good year,” said Horseshoe Snow School Manager Karen Hoffman. “Our classes at Christmas are full and we have a lot of children at camp next week.
“We’ve been making snow this past week and last night we had some great natural snow, so we’re excited,” she added.
John Ball, Snow Valley’s general manager, shares that excitement. He says the best part of the recent snowfall was that Toronto was hit.
“One of the keys to a successful year is when there is snow in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) because it creates interest,” Ball said early Tuesday morning as the parking lot at Snow Valley continued to fill up. “If you generate interest, they will come forward.”
Ball hopes people will arrive in droves – a marked change from the past few years.
“There are peaks and valleys and we are coming out of the adjustment that everyone has made in 2021-2022 with COVID(-19),” he said. “The numbers are there.”
Snowboarders Jay and Brittany Brownless are among them. The Barrie couple purchased season passes at Horseshoe Resort.
They were out bright and early Tuesday morning, looking for a way to explore the resort’s slopes with a friend.
“We bought our passes in the summer and we’ve been itching to get out ever since,” says Brittany.
She hoped conditions on Tuesday would be as good or better than Monday, when she made a few quick runs on the track.
“It was great yesterday,” Brittany said. “We try to go out a few times a week and board both during the day and at night.”
“It’s pretty rare that you can ski in Ontario at Christmas,” Jay said. “This is great.”