Misplaced Pages

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72-678: Powder King's slopes offer a mix of beginner, intermediate and expert runs, with one three-person chairlift to mid-mountain, one T-bar to the top, and a handle tow at the base to assist and teach beginners. Most of the 37 run names have a Beatles theme (including Upper & Lower Abbey , Octopus’s Garden , Anytime At All , Good Day Sunshine , Twist and Shout , Come Together , Roll Over Beethoven , Nowhere Man , Hard Day’s Night , Hippy Hippy Shake , Ticket to Ride , Paperback Rider (sic), Get Back , Revolution , Let It Be , I Will , Blue Jay Way , Getting Better , Penny Lane , Lovely Rita , and Strawberry Fields ). Originally envisioned as

144-589: A " Whistler of the North", little of the grandiose plans of various owners came to fruition. Now known for its less crowded and more intimate environment, “Whisper of the North” has become the slogan. The current complex has a full-service restaurant, 35-room ATCO hostel-style hotel, and a small resort community of individual homes and condominiums. Members of the Canadian Ski Patrol regularly keep watch over

216-423: A 33.2-mile (53.4 km) contract was awarded for the pass and its southern approach, and 1964 for the adjoining 9.2-mile (14.8 km) northern approach. By 1977, the 14-mile (23 km) section comprising the pass summit and southern approaches, previously paved in 1964, was beyond repair. The work to replace the base and repave was completed in 1978. The adjoining 13.3-kilometre (8.3 mi) section north to

288-476: A 500-car parking lot. A 60-room hostel opened the following fall. In 1988, one tender called for the laying of sewer pipes, site grading, an access road and parking lot. Another tender covered the construction of two three-storey clusters of six condominiums. A proposed $ 3.3-million second phase expansion included a 3,450-square-metre 80-bed hotel/lodge complex with condominium units, and a residential subdivision entailing 14 single-family cabins. This accommodation

360-617: A Ford Model A . Wallace "Bunny" Bertram took it over for the second season, improved the operation, renamed it from Ski-Way to Ski Tow , and eventually moved it to what became the eastern fringe of Vermont's major southern ski areas, a regional resort still operating as Saskadena Six . Their relative simplicity made tows widespread and contributed to an explosion of the sport in the United States and Europe. Before tows, only people willing to walk uphill could ski. Suddenly relatively nonathletic people could participate, greatly increasing

432-561: A café and garage. In the 1950s, the next gas station on the way to Prince George was 137 kilometres (85 mi) away at McLeod Lake . Slightly nearer at Mile 93 (a western extremity), Windy Point Lodge opened in 1965, at Mile 97 (Mackenzie turnoff), with a café and Esso pumps. Also opened later, the Silver Sands Motel at Mile 147 received a liquor licence in 1975. For sale in 1986, the Silver Sands Lodge comprised

504-439: A casino licence. The B.C. government rejected the proposal. Navigating foggy conditions, a bus owned by the resort hit the tail end of a logging truck backing onto the highway, just north of Salmon Valley . Seven of about 40 passengers on their way to the ski hill sustained minor cuts and abrasions, but one was seriously injured. The truck driver was charged with driving without due care. In 2005, Jim and Heidi Salisbury acquired

576-421: A coffee shop, store, gas pumps, tire shop, cabins and rooms. A fire destroyed the main lodge in 2014, but spared the cabins. The Pine Valley Park Lodge was described as 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Honeymoon Creek, namely at the north end of Azouzetta Lake. Under a loan default sale in 1977, it comprised lodge accommodation, restaurant and service station. Newspaper articles sometimes appear to misname it as

648-439: A hill. The grade of this style of tow is limited by passenger grip strength and the fact that sheaves (pulleys that support the rope above the ground) cannot be used. A development of the simple rope tow is the handle tow (or pony lift ), where plastic or metal handles are permanently attached to the rope. These handles are easier to grip than a rope, making the ski lift easier to ride. Steeper, faster and longer tows require

720-598: A mining road, but the public support was behind another option, the Monkman Pass . The positions of local members of parliament were ambiguous. In 1943, the Peace, Pine, and Monkman passes were surveyed. The following year, Premier John Hart announced the decision to reconstruct 117 miles of old road and to construct 157 miles of new road over the Pine Pass. Access to agricultural land and mineral deposits determined

792-434: A property in 1952 at Mile 124 (4.8 km [3 mi] southwest of Azouzetta Lake), Katherine Winnifred Begallie and Michael Leo Begallie opened Halfway Lodge in 1955. The following year, a forest fire almost destroyed the building. In the early 1960s, a gas pump was installed, and Leo married Nora Cunningham. At the time, Halfway Lodge and Azu Village were the only accommodation in the immediate area. The pair managed

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864-629: A record for the highest load in relation to its width transported on the line. The clearance in the Azouzetta Tunnel was 5 inches (130 mm). To minimize snow from clogging the track and stalling locomotives, the 1971 dynamiting at Atunatchi Creek widened the right-of-way. The impact on the Azouzetta Lake environment attracted possibly unfair criticism. When a seven-week strike ended in January, 1975, it took several days to remove

936-574: A report by the Northern Development Initiative Trust pressed for a further $ 135 million worth of improvements. During 2010–2011, Cariboo Construction undertook an $ 18.5 million reconstruction of the remaining 11.2-kilometre (7.0 mi) section north of Bennett Creek to Link Creek, the only portion untouched over the previous 25 years. Replacing two major bridges over the Pine River and two minor ones over creeks,

1008-539: A section of this proposal, or a Canadian Northern Railway one. A movement lobbying for a Wapiti Pass route gained no traction. When the company surveyed the Peace and Pine passes during 1920, the former's circuitous route through Finlay Forks was a recognized deterrent. When the PGE advance stalled, CPR engineers surveyed the Peace Pass/Finlay Forks route in 1923. Rumours of a possible CPR takeover of

1080-416: A series of pulleys to support the rope at waist height and hence require the use of some sort of "tow gripper". Several were designed and used in the 1930s and 40s, but the most successful was the "nutcracker" attached to a harness around the hips. To this is attached a clamp, much like the nutcracker from which it derives its name, which the rider attaches to the rope. This eliminates the need to hold on to

1152-402: A vertical drop of 360 metres over 1,296 metres, while the new Doppelmayr T-bar featured a drop of 255 metres over 878 metres, all with a 1,600-skiers-per-hour carrying capacity. On reaching the top of the triple chair, skiers had the option of skiing down a moderate distance to the new T-bar that took riders to just below the tree line. Base facilities included 1,115 square metres of day lodges and

1224-471: A wagon trail through the pass. In 1930, the district provincial engineer intimated the cheaper Pine Pass route, with an estimated $ 800,000 cost, would be chosen for a highway. An alternate Peace Pass/Finlay Forks route proposed a connection through Manson Creek to the highway under construction from Fort St. James . The latter, known as the Turgeon Highway continued to receive federal funding as

1296-494: A weapon for a dangerous purpose. Prior to his dangerous-offender assessment, he dismissed his lawyer. The hearings during 2001–02, included the victim impact statement , and noted an unsuccessful appeal, his attitude of denial, an unrelated assault on a police officer, and threatening to kill his former mother-in-law. He served a nine-year sentence. After he failed to return to his halfway house in Vancouver, as required under

1368-408: A week later. During the 1965/66 winter, a snowdrift derailed the three lead locomotives of a train near the pass. A crane came up from Squamish to lift the front diesel, and it took two days to reopen the line. Two months later, an ice buildup on the track derailed two locomotives and a freight car. In 1967, the PGE carried the 77-ton turbines for the W. A. C. Bennett Dam , which at the time set

1440-554: Is a scheduled stop for BC Bus North. Informed by First Nations guides, a deserter from the Simon Fraser party crossed the pass in 1806. In attempts from the east in 1873 and west in 1875, surveyors Charles Horetzky and Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn , respectively, failed to rediscover the pass. Joseph Hunter was successful from the west in 1877, and George Dawson crossed with a pack train of over 90 horses and mules in 1879. The Canadian Pacific Survey during 1879 favoured

1512-857: The Northern Rockies of British Columbia , connects the Peace Country of the province's Northeastern Interior . Highway 97 and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) (formerly BC Rail network) traverse this mountain pass , which is the location of the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park , the Pine Le Moray Provincial Park , and the Powder King Mountain Resort at Azouzetta Lake . Azouzetta Lake

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1584-723: The Peace Pass or Pine Pass owing to the traffic readily generated by the fertile country, but being too far north, the Canadian Pacific Railway ultimately chose the Kicking Horse Pass . By the 1910s, the CPR was back surveying in the Peace and Pine passes, leaning toward the latter. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway charter specified the Peace Pass, Pine Pass or such other Rocky Mountains pass which

1656-478: The W. A. C. Bennett Dam , the 500,000-volt transmission lines through the pass were in place by 1967. During the 1980s, replacement natural gas pipes were railed to Azu. To facilitate the transmission of higher volumes of gas, the single pipeline was upgraded to narrower pipes laid in dual formation. With new construction at the ski resort close to the 200-metre-wide transmission corridor, the safety code specified thicker pipes be installed. Westcoast Energy and

1728-449: The 2,000-foot (615-metre) T-bar lift reached 4,000 feet (1,231 metres). In 1979, Kerry O’Connor purchased the operations and proposed a $ 2 million development, which included a 2,800-foot (862-metre) double chairlift, plus two more T-bars. The 1981 master plan relocated the village one kilometre north to an adjacent site, but it is unclear when O’Connor disposed of his interest. In 1983, Peter Graham Jr., president and majority shareholder in

1800-679: The PGE prompted speculation regarding this route being built to handle ore from the Ferguson group of mines, coal from the Peace River canyon, and Peace Country wheat. During 1930, when the Northern Alberta Railways extended westward toward Dawson Creek , the CPR was again surveying routes across the Canadian Rockies . Although Monkman Pass was the shortest distance, a more northerly route better served

1872-651: The PGE right-of-way. A Beech 35 made an emergency landing at Azouzetta Lake in 1967. A car crash in 1988 killed the basketball coach and five senior team members from the Bethel Christian School . In 1994, the pilot and the four-firefighter passengers, escaped unhurt from a helicopter crash north of Azu village. On a curve days later, 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of the village, a truck hauling two tanker trailers overturned, and 31,000 litres (8,200 US gal) of gasoline and more than 14,000 litres (3,700 US gal) of diesel spilled into

1944-412: The PGE track-laying machine crossed the Pine Pass summit at Mile 126, then waited at Mile 132 for blasting to finish on the approach to an unplanned one-quarter-mile (400 m) tunnel. Although the completed sections were already in commercial use (see #Pipelines_&_High_Voltage_Lines ) , the rails did not reach Dawson Creek until September 1958. An inaugural run and golden spike ceremony followed

2016-465: The Peace Pass, the Pine Pass option became a certainty, but the selection was theoretically left open by tendering the construction only as far north as the Parsnip River . However, within months, the government let the grading contracts south and north of Azouzetta Lake. The Pine Pass decision angered the Peace Pass supporters, who at least sought a Finlay Forks spur. On December 13, 1957,

2088-555: The Pine Valley Lodge. In the same vein, the Pine Valley Lodge was equally placed at Mile 144. It was renamed Azouzetta Lake Lodge, listed for sale in 2002, mothballed in 2012, and purchased by the Powder King Mountain Resort in 2016. The Pine Le Moray Provincial Park , on the northern approach, was established in 2000. During 1952, Westcoast Transmission survey crews marked a route through

2160-649: The Ski Hoist at Charlotte Pass in Australia dating from 1938. The first T-bar lift in the United States was installed in 1940 at the Pico Mountain ski area. It was considered a great improvement over the rope tow . An earlier T-bar was installed at Rib Mountain (now Granite Peak Ski Area ), Wisconsin, in 1937. In recent years, J-bars are no longer used in most ski areas. Some operators have combined T-bar and platter lifts, attaching both types of hanger to

2232-519: The agricultural lands and mining prospects of the Peace Country. The greater engineering difficulties of the Pine Pass made Finlay Forks preferable. In 1945, the PGE formally filed plans for the Pine Pass route, because it was 100 miles (160 km) shorter, but lobbying for Finlay Forks continued. When Monkman Pass was later considered, the northern Peace protested. With the narrow, precipitous, and loose shale conditions ultimately ruling out

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2304-485: The appeal of the sport. Within five years, more than 100 tow ropes were operating in North America. A rope tow consists of a cable or rope running through a bullwheel (large horizontal pulley) at the bottom and one at the top, powered by an engine at one end. In the simplest case, a rope tow is where passengers grab hold of a rope and are pulled along while standing on their skis or snowboards and are pulled up

2376-518: The business in receivership less than a year later. Arthur Andersen advertised the sale and announced the ski village closure. Carrying about $ 1 million in debts, a further substantial cash injection was needed to repair and upgrade the equipment. Rick Merton, with local partners Steve Johnson and Gary McIntyre, bid $ 967,000 for the facility. Failing to arrange financing within the required five business days, North Star Powder Resorts, their partnership, forfeited its $ 48,000 deposit. Richard Doyle headed

2448-470: The business. The early-season skiing conditions enabled the Canadian Olympic ski cross and boardercross teams to practise there for the three seasons from 2007/08, which benefited Canada’s 2010 medal count. During the 2009 summer, the B.C. Job Opportunities Program provided an $ 850,000 grant, which largely funded out-of-work loggers to brush down all the willow and do some thinning in the lead up to

2520-414: The cable, giving skiers and snowboarders a choice. Hangers designed to tow sledges uphill are installed on some slopes by operators, and some operators convert hangers in the summer to tow cyclists uphill. A variant of the platter lift is the detachable surface lift, commonly known as a “ Poma lift” , after the company which introduced them. Unlike most other platter lifts, which are similar to T-bars with

2592-433: The conditions of his long-term supervision order, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued in 2013 for the high-risk sex offender. During the 2000/01 winter, two snowmobilers died in an avalanche. In 2014, 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the village at Stack Creek, 58 firefighters and two helicopters contained a 1,625 hectares (16.25 km ) wildfire. Two years later, a semi hauling an explosive substance rolled into

2664-502: The family-owned company that had operated Azu Village for the previous four years, and Peter's then-wife Claudia, presented a $ 7.7 million expansion plan. Renamed Powder King Ski Village , the proposal included 14 more ski runs (five existed), a 1,400-metre triple chairlift , a 1,000-metre T-Bar and a 230-metre platter lift for beginners. A real estate development at the base of the mountain would comprise 47 single-family lots and 106 multi-family units. The plan, approved 15 months later by

2736-416: The final choice. In 1945, the project was awarded in two sections: Mile 0 ( Summit Lake ) to Mile 94 (Azouzetta Lake) for $ 1,823,555 and Mile 94 to Mile 151 for $ 1,308,940. The prime contractor for the southwest section, Campbell Construction, experienced extreme unforeseen difficulties, and abandoned the uncompleted project. After calling new tenders, the lowest bid of $ 1,446,831 from W. C. Arnett & Co.

2808-425: The gravel and cement base mixture hindered drainage, which soon caused frost heaves. During 1997–98, a 4.2-kilometre (2.6 mi) section, which adjoined to the southwest, was rebuilt. In 1998, single pass paving was laid north from Azouzetta Lake to Bennett Creek. The following year, Peters Bros. Construction repaved a crumbling 13-kilometre (8.1 mi) section to the south of the pass. Despite this investment,

2880-406: The grip attaches to the cable, the passenger's acceleration is lessened by the spring-loaded pole. A magic carpet is a conveyor belt installed at the level of the snow. Some include a canopy or tunnel. Passengers slide onto the belt at the base of the hill and stand with skis or snowboard facing forward. The moving belt pulls the passengers uphill. At the top, the belt pushes the passengers onto

2952-545: The group tendering the second-place bid of $ 811,000. Named Powder King Skiing Inc., six of the eight partners were members of the Doyle family. Completing the legal paperwork delayed the resort’s reopening by a few weeks. The facility operated as the Powder King Mountain Resort . The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George supported, but the Prince George City Council opposed, the 1997 Powder King bid for

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3024-632: The hill. All Greyhound busses are now cancelled in B.C. During the ski season, the PK Express Bus runs every day from Prince George and Mackenzie . It also runs every Saturday & Sunday from Grande Prairie . Opened for the 1965/66 season, the Azu Ski Village added a T-bar lift for 1968/69. A rope tow came the following season. By this time, the village comprised a 60-person capacity day lodge, 50-seat dining room, 80-vehicle parking, motel units and 36-bed dormitory. For 1971/72,

3096-615: The hill’s silver jubilee . The 2010/11 season offered eight additional trails, providing 37 different runs. The following season brought a permanent snowboard-cross track, and the resort applied to expand its liquor licence beyond serving dining patrons. Named Wanderer, Explorer and Challenger, three new snowshoe trails opened for 2012/13. In 2016, the company purchased the mothballed Azouzetta Lake Lodge and rebranded it as Cafe 97. The renovated cabins, suites and bunkhouses are available for guests. In 2022, Powder King Mountain Resort and Cafe 97

3168-587: The installation of a water and sewer system at an amortized cost of $ 351,440 that was recovered from users over subsequent years. The school bus terminated at Honeymoon Creek, but Pine Pass parents were able to extend the route a further 14 miles (23 km) to the Azu community from the 1970/71 school year. When the school board withdrew the service for the 1972/73 year, because of cost, it affected less than 10 students. Withholding their children from school, an unwillingness to compromise, and lobbying, parents pressured

3240-483: The lodge and café, with Norman and Linda Davis taking over the latter in 1968. Several investors owned the Azu Ski Village, which opened in 1965 and eventually grew into four runs with a T-bar and an 4.5-hectare (11-acre) weekend cottage subdivision. The earlier dormitory accommodation, dining facilities, and day lodge, were augmented in 1969 with motel units and a new day lodge. Ferdinand (Ferry) Stroble,

3312-415: The lower forces and realigned due to glacier movement. Surface lifts have some disadvantages compared to aerial lifts: they require more passenger skill and may be difficult for some beginners (especially snowboarders, whose boards point at an angle different than the direction of travel) and children; sometimes they lack a suitable route back to the piste; the snow surface must be continuous; they can get in

3384-578: The nearly 240-metre (800 ft) carpet in Burnsville , USA , which has an overpass over a ski run, the 206-metre (676 ft) tubing hill magic carpet at Soldier Hollow in Utah, USA , the 182-metre (597 ft) tunnel at Snowbird, Utah , USA , and the 170-metre (560 ft) installation at Stratton Mountain Resort , USA . Pine Pass#Highway The Pine Pass , in the Hart Ranges of

3456-524: The pass for a natural gas pipeline to the lower mainland. In 1955, the company was granted a two-year extension for completing the $ 162-million 650-mile (1,050 km) line, and permission to increase the 24-inch (61 cm) pipeline diameter to 80-inch (2.0 m). To construct an oil pipeline through the pass, pipes were railed there over the recently completed section of the PGE in early 1958. Western Pacific Products and Crude Oil Pipelines connected Taylor and Kamloops in late 1961. Extending from

3528-523: The passengers uphill while they ski or snowboard across the ground. Platter lifts are often referred to as button lifts, and may occasionally feature rigid poles instead of recoiling cables. The modern J-bar and T-bar mechanism was invented in 1934 by the Swiss engineer Ernst Constam, with the first lift installed in Davos, Switzerland . J-bars were installed in the 1930s in North America and Australia, with

3600-428: The proprietor, requested his ashes be spread on the mountain when he died at 81. By 1974, the location possessed a liquor licence and gas pumps. Sold in 1979 to Kerry O’Connor, Powder King was launched on an adjacent site to the north. Opened in the early 1950s and for sale in 1963, the Pine Valley Lodge, operating at Mile 171 (an eastern extremity, 39 km [24 mi] west of Chetwynd ), comprised cabins,

3672-450: The province shared the cost of relocating a 25-kilometre (16 mi) section of gas pipelines in 1990. With the 2011 heavy rain and flooding, Pembina temporarily shut down its oil pipeline as a proactive measure before rectifying erosion and assessing the line for damage. In the late 1950s, the relay transmitter station for the PGE's new microwave radio system was located at Azouzetta Lake. Third parties leased channels not required by

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3744-415: The province to resume the service, which lapsed when no longer required. When a family of four moved to Azouzetta Lake in 1977, the school board agreed to increase the travel allowance to $ 7.60 per day to cover the parent's drive to connect with the bus, however, efforts continued to restore a 100 percent subsidy from the province for a bus service. For the 1989/90 year, despite nine or 10 children living in

3816-427: The rail tunnel was rebuilt and repaved in 1985 at a cost of $ 12 million. During 1990–91, three bridges were replaced as part of a widening and straightening project. Throughout 1994–96, TNL Paving undertook a $ 10 million reconstruction of the 11.4-kilometre (7.1 mi) Bijoux Falls to Azouzetta Lake section, applying a porous three-inch diameter gravel foundation. When the road was previously rebuilt during 1977–78,

3888-459: The railway. During the late 1980s, the Ministry of Health installed repeater stations in the pass to address reception problems experienced by first responders. BC Hydro extended the power lines from Honeymoon Creek to connect Azu to the electrical grid. Upfront customer contributions and amortization over a five-year period recovered the $ 272,000 project cost. The regional district approved

3960-400: The regional district, also included modular (construction site style) buildings for a restaurant, bar and ski services, two buildings for equipment storage, a gas station and upgrades to existing buildings. The $ 4 million first phase was completed for the 1984/85 season. The former T-bar had featured a 360-metre vertical drop and 1,225-metre slope length. The new Doppelmayr triple chair had

4032-414: The river. During the 1997–98 highway reconstruction project, Dale Rolland Alexander assaulted a flagperson on duty in the early hours of the morning, but was not located and remanded in custody until 15 months later. Bail denied, his trial commenced in due course, and he was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm, sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping, uttering threats and possession of

4104-422: The rope are a series of vertical recoiling cables, each attached to a horizontal J- or T-shaped bar – which is placed behind the skier's buttocks or between the snowboarder's legs – or a plastic button or platter that is placed between the skier's legs. Snowboarders place the platter behind the top of their front leg or in front of their chest under their rear arm and hold it in position with their hands. These pull

4176-505: The rope directly. This system was used on many fields worldwide from the 1940s, and remains popular at 'club fields', especially in New Zealand . This type of ski lift is often referred to as a nutcracker tow. J-bar , T-bar , and platter lifts are employed for low-capacity slopes in large resorts and small local areas. These consist of an aerial cable loop running over a series of wheels, powered by an engine at one end. Hanging from

4248-465: The ski village. Rob Mitchell became the general manager and chief executive officer. The scope of the 1994-96 highway reconstruction included relocating the Powder King turnoff about 60 metres to the south to provide safer highway access, and constructing a snowmobile parking area. In arrears, the 1983 development loan was restructured in 1994, but continuing in default, the B.C. government placed

4320-634: The snow and ice buildup in the pass before services resumed. In 1982, an avalanche risk delayed the removal of a derailed snow plow, which also left two trains stranded in the area. During the 1990s, 14 empty tank cars derailed 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Azu village. A 23-car derailment spilled 2,100 tonnes of sulphur, which the railway sought to bury. Another 13-car derailment included six liquid natural gas tankers. A grain-hauling agreement between BC Rail and CNR established equal shipping rates for Peace area grain to Vancouver and Prince Rupert ports. A 1923 B.C. Department of Lands map showed

4392-482: The snow and they slide away. They are easier to use than T-bar lifts and Poma lifts. Magic carpets are limited to shallow grades due to their dependence on friction between the carpet and the bottom of the ski or board. Their slow speed, limited distance, and capacity confines them to beginner and novice areas. The longest carpet lift is a Sunkid carpet lift, 400-metre-long (1,300 ft), installed at Alpine Centre, Bottrop , Germany . Some other notable examples are

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4464-411: The spring of 1955, the section south of the pass to the Parsnip River was approaching impassibility, with three stretches negotiated by Highway Department equipment towing all traffic. In 1962, work around Mount Le Moray at the northern end of the pass brought the road up to a standard for grading. Despite promises regarding the imminent paving of the complete Hart Highway, it was not until 1963 that

4536-560: The stick attached to a spring box by a retractable cord, Poma lifts have a detachable grip to the tow cable with the button connected to the grip by a semi-rigid pole. Platters return to the bottom station, detach from the cable, and are stored on a rail until a skier slides the platter forwards to use it. Most detachable surface lifts operate at speeds of around 4 m/s (13 ft/s; 8.9 mph; 14 km/h), while platters and T-bars can operate up to 3.0 m/s (9.8 ft/s; 6.7 mph; 11 km/h), although are generally slower. When

4608-423: The total cost was $ 40 million. In 2011, a two-day stretch of heavy rain caused washouts at 15 sites. More than 100 workers, and more than 60 pieces of equipment, took nearly two weeks to reopen the highway to single-lane traffic. Five years later, damage from torrential downpours closed the highway for almost a week. Established in 1956, the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park is on the southern approach. Purchasing

4680-526: The village, the school bus connection further withdrew to the Mackenzie turnoff, 25 miles (40 km) away. From the 1990/91 year, the bus terminus was restored once more to Azu village (Powder King), but was returned to the Mackenzie turnoff from the 1997/98 year, because of low ridership. The board rejected a parental plea in 2000 to restore the service. In 1959, a solo commercial pilot experiencing engine trouble, died on crashing near Mount Le Moray and

4752-651: The way of skiable terrain; they are relatively slow in speed and have lower capacity. Surface lifts have some advantages over aerial lifts: they can be exited before the lift reaches the top, they can often continue operating in wind conditions too strong for a chairlift; they require less maintenance and are much less expensive to install and operate. The first surface lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach / Eisenbach , Hochschwarzwald , Germany, and started operations February 14, 1908. A steam-powered toboggan tow, 950 feet (290 m) in length,

4824-440: Was accepted. Fred Mannix & Co. completed their northeast section in 1948. Owing to significant changes to the contract with respect to labour-related issues, both Campbell and Mannix sued the province and reached settlements. The modest gravel highway was usable by the fall of 1951, but was barely passable during that winter. The route officially opened the following summer, but could be challenging even in fine weather. In

4896-644: Was built in Truckee, California , in 1910. The first skier-specific tow in North America was apparently installed in 1933 by Alec Foster at Shawbridge in the Laurentians outside Montreal , Quebec . The Shawbridge tow was quickly copied at Woodstock, Vermont , in New England , in 1934 by Bob and Betty Royce, proprietors of the White Cupboard Inn. Their tow was driven by the rear wheel of

4968-415: Was intended to replace the existing facilities nicknamed Chateau ATCO. The former Azu Village lift would augment the other lifts. A month later, the regional district gave initial approval to the plan, but noted concerns over recovering the district loan for the sewer connection if the business failed. In 1991, a new 669-square-metre day lodge was under construction when a group of seven investors purchased

5040-663: Was most convenient and practicable. After surveying the first two options during 1906–07, which encompassed 560,000 acres (2,300 km ) of arable land east of the Rockies, the company opted for the "bleak sterile" country east of the Yellowhead Pass . No doubt motivated by the possibility of securing a "branch" line to Vancouver later (which proved unsuccessful), this decision hindered the Canadian Northern Railway , whose intention to follow this route

5112-613: Was placed on the market for $ 8,250,000. Surface lift#Rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-comfort aerial lifts , such as chairlifts and gondola lifts . Today, surface lifts are most often found on beginner slopes, small ski areas , and peripheral slopes. They are also often used to access glacier ski slopes because their supports can be anchored in glacier ice due to

5184-657: Was publicly known. Railway companies that aborted proposals to build through the Pine Pass included: the Naas & Peace River Railway, the Pine Pass Railway, the Pacific & Hudson's Bay Railway, the Edmonton, Dunvegan & Bella Coola Railway, and the B.C. & Dawson Railway. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) was expected to route through the Pine Pass, and the Pine Pass Railway might have been

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