Adanac Ski Hill, Ontario

The Canary On Top Of A Nickel Mine

Ski Hill: Adanac Ski Hill (Sudbury, Ontario)

Vertical: 73 m (240 ft)

Snowfall: 3 m (9 ft)

It’s amazing what communities can accomplish when everyone joins in and works together. Consider the story of Adanac Ski Hill in Sudbury, Ontario. Not only did Sudbury’s citizens, government, businesses and industries build and then rebuild a ski hill, they also transformed their city by reshaping its social and economic outlook and re-greening its natural environment …

Community Ski Areas: Stories from The Heartland of Canadian Skiing is an on-going series that looks at the often small and remote ski areas where most Canadians learned to ski and now share their passion for the sport with their children and grandchildren. || Creative Director: Gordie Bowles | Writer: Dave Fonda

A Town That Was Out of This World

If you ever travelled to Sudbury in the 1960s, you’d think you’d arrived on another planet. Decades of dirty mining and unchecked pollution had transformed the entire region into a blackened moonscape. The land was so badly scarred and barren that NASA sent its Apollo 16 and 17 astronauts to train here for the first lunar missions. This did not go unnoticed. In 1970, Inco began addressing the airborne pollution from its smelters that was stunting local vegetation and killing the region’s 300+ lakes. The positive impact that the nickel mining company’s new 381-metre (1,250-foot) Super Stack chimney had throughout the area was immediate and lasting. While gawkers came from far and wide to ogle what was then Canada’s tallest manmade structure, the locals rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

The Inco Superstack (completed in 1972) was the tallest freestanding structure in Canada, until the CN Tower was completed in 1976.

A sign for Adanac in 2007. Photo provided by Adanac Ski Hill.

This Calls for A Total Transformation

Sensing that momentous change was in the air, the entire community embarked on a massive, multi-year project that would transform this once hardscrabble, blue-collar mining town into ‘the business, economic, education, government, healthcare and research capital of Northeastern Ontario.’ And because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, they also developed an incredible network of recreational facilities, so that everyone could enjoy everything the area had to offer. Two of those centres were ski hills: Adanac and its suburban twin, Lively.

“Our vision is to be a centre of excellence and opportunity – a vibrant community of communities living together… Our mission is to fulfill the needs of all those who work, live, visit and play in our city.”

– Extracts from the Mission Statement of The City of Greater Sudbury

Skiing, Northeastern Ontario Style

Alpine skiing first began here in the 1950s, when the Grom family, in nearby Capreol, cut a rough and tumble ski trail at the end of their street. Eventually, their operation moved across the river to a higher elevation where, with some assistance from CN Rail and a Wintario loan, it became the Capreol Ski Hill. As skiing’s popularity blossomed in the Seventies, the City of Sudbury wanted to give local skiers something they could enjoy closer to home. You couldn’t get much closer than the Adanac Ski Hill, which is just 12 minutes (6.4 km) from downtown. Whatever Adanac may have lacked in vertical or variety, it more than compensated for with proximity, convenience and sheer fun.

Skiers near the top of Adanac in 1975-76 season. Photo provided by Adanac Ski Hill.

The Adanac T-Bar in the 1970s. Photo provided by Adanac Ski Hill.

The Community Embraces Skiing

Adanac opened in 1974, with a few trails and a T-bar. Says City of Greater Sudbury/Adanac Ski Hill Recreation Coodinator, Kevin Joblin, “A chalet was subsequently built to house washrooms, club functions and a ski equipment rental space.” Over the following decades, the City of Sudbury either ran the hill or contracted the operation to private enterprise. Says Kevin, “In 1994, Adanac replaced the T-bar with a ‘new’ double chair from Mont Tremblant. To accommodate the lift, the city had to increase the hill’s elevation to its present height of 240 vertical feet.” Skiers were so impressed that 15,000 of them hit the slopes that winter.

Disaster Strikes

In 2003, the TSSA (Technical Safety Standards Association) ordered a major inspection of the aging chairlift. The refurbishing costs were so prohibitive that the city closed Adanac. Lock, stock, and barrel. The hill re-opened briefly the following year but only to host the Winter Carnival. Then, in 2005, a fire set by vandals destroyed the chalet. Consequently, the city held public meetings to discuss Adanac’s future. A proposed plan called for the city to refurbish the hill and add new amenities to draw a larger and more diverse clientele. The hill lay in limbo.

The Chalet at Adanac. Photo provided by Adanac Ski Hill.

“A community ski area should be a place that makes the resort experience accessible a little closer to home and, ideally, right in their backyards.”

— Kevin Joblin, Recreation Coordinator, City of Greater Sudbury/Adanac Ski Hill

The chairlift at Adanac provides access to all ski trails. Photo provided by City of Sudbury.

The Friends of Adanac Step In

That same year the Rotary Club stepped up and finished a tree-lined walkway that ran from Adanac and the Barry Downe Arena to Mountain Street. This re-greening project was just one of many that were undertaken to transform the City of Greater Sudbury. While mining companies outfitted their smelters’ chimneys with scrubbers to reduce pollution, 10 million trees were planted to re-green and revitalise the entire region. Then some skiers and snowboarders founded the Friends of Adanac. Their goal was simple: Do whatever it takes to reopen their beloved hill. After engineers reassessed the old chair and deemed it repairable, City Council voted to reopen the hill and allot $370,000 to repair the lift and make other improvements. The Friends of Adanac promptly matched that sum and then surpassed it!

“During the 80s until the early 2000s, the site was also operated collaboratively with the physical education departments of the Sudbury District School Boards.”

—Kevin Joblin

Adanac Reopens. Locals Rejoice.

“The lift was repaired that summer,” says Kevin. “And portable buildings were brought in to serve as the main chalet and house the concession, the rental shop and the snow school. Some trails were also upgraded and additional snowmaking equipment was acquired.” Adanac was back!

The following year, a Magic Carpet was added to make the beginner slope even more skier-friendly. Then, in 2007, the Friends of Adanac, the Sudbury Construction Association and Vale/Inco all chipped in to build a posh, new 2,400-square-foot base chalet. Adanac has never looked back!

A young snowboarder on the magic carpet at Adanac. Photo provided by Adanac Ski Hill.

Sudbury’s most famous skier, Devon Kershaw, a four-time Olympian with 14 World Cup podiums and 48 World Cup top 10s, learned to ski alpine and cross country in the area. Photo CSHFM archives.

Adanac Today

Besides boasting a new quad chair, Adanac now hosts various ski competitions, an annual snowboarding event and the Big Brothers Cardboard Toboggan Race. Every fall, the Sudbury Chapter of the Canadian Ski Patrol holds its annual Ski Swap here to keep skiing affordable and raise funds for medical supplies and equipment. But that’s only part of the story. The City of Greater Sudbury now operates a plethora of recreational facilities: outdoor rinks and arenas, campgrounds and trailer parks, beaches and lakes, conservation areas and heritage sites, as well as libraries, arts, culture and community centres. And kids now have several unofficial sliding hills throughout the City of Greater Sudbury where they can discover the lifelong joys of glisse, whether it’s sliding on snow on skis or snowboards or sleds or toboggans or an ordinary piece of cardboard!