As many ski areas scramble to whip themselves into becoming year-round recreation destinations, Manning Park Resort today has its own recipe for success. Here, camping and glamping are the main course, while skiing, notably the alpine variety, is a scrumptious dessert. Which just goes to show that, sometimes, you can have your cake and eat it too!
Manning Park Resort, British Columbia
Generational Ski Area Rises From The Ashes
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY SKI AREAS SERIES: If our children are the lifeblood of skiing, then community ski areas are its heart and soul. Often small and remote, they’re where most of us once learned to ski. Community Ski Areas examines the past, present and future of Canada’s community ski areas. Writer: Dave Fonda | Editor & Creative Director: Gordie Bowles
A Visionary Whose Work Endures To This Day
Nestled deep in southern British Columbia’s Cascade Mountains, E.C. Manning Provincial Park was established in 1941 in honour of Ernest Callaway Manning. As B.C.’s Chief Forrester and wartime assistant to the Timber Controller of Canada, E.C. worked tirelessly to protect the province’s magnificent untouched forests, so future generations could discover and enjoy them. His vision paid off handsomely at Manning, which is now B.C.’s second-most popular provincial park.
In the late 1950s, two events forever changed the way people have come to see his namesake park: construction began on the Hope-Princeton Highway and Manning Park Resort officially opened for business. To this day, visitors of all stripes flock here to enjoy the lush meadows, high alpine lakes, towering cedars, and magnificent flora and fauna.
A dedication ceremony at Manning Park took place on September 14 1941, with various special guests, including: Mrs. E.C. Manning, the Hon. the Minister of Lands, Mr. Wells Gray, C.D. Orchard, who succeeded Mr. Manning as the Chief Forester, C.H. Upper, MLA, W.E. McArthur and J. G. Acres, of Greenwood, E.C. Menninger, MLA; R. McLean and L.A. Mansfield of Grand Forks; A.C. Mackenzie, Thos. Daly and D. Miller of Penticton.
They Came. They Saw. They Skied.
In the early 1960s, Premier W.A.C. Bennett’s government opened several provincial ski areas. One of them, Gibson Pass, was situated a scant 10-minute shuttle ride across Highway 3 from the newly opened Manning Park Resort. Skiers were immediately drawn to its exciting ski trails and exhilarating rope tow rides. In 1967, the ski area celebrated Confederation by acquiring its first chairlift, a.k.a. the ‘Blue’. A second ‘Orange’ chair would follow, as Gibson Pass began drawing regular crowds of eager skiers from Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Eastgate, Surrey and Langley, B.C. By 1986, the provincial government had had enough of the alpine ski industry’s ups and downs, so it put its three ski areas up for sale: Cypress Bowl, Mount Seymour and Gibson Pass.
Hope Springs Eternal
Fearing the loss of ‘their community hill’, 10 Hope businessmen pooled their resources together and bought the Gibson Pass Ski Area. Though their hearts were in the right place, their pocketbooks were simply no match for the new crop of ski resorts that were wooing skiers with slopeside condos, high-speed lifts and state-of-the-art grooming machines. By 2010, the core group of ten had dwindled down to three equal partners. Eventually, yet another partner and a number of managers left until, following a disastrous winter that saw no snow fall here before February, the remaining owners were forced to place the resort into what turned out to be a failed receivership. In 2013, it was put up for sale and the front page of the Vancouver Sun blared: Manning Park Resort Closes!
A postcard of the Manning Park Ranger Station, circa 1950s.
“The biggest challenges were getting the thing back in good repair, because for three or four years it was developing a bad reputation.”
– Kevin Demers, President of Holiday Trails & Resorts & Owner of Manning Park Resort
A Welcome Change, Long Overdue
Meanwhile, some close friends of Kevin Demers, most notably Mike Barker, urged him to buy the permit for Manning Park Resort. A former RCMP Sergeant, Kevin had retired in 1987, after 23 years of service, so he could pursue his natural, entrepreneurial instincts. In 1978, after he and his wife Donna bought their first campground, Kevin had clearly seen the future! By 2013, their company, Holiday Trails and Resorts, had grown to include six highly successful RV resorts in Alberta, B.C. and Washington. Though he was new to the ski business, Kevin knew how to make customers happy and keep them loyal. In April 2013, he acquired Manning Park Resort. Says Kevin, “The permit gives me ownership of everything at Manning; all the commercial buildings, the ski hill, the nordic trails, all the equipment, everything except the dirt.” He also acquired a 10-year (bundle) to run the five provincial campgrounds within the park. And, yes, he’ll be all in when it’s up for bidding again.
Restoring & Refurbishing The Hill
Years of neglect had taken its toll on the hill and the resort. Says Kevin, “We reopened in May or June of 2013, but a lot of damage had been done because the world thought that Manning Park Resort was closed. It was a tough situation.” Kevin’s first order of business was to hire Mike Barker – a longtime Manning Park employee – and to consult with Peter Scherle, who successfully ran the resort for 17 years. “I greatly appreciate the guidance I received from both of these men.”
HTR then started the process of upgrading the resort and building the massive, 100-plus-seat alpine wedding room, along with 19 new cabins. For its part, the ski hill was in need of repair and upgrades. “Everything was either broken or didn’t work very well … all the vehicles were old and I had to acquire two additional snowcats,” Kevin said. His biggest skiing expense was replacing the old double ‘Orange’ chair with a new, $2.7 million quad affectionately called the ‘Bear’. HTR also built a guest services building that houses the ski shop, rental shop, snow school and ticket sales. It then renovated the kitchen in the day lodge which is now being re-floored, re-painted and upgraded.
The Manning Resort Lodge at the entrance to the park, off the Crowsnest Highway. Photo by Jon Ross-Heliwood Media, courtesy Manning Park Resort.
Rebuilding The Village
On top of all that, Kevin notes, “Staffing was a challenge because everybody left when Manning closed. I would say it took years to put all the right people in the right places.” Because Manning is relatively isolated, providing proper, on-site housing was no small task. “The condition of the staff housing at Manning was deplorable.
The problem was that everyone who works at Manning, lives at Manning. We’ve spent three or four million dollars on new and additional staff housing. We’ve got a little village over there that has its own water system, treatment plant and back-up generator system.”
“I like challenges, provided they’re realistic. And so we rolled our sleeves up. We’ve made the changes that people want. And the people are responding. They’re coming. We’re busy.”
– Kevin Demers
If You Improve It, They Will Come
Today, business is booming at Manning Park Resort, which now functions as both a community ski area and a getaway destination resort. According to the assistant general manager, Jarred Hupe, “Winter and summer are both our high seasons.” With some 500 campsites in the park, summer visitors far outnumber skier visits. While most day-skiers live in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, many devotees now bring their RVs from Vancouver, so they can camp and ski here every weekend before trekking back home. There are so many ways to experience winter here that only half of Manning’s overnight guests are alpine skiers. But, as General Manager, Vern Schram, points out, like every community ski area, Manning is equally committed to “supporting local clubs, community groups and businesses, facilitating discounted school and group programs and supporting the local ski club..” If all this sounds like having the best of both worlds, you’re right.
A skier finds a line under the Bear Chair. Photo courtesy of the Manning Park Resort.