Business hosts Customer Appreciation Night at Salmo Ski Hill

By Kyra Hoggan

The entire local public can benefit from a Customer Appreciation Night being held at the Salmo Ski Hill Jan. 6 by Speedy Auto Glass.

Speedy’s Stephanie Syme said she and her partner bought the Castlegar company in April of 2016, and since then have enjoyed a lot of support from their customers – and now they want to pay it forward.

 “We’ve always wanted to support the ski hill more, and we’ve talked a lot about giving back to our customers and our community – now we’re in a position to do so,” she said. “We wanted to do something fun for everyone.”

To that end, they rented out the entire ski hill for the evening, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., and everyone’s welcome to come enjoy the beautifully-lit runs for night skiing or snowboarding.

Tickets can be purchased for a minimum donation of $5 or a maximum of $20 for families, and Speedy will donate all proceeds back to the Salmo Ski Hill, which is run by a non-profit society.

There will be a concession with a chili dinner special (including a vegetarian option), a fire pit at the base of the hill and a cozy lodge in which to warm up and enjoy some hot food and camaraderie.

Margaret McDonald is a member of the non-profit society’s board, which was created in 1962, and she says the hill has lots to offer at its vertical elevation of 1,000 feet, including ski and snowboard lessons.

“We hire local students to operate the lifts and the ski-and-snowboard rental shop, but the rest is all volunteer driven, including hill grooming, maintenance, ski patrol, etc.,” she said, adding they see an average of 8,500 to 9,000 people in a ski season (although they also have hiking trails and host events like weddings in the summertime).

She said it’s not uncommon for companies or organizations to rent out the entire hill for an evening, sometimes for private company functions and sometimes, as with this year’s grad class, as fundraisers – but giving all the proceeds back to the hill is a real boon for the operation.

“We’re a non-profit, we’re not here to make money, we’re here to be sustainable,” she said. “It’s very kind of (Speedy) to do this, for sure – we’re very grateful.”

Their seasonal hours, starting Jan.2, will be from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday (night skiing only) and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekends.