The Eastlink Park T-bar is officially open!

On Saturday, December 19, at 1:00 pm, the staff at the hill removed the barricade and let everyone hit the slopes. For about an hour ahead of the grand opening, enthusiasts from families directly connected to the project, either through an employee or sponsor, were able to try the hill first as a way of saying thank you. All the hard work, dedication, and patience had handsomely paid off. “After two years of work and looking after it and making things happen, it’s all worth it,” said volunteer extraordinaire Guye Lappin with a big smile. He spent much of his late morning skiing with family and enjoying the fruits of his labour. “Without the help of the sponsors and in-kind sponsors, we could never have gotten this done. It was our town and county that stuck together and made this all happen. It is a great community,” he said, getting a bit choked up.

Happy tears were shed by many as they watched the first few skiers carve up the snow from left to right, flying up over ridges, and speeding down steep slopes. It was a magical moment to witness. One of the most heartwarming moments was when Fire Chief Brian Wynn, also an avid skier and instructor, set off a few fireworks as Lappin crested the hill on the lift just before the official opening. Upon hearing the sounds, kids from the other hill gathered in a socially-distanced way at the barricade. Once they were given the thumbs up, they sprinted towards the T-bar and screamed jubilant cheers as they hurled down the hill for the first time.

The day was pretty much perfect. The sun was shining brightly, streaming through the trees and painting shadows across the perfectly manicured hillside. “This is fantastic weather. Mother Nature came through for us as we asked her to, and it is great. Now, all we need is for her to bring us some more snow to help fill in the trees for tree skiing so the kids can play out there. Once that happens, we will be thrilled,” said Lappin.

Back when the project was just a dream, he said that he walked in the bush area, which is now the T-bar, and figured it would be ok. “Seeing it today, I don’t think they ever believed that it would be as good of skiing as it is in here. It’s really good!” The new area more than quadruples the skiable zone at Eastlink Park and takes it to a whole new level.

In the last week, as temperatures dipped down into perfect snowmaking territory, the crew worked night and day to get this ready. “We felt we could make this happen before Christmas. The snowmakers were out here every day, 24 hours a day for probably a week. I don’t know how much snow we ended up making, but I spent over 200 hours in the snowcat pushing it all out and laying it out like this,” explained Lappin. Since the beginning, he has been the guiding force behind the project. Tallying up his total hours of volunteer time would be quite something.

One of the businesses that donated to the project was Strike. On opening day, Frank Jensen, Northern Western Manager, and David Beauchesne, Fabrication Foreman, were both on hand to see the T-bar in action. “It’s fun to work on something that you get to see the result of and see families get to use and enjoy. That doesn’t happen very often,” said Beauchesne. He noted that Strike started working with Guye up at Eastlink Park a year and a half ago when they went through all the frames to hold the cables in place. They also helped with the plumping and water.

“This last summer, we had a bunch of young students through the RAP program gives us a hand welding on the main skid where the main mother runs to run the cable up and down the hill,” he explained. “It’s not a normal project, but the reward is amazing. Our family is a huge ski family. To get to work with Guy, learn from his knowledge and to hear how much he knows about skiing and everything, was really cool to be involved with.”

He said that his connection to Guy’s family, through skiing, was what helped Strike get involved in the first place. “My manager, Frank Jensen, loves to volunteer for the community and to keep things in the community, so he was all for it. It was not even a second through for him. He wanted to help.”

Now that the T-bar is functional and being enjoyed, Lappin said they are looking towards a future project for next year. They want to light up the T-bar and be able to utilize it for night skiing. “We’ve got pictures from when we had the snow guns going with the lights on them. You could see the town below, and it was a beautiful picture from the top tower. It was just wow. That is what it will look like up here once we get the lights up,” said Lappin. The lights will cost roughly $1200 per light, and they will need approximately 15 of them. For now, before the next phase begins, the hardworking crew of hill fairies can enjoy themselves right alongside the kids and soak up the moment. Job well done! For information on ticket prices, rentals, and seasonal passes, visit www.eastlinkpark.com.