A rendering of the new lodge addition. Image: submitted.
While most skiers haven’t dusted off their skis yet, Fredericton’s Crabbe Mountain is preparing for something big.
Crabbe Mountain is building a lodge addition and modified ski hill in anticipation of the 2023 Canada Winter Games’ alpine ski events.
“It’s certainly a milestone in the life of Crabbe Mountain,” said Jordon Cheney, general manager at Crabbe.
The foundation for the new lodge addition will be put in this fall, with construction set to wrap up in fall 2022. The new lodge will have space for all of Crabbe’s amenities, like their rental and repair shop, to be under one roof.
“We’ve been at capacity for a while now and getting to the point where we’re able to do this is going to be a huge benefit for staff and guests and improve function and flow,” said Cheney.
Cheney said one of their biggest struggles of the last few years was having adequate accessibility available to skiers. Crabbe already offers skiing and instruction options for guests with mobility needs, so Cheney saw a disconnect when it came to the indoor facilities.
“We’re pretty stoked to be able to incorporate accessibility throughout the entire lodge and move away from the past buildings that are way beyond their lifespan,” said Cheney.
Though the 2023 Winter Games are taking place in P.E.I., Crabbe has been selected for the off-island alpine ski and freestyle mogul events. Travel restrictions allowing, Crabbe is also planning to host the Junior National event for freestyle modules and alpine skiing this coming winter.
Norm’s Nightmare, a slope at Crabbe, is under construction now with the goal of bringing it up to racing level for these upcoming events.
Beyond the games, Cheney expects there will be periods of time where the new slope will be a good course for ungroomed bump skiing.
“It’ll be a really good, beautiful manicured slope,” said Cheney. “And we’re looking after some drainage issues at the same time and widening that slope. It’ll be a cool piece of legacy left behind.”
Crabbe’s recent expansion was pushed in part by substantial growth all around the mountain. Cheney said in the last five years, they have gone from 1oo privately owned ski chalets on the mountain to 150.
With the help of a resort planning firm in British Columbia, Crabbe is conducting market research and developing land use concepts to develop a long-term vision.
“We’re gonna have a pretty good idea on what the art of the possible is here and then have a good road map over the next few years to work towards,” said Cheney.
Rachel Smith is an intern for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
