No skiing yet: White Hills opening delayed by a week

White Hills ski resort in Clarenville is opening a week behind schedule this year, with the slopes expected to be ready for action on January 9.

Manager Carmel Smith saidthe warmer temperatures this year made it impossible to open during the holidays.

"We always like to open during the Christmas break when the kids are off school," she said.

"They always get a lot of equipment for Christmas and [are] itching to use it, but weather didn't permit us to open this week. So we're just one weekend behind."

White Hills began making snow on Dec.27, and Smith said the recent cold weather has been extremely helpful.

"As long as it's cold and we're able to make it and keep it I think we'll be fine," she said, noting that aside from the initial delay it should be a fairly normal season at White Hills.

Smith said they usually have to do their own snowmaking for three to four weeks before it's cold enough to rely on snow from the sky.

White Hills, which has 22 different ski and snowboard runs of varying difficulty, is expected to stay open until mid-April.