It's been a tough couple of days for Mike King.
The new general manager at Laurentian Ski Hill was looking forward to a re-opening this weekend until the provincial government extended northern Ontario's lockdown until January 23.
"We were all excited and ready to go, our plans in place, and just at the last minute to hear something like that was very disappointing," noted King.
"It is not just about the skiers and snowboarders it is about our staff that would rather be working now and it is very unfortunate."
King was among many ski hill operators in the province that were attempting to lobby the province to consider ski hills an essential service and allow the outdoor activity to continue despite the lockdown.
"They really were not that forthcoming," said King.
"Most of the information we learned just at the same time that the general population learned."
See related; Local ski hill says "no" to the south
See related: Ford: the last thing on my mind is ski hills
Premier Doug Ford, when speaking to reporters dismissed the idea during a Friday morning media conference where he noted "opening ski hills was the last thing on his mind."
King also notes that the ski hills mandate to not permit southerners to ski at their hill has changed with this announcement.
"It is obviously not as much of a concern because the ski hills in the south will be opening at the same time so I don't think we will get the influx of people from southern Ontario that we were a little concerned about," said King.
Now King just hopes a lockdown is not extended as he says they will continue to make snow when weather cooperates and the hill should be in really good shape when opening day comes.
