Learning how to ski at Twin Towers ski resort
By Joan Janzen
The town of Stranraer was home to Twin Towers Ski Resort, which opened in 1974 and continued to provide a place to ski for thirty years. A lot of kids who grew up in this area during the 1970s and 1980s learned how to ski on that hill. It was called Twin Towers because of the two television towers near the site at that time. It opened on January 19, 1974, exactly fifty years ago.
At that time it featured two runs and a cable tow, where skiers held on to individual handles as they were transported up the hill. Skiers were able to warm up in a heated waiting room that had a confectionery at one end, and night skiing was available on Friday evenings.
Twin Towers became a modern facility in the 1980s, with a 1,800 foot T-bar installed in 1986, after a lodge was built in 1984. Photo (Jan. 25, 1999 West Central Crossroads)
An old house had been moved on to the site and served as a ski equipment rental facility; three years later it expanded into a ski shop. In 1976 two more runs were added and an additional cable tow, and in 1979 a third tow and more runs were added.
The resort kept on expanding, as it became a popular hill where many youngsters learned how to ski. A lodge was built on site in 1984, followed by a 1800 foot T-bar two years later.
Up until the fall of 1993, snow for the ski hill was trucked in from surrounding farms, and at times contained dirt and rock. The long, slow process of moving snow meant the hill didn’t open until mid-January. However snow making equipment was installed in the fall of 1993, making it possible for Twin Towers to become the official ski venue for the 1994 Saskatchewan Winter Games, based in Kindersley. The new equipment and guarantee snow enabled the resort to open in December.
Twin Towers drew people from all the surrounding communities, and even Saskatoon. During the 1997-1998 season, it was visited by a total of 10,000 skiers. This included students from both rural and city schools who came to visit.
Twenty-five years ago, on January 15th and 16th, 1999, the ski resort celebrated its 25th anniversary. An article in the January 25th issue of West Central Crossroads reported 180 skiers came out on Friday, January 15th for the occasion. Fifty skiers and boarders waved glow sticks as they participated in a torch lite parade, as they all skied together. After the lifts closed there was a huge fireworks display.
The celebration continued on Saturday morning with a pancake breakfast, afternoon races, relay races where teams raced down the hill holding glasses filled with water which they exchanged with teammates half way down the hill. All the instructors and pros participated in races before a social and supper got underway at the Stranraer Hall. Musical entertainment was enjoyed later in the evening, and the Ski Hill Anthem “Smoke on the Water” reportedly brought down the house.
Snow conditions and sunshine provided perfect conditions for skiing on that January weekend. The article went on to say Twin Towers owed its success to its volunteers and surrounding communities. Throughout its years of operation it served as a place for many beginner skiers to attain skills before moving on to the Rockies.