New leadership straps on skis at Searchmont

Searchmont Resort continues to face challenges as it prepares for another season.

The resort has a new manager and the Searchmont Ski Association Inc. has a new chair who leads a board grappling with “fairly significant financial challenges.”

Justus Veldman has stepped in to fill the not-for-profit association’s vacant chair’s position.

Veldman said the financial challenges have been long-standing.

“That’s been the challenge for the hill forever. Ridership is down, ski visits are down for another year in a row,” said Veldman.

Meanwhile, Paul Suda, who ran Searchmont in the late 1990s and recently retired as hospitality management instructor at Humber College, has come out of retirement to be the resort’s new general manager, replacing longtime manager Dan Missere.

While last year was a good year for snow, road closures kept skiers away, as did cold weather and visitors were down, said Suda.

The resort had roughly 40,000 visits in the 2013-14 season.

Suda said the long-term goal is to reach the 80,000 visit mark but he said in the near term, 50,000 visits is the goal.

Suda said work is underway at the resort to catch up with pre-season preparation in time for a December 19 opening.

“Our major challenge right now is time because we need to do the necessary maintenance which should have started at the latest in August,” he said.

When it comes to the hill’s future, Veldman said the ski association is investigating whether or not the quad lift can run again, and trying to find a financial structure that’s going to make sense in the long-term.

“Every year, it’s the same thing. Every year October, November comes and there’s talk around is the hill going to open, is it not,” said Veldman.

Veldman, who Saultites will know as CEO of Riversedge Developments, said the board’s hope is that by bringing in Suda Searchmont’s amenities can be improved and visitorship will increase.

He said there are efforts underway to make the hill more attractive to post-secondary students.

“Those initiatives, I’m hoping, will right-size the ski ridership,” said Veldman.

Suda, who has been associated with Searchmont off and on since the late 1970s, pointed out that resort used to offer non-skiing activities - ice climbing, skating rinks and tubing - to help boost attendance and he said a return to attractions of this kind are being considered.

“We would like to bring the numbers up. The goal is to increase not only daily visits, but increase the destination visits as well,” he said.