Valemount mega glacier resort receives provincial approval

A mega ski resort planned for Valemount has taken another step forward.

The Provincial Government has approved the master plan for a 1,997 bed resort planned just west of the village; Valemount Glacier Destinations.

At build-out, it will provide access to glaciers at over 3,000 meters elevation, and will have a vertical drop of about 2,050 meters, the largest in North America and third largest in the world.

“There will be a small summer skiing area right off the bat.” said Tommaso Oberti, VP of the Pheidias Group

“That will expand as the lift system works its way westward. By the end of phase one, the lift system will reach Twilight Glacier which is a bigger summer skiing area and more impressive viewpoint.” he said noting that phase one will take 3-5 years to build.

Construction is planned to begin in the spring of 2017, with the first chairs swinging for skiers December 2017. Opening year will see lift access up to Mt Pierre Elliott Trudeau with six lifts ranging from gondola to T-bar.

Also constructed for year one; a day lodge, a mountain-top restaurant and viewing point. Hotels and real estate development will come in the following years.

“The lift system is designed very much with the intention of moving site seers as well, because the primary market for this project is the Jasper visitor group which is a sightseeing clientele.” Oberti said

Oberti says the project has the support of the local Simpcw First Nation, calling their agreements with them “generous”. The Village of Valemount has thrown their full weight behind the plan, and actually approached the Pheidias Group group initially asking for them to consider a resort for the area.

“They’ve been hit fairly hard by the closure of their mill, a number of people in the community work in the Alberta oil fields” Oberti said “Economically, they see tourism as a much more sustainable long term economic engine for the community.”

The resort developers still need to put together a master development agreement with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources – which works out how exactly the resort will be constructed and operated. Oberti expects that to be in place in 1-3 months.