Winter 2026 – What & Why Its Different?

Whether we open for 2 days or 62 days there is generally a long list of obligation’s, commitments and operational requirements to meet and given the fickle nature of recent winters we need to be nimble and flexible in how we operate.

With all that in mind the Committee have built a plan, an “operational model”, for winter 2026. This plan will help us get back on track and whilst intended at this stage for just this upcoming season, we hope to gain new learnings into how we operate longer term as we face the challenges of the variable weather patterns, less frequent snow, higher freezing levels, higher compliance costs & decreasing membership numbers – to mention a few!

The following are the key points for winter 2026 operations:

• Opening Date – Friday 17 July
• Closing Date – Sunday 27 September
• Operational days – Thursday – Sunday inclusive (four days a week with the exception of Ski Weeks – see point below)
• Days Closed – Monday – Wednesday
• Ski Weeks – up to three focussed and key ski weeks will be run during August and must reach minimum numbers to go ahead. Weeks will run Tuesday – Saturday.
• DBBL Accommodation – Friday & Saturday nights with Thursday offered if there is demand.
• No Ski Hire
• No Snowsports instruction (with exception of a revised plan for ski weeks)
• No beginners packages
• Reduced staff numbers from 16 to 9 (plus casuals and volunteers)

The above plan will be based on snow, weather, patronage and is focussed on reducing cost, overheads and risk as we head into another unknown winter. It may be revised during the season as needed to optimise the settings.

Its been a challenging time but we hope by acknowledging these challenges and making change we can keep Mt Cheeseman Ski Club alive and move into a new era by being adaptable during winters and building further on the summer operation as well.

Thanks for your ongoing support and as always we appreciate any feedback.