Jos Konst, Project Coordinator
September 25, 2007
In May of this year application was made to the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts (Kevin Eskelin Forest Recreation Officer, Recreation Sites and Trails Unit) for a proposed trail joining the town of Smithers to the ski area. Meetings were held, field trips with interested parties were done and the application was fine tuned requesting a 300 meter corridor within which a 50 meter wide or less run could be built. As of yesterday the application was still on Mr. Eskelins' desk. He says he is swamped with work but it is a very good project and saw no reason why it won’t get approval once the powers that be get to it.
Bill Myers , our liaison with the Hudson Bay Mountain Cabin owners and the Smithers Ski Club has entered on a data base all of the info from the petitions that were passed around town this spring. Following is a summary of the data;
| Total Supporters | 2902 | |
| Monetary Supporters | 127 | $12,615.00 |
| Labour and Equipment | 176 | |
In addition to this we have already collected $6000 through paid up pledges and our auction on the mountain this spring plus a commitment of $10,000 from the Smithers Rotary Clubs. I have additional commitments from several local business including the Credit Union, BV Wholesale , Remax and Ski Smithers for $6000, bringing the total of pledged and collected to $34,615.00 . Add to this the pledged labor and Machine time, it would safe to say this community has raised $50,000 towards this project.
This week we will be making application to UBMC Community Tourism Funds for grant money for this project. I have been advised that this project is a perfect fit for these funds.
Thanks for your continued support.
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By Ryan Jensen
Feb 28 2007
Jos Konst's vision is getting closer to becoming reality.
Earlier this month, the Smithers businessman and Rotary Club member spearheaded an initiative which would see the ski hill joined up with the town by a community trail down the north slope of Hudson Bay Mountain.
The project will cost about $50,000 and already more than half of that total has been raised.
And the whole community is getting involved: both Smithers Rotary Clubs have pledged $5,000, Winterland and Ski and Ride Smithers have put forward $3,000, Remax has donated $1,000 and Hoskins Ford has chipped in $1,000.
Last week Konst was in Vancouver on business and secured donations of silent auction items to be raffled on March 10 following a fund raising dinner to be held at the ski hill.
"The whole recreation industry is helping out," he said. "It's just amazing. There will be at least $3,000 worth of product."
Some of the items up for auction include: coats, backpacks, hats and an MP3 player.
In addition to monetary donations, the petitions circulating around town are also filling up. Konst would like to see at least 3,700 signatures of support on the petition --- one for each vertical foot the trail will cover. The petitions can be found at businesses all over town.
"If it's laying on the counter, pick it up and sign it," Konst said. "If you think it's a good idea, don't wait, get out there and sign the petition. Get out there and support your community, support your imagination."
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen said he thinks the trail is a great idea and he hopes the project is able to cut right through any bureaucratic red tape that may be in the way.
"There may be some liability issues that pop up, but if people can find their way through the community forest and any private land that's in the way, I think it could be interesting," Cullen said. "It would be a nice ski."
Konst said there are currently people inside the government working on the approval process.
By Ryan Jensen
Feb 13 2007
Jos Konst has a vision that will end decades of debate in Smithers — how to connect the town to its ski hill. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent analyzing, exploring and researching a way for Smithers to take advantage of one of its best attractions. However, high speed quads, gondolas, as well as a myriad of other proposals have never left the drawing board.
Konst told The Interior News on Sunday, his idea is so simple and realistic that unlike more grandiose schemes, a community ski run from the peak of Hudson Bay Mountain into town is not only viable, but would revolutionize skiing, hiking, mountain biking and other recreational opportunities in very short order — with little red tape. “This is something we can do as a community,” said Konst, a Rotary Club of Smithers past president. “It’s something we can afford, it’s not a pipe dream and it could be in effect by next winter.”
Already backed by both of Smithers’ Rotary clubs and private sponsors, Konst kicked off a drive to construct the dual-purpose winter ski run and summer trail down the north slope from the hill into Smithers. The 75-metre-wide run will cover 3,700 vertical feet and Konst estimates it will take seven minutes of hard skiing to go from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
The estimated cost of the project is $50,000 but in just six short days, Konst said private individuals, service groups and businesses have already stepped up to support the run to the tune of $17,000. To ensure the run remains a source of community pride, Konst wants to see sections of the run adopted and cared for by Valley organizations.
Currently, petitions are being circulated for people to sign to indicate their support, which Konst said will also prove to municipal leaders that not only is the connecting run a good idea, but that it is something the community wants. Konst said he would like to see one signature for every vertical foot the trail covers. A steering committee is also being formed and Konst said he wants all aspects of the community represented.
“We want a cross-section of people on the committee,” he said. “This is a heck of an opportunity for all user groups to get together and really see something positive happen for this community.” The area of the proposed trail has some history as a recreational zone. In the 1930s there was night skiing and in the early 1970s, Konst had a tow rope set up which took kids up the slope so they could ski. “We’re just joining the past with the present,” Konst said.
