Marble Mountain is a ski resort located in the town of Steady Brook, on the west coast of Newfoundland in the Long Range Mountains.
| Marble Mountain Resort | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Steady Brook, Newfoundland Canada |
| Nearest major city | Corner Brook |
| Coordinates | 48°56′12″N 57°49′38″W / 48.93667°N 57.82722°W |
| Vertical | 536 m (1,759 ft) |
| Top elevation | 546 m (1,791 ft) |
| Base elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Skiable area | 225 acres (0.91 km2) |
| Trails | 39  5 – Easiest  17 – More Difficult  10 – Most Difficult  6 – Expert |
| Longest run | Country Road 4.5 km (3 mi) |
| Lift system | 4 lifts: 1 high-speed quad chair; 2 fixed-grip quad chairs; 1 magic carpet |
| Terrain parks |  2 – Terrain Park, 7 mogul runs |
| Snowfall | 5m (16ft)/year |
| Website | Ski Marble |
The resort is located on a series of steep ridges forming part of the southern side of the Humber River valley on Mount Musgrave at Steady Brook, approximately 7 km (4 mi) east of Corner Brook. As the name implies, marble is present but it forms only a minor part of the bedrock, which is mostly schist.[1] The peak is named in honour of Sir Anthony Musgrave, a colonial governor of Newfoundland.
Lower elevations of Marble Mountain outside of the ski lanes are covered with a rich mixed forest of abundant balsam fir, white spruce, black spruce and white birch, with some red maple and mountain maple. At higher elevations, black spruce is often dominant and deciduous trees are less abundant.
Marble Mountain is the site of the largest alpine ski resort in Atlantic Canada. Environment Canada's doppler weather radar station "XME", part of the Canadian weather radar network is located near the resort at the summit of Mount Musgrave.
The Marble Mountain Ski Resort is known to have some of the best skiing east of the Rockies with an average of 5 m (16 ft) of snow each year, compared to Mont Tremblant's 3.65 m (12 ft). This produces a three-month ski season. In the winter of 2013/2014, the resort saw more than 21 feet of natural snowfall and in the 2014/2015 season, nearly 20 feet of natural snow fell. Marble Mountain was a key venue for the 1999 Canada Winter Games hosted by Corner Brook.
Marble Mountain boasts the only detachable high speed quad lift in Atlantic Canada, the Lightning Express. It is 1,660 m (5,446 ft) in length and has a ride time of approximately 7 minutes.
On June 29, 2018, the provincial government announced that it would be seeking a request for proposals to divest the government of ownership of Marble Mountain.[2] The resort has been operated by the provincial government since 1988 through the Marble Mountain Development Corporation. The ski hill receives an annual subsidy of close to $1 million.
As of late June 2022 moves are under way to make Marble Mountain an all-season resort with more emphasis on summer recreation.[3]
Trails
edit| Easy | Intermediate | Difficult | Very Difficult | Freestyle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Broadway (beginners area) | Steinbergs | Kruncher (m) | Macleod Nine (m) | Crocker's Run |
| Upalong | Ho Chi Minh Trail | Cruiser | Boomerang (m) | Hot Dog |
| Country Road | Old Sam | Blow Me Down (OMJ) | Humber View (m) | |
| Little Heart's Ease | Marble Chute | Musgrave (m) | Autobahn (m) | |
| Sleepy Hollow | Nature Trail | Tower 16 | Ugly Stick (g) | |
| Chilliwack | Deep Bight | |||
| Hansen's Run | Corkscrew | |||
| Twister | Tuckamore Tangle (g) | |||
| Knute Chute | Chicken's Way Out | |||
| Bonavista | Cabot Straight | |||
| Caribou Road | ||||
| Jigger | ||||
| Crooked Feeder | ||||
| L'anse Aux Meadows | ||||
| Random Passage | ||||
| Major's Path | ||||
| Langins Lane |
- (m) – mogul runs
- (g) – gladed trail with trees
Lifts
edit| Lift Name | Length | Vertical | Type | Ride Time | Make | Build Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning Express | 1,660m | 519m | High Speed Detachable Quad | 6 Mins | Leitner-Poma | 2014 | |
| Black Mariah | 1,106m | 427m | Fixed Grip Quad | 10 mins | Poma | 1993 | |
| Newfie Bullet | 473m | 220m | Fixed Grip Quad | 6 mins | Doppelmayr | 1986 | |
| Magic Carpet | 91m | 28m | Surface Lift | 2 mins | N/A | 2009 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ http://www.steadybrook.com/images/steady_brook_watershed_plan.pdf Hearn, Dawe, Holloway and Soper, 2005. Steady Brook Watershed Plan, p.7
- ^ "Money-losing ski resort needs private operator, finance minister says | CBC News".
- ^ NTV Evening News, 28 June 2022