As the days get shorter and Jack Frost casts his icy grip on the weather, Mt. Timothy Ski Area is preparing for its upcoming ski season.

On Oct. 28 Mt. Timothy Ski Area hosted its annual general meeting.

This year’s board of directors were announced and introduced to those in attendance at 150 Mile Elementary School, and retiring directors Rob Wilson, Troy Forcier and John Peever were thanked for their hard work and dedication to the ski hill.

The 2009/2010 board of directors are:

John Stace-Smith (Williams Lake), Mike Anderson (108 Mile), Tom Nascou (Williams Lake), Bruce Johnson (Williams Lake), Debbie Dengel (100 Mile House), Mark Robinson (Lac La Hache), Gernot Zemanek (Canim Lake), Cliff Munich (Williams Lake), Tammy McDermid (108 Mile), Dwayne Chamberlain (100 Mile House) and Bob Patterson (150 Mile House).

Also coming up is the annual Ski Swap from Nov. 6-7, sponsored by the Timberland Alpine Race Team.

The swap will be at 510 North Broadway Ave.

Sale item drop off times are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Doors open at 1 p.m. with the sale running until 4 p.m. Pickup time for unsold items or cash from sold items goes from 4 to 5 p.m. Ski passes will be available for pickup at the swap.

Then on Nov. 14, the annual fundraising dinner and auction takes place at the Bond Lake Road Rod and Gun Club hall. Crystal Baba and her team from the Gecko Tree are catering the event.

And on Dec. 11 the hill is scheduled to open, weather permitting.

Pre-season Value Passes are available until Nov. 30, with regular prices going into effect on Dec. 1.

“We have been going flat-out up here creating lots of new and exciting things for this season,” says Noel Thompson, general manager of Mt. Timothy Ski Area.

“The construction of the new platter lift in the terrain park is going at break-neck speed; we have all the concrete towers and stations poured and will be backfilling and landscaping in the first week of November.

“Then we’ll put five towers in place, install the cable, hang the platters and test the lift. The new magic carpet lift should be on the mountain by the second week of November — the new lifts are a great addition to the mountain.”

The hill has also purchased a fully automated snow-making gun, and is expecting its new groomer to arrive by late December.

In August, the hill was awarded a $1,074,430 grant through the federal/provincial government’s Community Adjustment Fund through the Northern Development Initiative Trust.

For more information, or to inquire about ski passes call the ski office at 250-395-3772 or e-mail skitimothy@bcinternet.net.