Canada Games skiers praise 'perfect' conditions at New Brunswick's Crabbe Mountain

With Prince Edward Island’s glaring lack of steep inclines, New Brunswick’s Crabbe Mountain picked up its slack by hosting alpine ski events for the Canada Winter Games underway on the island.

The super-G race, giant slalom, and slalom events took place at the ski hill in Central Hainesville, N.B.

Jordan Cheney, the manager of Crabbe Mountain, says he’s hopeful the events will put the hill on the map.

“The feedback that we’ve been getting from people across the country, [saying] you know, ‘We didn’t realize that New Brunswick had skiing like this,’” Cheney told CTV News Thursday.

He’s happy to see everything go according to plan.

“Some of these athletes were super impressive,” said Cheney.

Lucas Savard, of Team Quebec, says the volunteers are helpful and the conditions are great.

“The hill is perfect for our competitions,” said Savard.

Carol Hilton, of Team Nova Scotia, says she has skied at Crabbe before so she already knows her way around.

“On the race track, it’s perfect conditions for G.S. [giant slalom] – really grippy, not bumpy at all,” said Hilton.

Kalle Eriksson, a visually-impaired para-athlete from Alberta, says he’s hoping to make the national team one day.

“Maybe represent Canada in 2026, but we’ll see how it goes and push as hard as we can,” said Eriksson.

Spectators, supporters and parents lined the hill Thursday.

“It’s awesome. It’s way bigger than we thought,” said Karen Allan, a parent from Saskatchewan. “It’s beautiful. The weather’s been great, so the whole experience has been awesome.”

While the events at Crabbe Mountain finished Thursday, the 2023 Canada Winter Games officially wrap up Sunday with the closing ceremonies on P.E.I.