Sun Peaks Resort
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Sun Peaks Resort is a winter skiing destination located 50 km (driving distance) North-East of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
The summit of the ski area, known as The Top of the World, is at an elevation of 2,080 m (6,824 ft), with an 881 m (2,891 ft) vertical rise from the base of the peak. Sun Peaks Resort has 15 square kilometres (3,678 acres) of skiable terrain, and receives an average of 5.6 m (220 in) of snow per year.
The resort has 11 lifts with a total capacity of 11,000 riders per hour. The lifts consist of three high-speed quads, one regular quad, a triple chair, 3 pull lifts and 4 carpet lifts. There are 117 runs, including 12 gladed areas and over 50km of cross country trails. Sun Peaks also has a half-pipe and two terrain parks for snowboarding, one beginner and one intermediate. The Nancy Greene Race Center opened during the 2005/06 winter season for use by local and visiting teams training for downhill, slalom, and GS racing. Sun Peaks area averages over 2000 hours of sun a year.
Prior to July 1993, Sun Peaks was known simply as Tod Mountain, named after the highest ski mountain at the resort. The first chair lift, the Burfield chair, as well as the Burfield lodge, opened in 1961. In 1968, the lift was damaged by fire as was forced to close for repairs until December 1970. In 1972, Shuswap Double Chair was opened (it was replaced by the high-speed Sunburst Quad in 1995), followed by the Crystal Triple Chair in 1979. The first real estate developments opened in 1988 at the Burfield Base.
In 1992, Tod Mountain was purchased by Nippon Cable Company Ltd. of Tokyo. In 1993, Nippon Cable invested $12 million to begin a long-term development plan for the mountain. New terrain was opened, and three new chairs were installed, including two quad chairs. 1995 saw the development of the resort's first hotel, the Nancy Greene Cahilty Lodge, as well as the first phase of what will become an 18-hole championship links golf course starting in the summer of 2006.
The current village at Sun Peaks currently consists of 7 hotel properties, including the 4-diamond Delta Sun Peaks Resort, the only 4-diamond hotel in the B.C. interior. There are plans for one more condo-style hotel for the centre of the village. There are currently 10 fully developed townhouse communities within Sun Peaks, with 5 more either for sale or in various stages of development.
The ski area is comprised of three mountains: Tod Mountain, Sundance Mountain, and Mt. Morrisey. There is also back-country skiing available beyond the ski area boundaries on both Tod Mountain and Sundance Mountain. Aside from skiing, there are many other activities available at Sun Peaks: snowshoeing, dogsledding, ice skating, snowmobiling, and a variety of others.
During the summer months, Sun Peaks opens its championship golf course, as well as the Sunburst quad for both hiking and mountain biking. The Sun Peaks corporation is working towards marketing Sun Peaks as a year-round resort destination.
The resort is being constructed on unceded Secwepemc First Nation ("Shuswap") land as a part of historical colonialism against Canadian indigenous peoples by European colonists. The land is part of ongoing land claims settlement negotiations between the Canadian First Nations in British Columbia and the governments of British Columbia and Canada.
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