The Friends or Mount Sima say they have promises from 650 Yukoners to buy seasons passes for next year, assuming a solution can be found to reopen the beleaguered ski hill.
The group asked for pledges and donations from people who want to see the ski hill live on. If all the pledges translate into actual ticket sales, Sima would see a tripling of season’s passes over last year, said Rod Taylor, a volunteer with the group.
“The response has been tremendous,” Taylor said in a release Wednesday morning.
Along with pass pledges, the group has rounded up $40,000 in promised donations to help with winter expenses.
“It has been so successful,” Tyler Nichol, another volunteer, said in the release.
“We are keeping the online pledging initiative going for another month - until the end of September - in the hopes of topping the 800 pass mark.”
The group met last week to form a new society in the wake of the Great Northern Ski Society’s dissolution. An agreement was reached with the ski society to make the ski hill available after the previous board dissolves.
A business plan is in the works and will be presented to prospective sponsors tomorrow night in the hopes of securing more money for the cash-strapped hill.