Yukon ski hill welcomes those who can't wait for winter

It's been warmer than usual in Yukon this year, but theski and snowboard seasonhas already begun at least, for some people.

For the second year, Whitehorse's Mount Simais hosting competitive athletes who pay extra for early access.

This week, there are about 200 people therefrom across Canada, includingmembers of Quebec's Mont BlancAlpine Team, Alberta's WinSport Academy and the Snowboard Ontario provincial team.

Many of the athletes have dreams competing in the Olympics.

They say travelling to Yukon gives them a few weeks' head start on their competition.

"We don't have snow out yet, so we wanted to come ski first, so we came here," says JulietteCharest of Quebec's Mont Blancski racing team.

The Yukon government has invested in the hill, and is hoping that competitive athletes visiting the territory can boost the local economy.Competitive athletes pay twice the regular fee and their early access helps to subsidize the rest of the ski season.

The ski hill even has a plastic-coated ramp and giant airbag, which can be used to practice freestyle ski jumping year-round.

Mount Sima'sgeneral manager, Cindy Chandler, says milder weather this year means the hill is about three weeks behind its usual schedule. The hill has reliedon snow cannons, which have been blasting out the white stuff for nearly a month.

The ski hill is aiming to open to the public at the end of the month.