Downhill turn for ski hills in northeastern Ontario after mild winter

The winter that was wasn't veryeasy on ski hill operators and resorts in northeastern Ontario, and now, one is considering hanging up the poles.

• Northeast ski hills struggling and the mild weather isn't helping

A warmer-than-normal winter saw hills open later than usual, and that cut into profits.

In Sudbury, the city operatesthe Adanac and Lively ski hills and thosedidn't open until the second week of January,meaning season pass sales were cut dramatically.

Cindy Dent is the manager of recreation with the city.She told CBC Newsthere was a 20 per cent cutin business,but said the future is still bright for the hills.

"I would say that certainly we can't ignore climate change, but I think it's [about] how we adapt to it and how we deal with what we're given in that particular year."

Dent saidthe city will never stop operating the ski hillsbecause they're so important to Sudburians.

But, it may be a different story for the Searchmont Resort in Sault Ste Marie.

Tom Dodds is the CEO for the not-for-profit Sault Ste Marie Economic Development Corporation, which bought Searchmontin 2015.

Dodds said last year, the hill wasopen half the time with half the number of skiiers as the year before.

"We don't want to be in the ski business [anymore]," he said. "We're interested in finding others that do and we're trying to get the resort in a shape that's attractive to them."

Despite that,Dodds saidthe Corporation doesn't have any immediate plans to dump the hill.