Shames Mountain is 35 kilometres west of Terrace and 125 kilometres east of Prince Rupert, in the Coast Mountains of northwest BC. The top is 1,189 metres (3,900 feet) and the base 700 metres (2,300 feet), for 488 metres (1,600 feet) of vertical. A double chair, a T-bar and a carpet serve 28 cut runs on 141 acres, plus 111 acres of natural glades, and the longest run is 4 kilometres. Shames averages 1,200 centimetres (480 inches) of snow a year, and more than 7,800 acres of backcountry surround the ski area.
Shames opened in the early 1990s. When its owners put it up for sale in 2008, local skiers set out to keep it open, and My Mountain Co-op was formed in 2011. The co-op calls itself Canada’s first non-profit community service ski co-operative. The season runs from the Christmas break to late March, with the lifts open Thursday to Sunday after the holidays.
Shames has two still cams at the base. The Chairlift Camera looks across the base toward the mountain, and the Parking Lot Camera shows the lot by the lodge. The snow report on the same page gives snow depth from two weather stations, one at the bottom of the T-bar and one at the lodge.
Shames is about a half-hour drive west of Terrace and about an hour east of Prince Rupert on Highway 16. The last 13 kilometres is a maintained gravel road, and the co-op says proper snow tires are mandatory in winter: newer snow tires, studded tires or chains. Terrace and Prince Rupert both have airports served by Air Canada, WestJet and Central Mountain Air.
BC requires winter tires or chains on Highway 16 between Terrace and Prince Rupert from October 1 to March 31. A legal winter tire has the M+S or mountain snowflake mark and at least 3.5 millimetres of tread. DriveBC shows road conditions.
Shames Mountain is on the Indy Pass with 2 days and no blackout dates. It isn’t on the Epic or Ikon Pass.