Spuzzum First Nation Proposes Resort near Coquihalla summit

Highway 5 rises up out of Hope BC and into the snowbelt of the Coquihalla, where the Spuzzum first nation wants to build a year round recreation resort. South Anderson resort is slated to include 3000 mixed use housing units, with cross country and downhill skiing in the winter, golfing, hiking and downhill mountain biking in the summer. With 11 chairlifts planned, and the tenure covering 7400 hectares, this will be a larger resort by most Canadian resort standards. It will sit between Highway 1 and Highway 5. Access to South Anderson is being planned ,according to the January 10 2022 feasibility study, mostly from Highway 1 through Anderson FSR 20 miles to the resort area. The same study predicts 400,000 skier visits in a 120 day season.

There are no sizable ski resorts east from Whistler, until you hit the Okanagan Valley. Vancouver has the local North shore mountains of Grouse, Seymour and Cypress literally on the city bus routes. Whistler Blackcomb is the only real option for a larger resort if you are one of the 2.7 million people living in the Greater Vancouver area.

South Anderson will have a base elevation of 3300ft and the highest lift will top out at 5676ft. Not as high in elevation as Big White at 4940ft base elevation, or Silver Star at 3790 ft base elevation, but high enough to benefit from the storms that roll up the Fraser Valley from the Pacific, and smash the Coquihalla summits. The “Highway from Hell” series was filmed about this pass, and the highways avalanche program is one of the busiest in Canada. 

On the face of it, this seems like a good place for a ski resort. It’s a pretty snowsure area, close enough to a major city, and smaller high density population areas. Major highways already bring millions of travelers right past the access road. However, any new resort in BC faces a few hurdles to become a viable business. It will be interesting to see how the proposal moves forward.