Boler Mountain facts for kids
Boler Mountain, once called the London Ski Club, is a fun recreation club in London, Ontario. It's a "not-for-profit" place, which means it's run for the community, not just to make money. You can find it in the western part of London, in a neighbourhood called Byron.
In winter, Boler Mountain is great for skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing. When summer comes, it changes into a spot for mountain biking, hiking, zip lining, and beach volleyball. Even though it's called a "mountain," it's more like a big hill. It's not huge, but it's super easy for people in London to get to. After a big upgrade in 2012, Boler now has 3 chairlifts and two special carpets to help you get up the hill. These lifts serve 16 different trails.
History of Boler Mountain
Boler Mountain has been open since 1946. It's actually the most southerly ski hill in all of Canada! It started with just one ski run on the southeast side of the hill. You could get to it by a gravel road from Boler Road. Over the years, the ski club grew bigger, moving westward. The main building, called the chalet, was built in 1972. Around that time, the old road access was closed to build new houses, and the entrance moved to Griffith Street.
In the 1970s and 80s, Boler Mountain had three T-bar lifts. These are special lifts that pull you up the hill. In the early 1990s, one of these T-bars was replaced with a quad-chairlift, which can carry four people at once. The other two T-bars were replaced by another quad-chairlift in 2003.
A fourth T-bar lift was started in the early 1980s on a new area called Hill 2000. But it was never finished and was mostly taken apart by 1997. In January 1998, a tubing hill was added at the bottom of Hill 2000. This area, later renamed West Hill, slowly grew from 1978 until it was finally finished in February 2012. Boler staff say the delay was because they had to wait for free dirt from other building projects in the city. The West Hill now has its own quad chairlift. At 67 meters (about 220 feet), it's the tallest spot in London!
Boler Mountain also hosted the mountain biking event for the 2001 Canada Summer Games. In 2013, they added the Treetop Adventure Park. This park has fun zip lines and challenging obstacle courses high up in the trees. In early 2014, Boler also hosted the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race.
Ski and Snowboard Runs
Boler Mountain has 16 different runs for skiing and snowboarding. These runs are sorted by how difficult they are.
| Ski and Snowboard Trails | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| By Run |  Easiest |
| Willy's Bowl | Easiest |
| Easy Street | Easiest |
| Elbow | Easiest |
| Apple Jack | Easiest |
| B Trial |  More Difficult |
| Double Dip | More Difficult |
| Red's Run | More Difficult |
| Rub-A-Dub | More Difficult |
| Spriet Street | More Difficult |
| A Trail |  Most Difficult |
| Big Dipp | Most Difficult |
| Hill 55 | Most Difficult |
| J.S. | Most Difficult |
| Rusty's Run | Most Difficult |
| Wayne's Way | Most Difficult |
Programs at Boler Mountain
Boler Mountain offers many programs during the winter. The snow school teaches both skiing and snowboarding. Lessons are available for all skill levels and ages. Boler also has a special "Track 3" program. This program has 250 volunteer teachers who help over 120 skiers with disabilities each winter. Boler is also home to London Ski Club Racing, which has racing programs for everyone.
In the summer, Boler Mountain hosts a mountain bike camp for kids aged 7 to 13. They also have bike racing events every week.
