On Hudson Bay Mountain, Smithers' ski resort, the chairlift was eerily quiet at 1:45 in the afternoon. On a sunny Sunday, usually skiers and snowboarders can be heard hollering and laughing, people are "hot-dogging" and doing tricks for the people riding the chairlift, and there's no shortage of fun to watch.

But on Sunday, April 10, the runs were empty. Everyone was down at the bottom of the T-bar line to watch the Annual Schnai Day Slush Cup.

The origin of the term "schnai day" is a little hard to find. Some think it's a play on the German word for "snow," which is "schnee." Smithers is home to quite a large population of Germans, which makes the etymology sound like it could be right.

CICK News spoke with Connie Scott, a local writer who co-authored a book called Mountain of Change 1960- 2020, on the history of the mountain and ski resort.

"The meaning of Schnai means Snow Day in German. Schnai Day started on the ski hill in the late seventies to celebrate the last official day of operations for the ski season. It happens on a Sunday in mid-April and generally, with the blue sky and warm temperatures and longer daylight encourages the flash of bare arms and legs on the lifts," she wrote in the book. 

Schnai Day commemorates the end of the ski season (for those who want to use the chairlift). You can ski the hill all year round if you're willing to hike up there yourself, of course. The last day of the season is celebrated with a barbeque, music, silly costumes and a costume contest and the Slush Cup Challenge.

The Slush Cup is open for anyone who is brave enough to hurl themselves down a ramp on a snowboard or skis and attempt to skip across the 25 meter puddle of ice water and slush. A crowd sits on the hill to cheer on the successful skippers and commiserate with the ones who fall in. Children and adults show off their flair and style, and it's all in good fun.

CICK News was at the event to speak to some spectators and find out what Schnai Day means to them: