Despite prolonged warmth and rain in some parts of the country during the holiday season, Canada’s ski and snowboard season is looking promising as mid-winter approaches. With colder temperatures and more normal ski conditions on the horizon, the best is yet to come.
As January unfolded, many ski areas reported near-perfect conditions, including in Ontario where the weather was unusually mild in late December and into the first week of January.
“Conditions at Mount St. Louis Moonstone are incredible, with a 45 to 65-centimetre base and all 36 slopes open including two terrain parks. We’re crushing it,” says Sarah Huter, assistant general manager at Mount St Louis Moonstone in Coldwater, Ontario about 110 kilometres north of Toronto.
Although the mild, wet weather has posed challenges, some ski area operators say above zero temperatures are good for business.
“We’re going to have a little bit of melt and there might be some dirt patches showing that we’ll have to bury at night with the groomers,” Andrew Burns, director of operations at Mount Pakenham, 45 minutes from Ottawa told CTV News in late December. “But it’s just a little bit of early spring skiing. Maybe it will be a bonus here for the people who like the fair-weather skiing.”
Canadian Ski Council President and CEO Paul Pinchbeck is confident conditions will be optimal in coming weeks as wintry conditions gradually return.
“February is normally one of the best months for natural snow fall at Canada’s ski areas. To help mother nature out, all we need is nighttime temperatures around -5 Celsius to make snow. The week around Christmas demonstrated that Canadians want to ski. While the conditions were good, ski areas across the country recorded visit numbers 10 to 15% higher than predicted.”
According to the US-based site OnTheSnow.com, ski conditions in mid-January at many of the Canadian 50 ski areas the site tracks were excellent – particularly in western Canada. In the second week of January, 228 of 234 runs at Whistler Blackcomb were open; at Big White in Kelowna 116 of 119 runs were operational on 62 inches of powder and 126 of 142 runs at Fernie were in use with a base of up to 68 inches, including plenty of powder. Sun Peaks had all 137 runs open on a 54-inch machine groomed base.
In Quebec and some parts of Ontario, conditions weren’t as ideal, but skiers still came out in droves. Tremblant north of Montreal reported a 38-inch base with 79 of 102 runs open, while Mont Ste. Marie in western Quebec had a 16-inch base and five of 20 runs up and running. Hidden Valley north of Toronto had six of 15 runs open and an 18-inch machine-groomed base. Calabogie near Ottawa had 11 of 25 runs open, while Mt. Pakenham had all 10 runs open and a 24-inch base.
On the weather side, the news is leaning toward the positive. Although there will be some mild temperatures, The Farmer’s Almanac, The Weather Network and OnTheSnow.com are forecasting a frosty mid-winter with plenty of snow, particularly in western Canada.
“I applaud skiers and snowboarders who have patiently waited for more runs to open,” says Pinchbeck. “In coming days, their patience will be rewarded. Bring on winter!”
