Western Canada has joined France is assaying its snowfall is at or near record levels for winter 20111-12 already.
Marmot Basin has received over 12 feet (372 cm) of snowfall so far this winter which is 93% of its annual average. If the next three months produce typical amounts of snowfall, Marmot Basin will exceed its all time snowfall record of 529 cm set way back in 1965.
Meanwhile over the border in British Columbia, January has gone down as one of the snowiest on record.
Fernie and Kicking Horse with total snowfall at both over 19 feet (nearly six metres) now.
Yesterday alone, Fernie recweived 30cm (a foot) overnight!
"A big plus for many is soft natural snow. Note from our Mountain Operations experts state that natural snow and lots of it makes the ski runs ski soft and supple, without any of that icy, hard-pack type experience that you may get at other ski resorts," said a statement from the resort, with a possible reference to the fact that many big resorts south of the border are still relying on machine made snow.
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort located 2.5 hours west of Calgary and recently joined Fernie and a third BC resort, Kimberley, as parts of the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies group.
Back in Marmot Basin skiers and boarders are not only basking in near record snow conditions, they also have two new chairlifts to ride this winter including the new Paradise high speed quad chair. Marmot Basin has installed three new chairlifts in as many years and is leading all Canadian ski areas in ski lift development.
"Marmot Basin is not the same ski area it was three years ago. The three new chairlifts we have installed, along with all our other improvements, has really transformed the ski experience at Marmot", commented Brian Rode from the resort. "I've talked to people who have come back to Marmot after a few years away and they are blown away by how different and how much better the mountain is", he adds.
Marmot Basin will be open until May 6th this season thanks in part to all the snow Mother Nature has bestowed upon the area and also thanks to the state-of-the-art snowmaking system that was installed in 2006.