Ski areas in Western Canada have been enjoying some of the biggest snowfalls of the year so far …and the fact that after some very cold temperatures over the last few months the Celsius measure has been creeping up to a balmy near zero.
Fernie in BC (pictured above yesterday) has posted the biggest accumulation of the weekend so far with 50cm (20 inches) of fresh snow falling in 24 hours. It has overtaken Whistler to post the deepest snow in western Canada at 267cm, just a centimetre more than the continent's biggest ski resort on 266cm. Big White reported 42cm in the same period.
Meanwhile Panorama ski area has announced it will be extending its season and staying open until Easter Sunday having already hit its season average snowfall figure.
Steve Paccagnan, the resort's President and CEO, says the decision to open longer comes after requests from skiers and riders in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. "Prairie guests have made a tradition of spending Easter on the warm side of the Rockies. As an independent resort, we can make decisions quickly and we want to give everyone the chance to make the most of the incredible snow on the mountain. We plan to open 4,000 vertical feet right until the end."
J2Ski forecasts show the week ahead bringing a mixture of sunshine and light snow showers with resort level temperatures ranging from freezing down to minus 10 Celcius.