Fresh snowfall brings boost to B.C. ski hills as operators brace for busy spring season

1 month_ago 13

British Columbia·New

Some B.C. skis resorts are celebrating a caller dump of snowfall successful the mountains, a invited turnaround aft 1 of the worst skis seasons past winter. But with outpouring interruption crowds expected to battalion the slopes, operators are advising visitors to program up and hole for longer assistance lines.

Whistler-Blackcomb saw 184 centimetres of snowfall successful the past week, the astir successful implicit 3 years: spokesperson

Shaurya Kshatri · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Snowboarders connected a skis slope arsenic they get acceptable for a archetypal tally connected Blackcomb Mountain successful Whistler.

A caller broad of snowfall is mounting up immoderate B.C.'s skis hills for a engaged outpouring play arsenic resorts hole for an influx of visitors anxious to instrumentality vantage of premier conditions.

An atmospheric stream system near Howe Sound past play delivered implicit a metre of snowfall to higher elevations on the South Coast, bringing the champion skis conditions immoderate resorts person seen successful years.

Whistler Blackcomb, the largest skis edifice successful North America, recorded 184 centimetres of snowfall successful the past 7 days—the highest play full since January 2021, according to a resort spokesperson.

"We couldn't person asked for amended conditions," Dane Gergovich told CBC News connected Friday. "It's ideal, and it's going to marque for immoderate gorgeous skiing."

With the caller powder, crowds are expected to surge astatine resorts crossed the province, prompting operators to pass visitors to program up for imaginable delays connected the slopes.

"The pulverization hounds are going to beryllium retired successful afloat force," said Gergovich, adding that skiers should battalion their patience arsenic assistance lines are expected to beryllium longer than usual.

WATCH | Ski play looking brighter for B.C.:

Why this skis play successful B.C. could beryllium overmuch amended than the last

B.C.'s slopes could spot overmuch much snowfall this season, according to Michael Pidwirny from the University of British Columbia-Okanagan, who precocious published a forecast. He said the past skis play was affected by warmer-than-usual temperatures.

Grouse Mountain spokesperson Emily Leak says unit are preparing for a engaged March break.

"We've seen 90 centimetres of caller snow, and we expect much snowfall done the play and implicit the adjacent mates of weeks," said Leak.

It's a invited boost for ski resorts aft a hard 2023-24 play — 1 of the warmest connected grounds successful Canada — that saw sparse snow, dense rain, and edifice closures. Conditions were truthful mediocre that B.C. Winter Games events astatine Troll Ski Resort adjacent Quesnel in B.C.'s cardinal Interior had to beryllium cancelled owed to a deficiency of snow.

A picturesque bid of upland peaks looms implicit a metropolis skyline, with pinkish and purple airy illuminating the inheritance and trees and a h2o assemblage successful the foreground.

January of this twelvemonth saw historically adust conditions, but Environment Canada says the caller displacement toward wetter upwind could assistance compensate for the earlier snowfall deficit.

"As we caput into the past fractional of March and done the outpouring interruption period, we are seeing signs of bedewed weather," said Colin Fong, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. "Overall, for now, the upwind looks to beryllium somewhat progressive arsenic we commencement disconnected the outpouring season, but it's excessively aboriginal to accidental if each of that volition autumn arsenic snowfall successful the mountains."

However, Fong says the mountains inactive person capable lingering acold aerial to enactment snowfall astatine higher elevations.

Rising Avalanche Risk

While the upwind has created premier skis conditions, Avalanche Canada warns that the accelerated accumulation of caller snowfall besides brings accrued risk.

"We've seen elevated information passim the South Coast and confederate Interior with those caller storms, and we're expecting that to proceed into this play with much stormy upwind connected its way," said Avalanche Canada forecaster Zoe Ryan.

The caller snowfall has fallen connected a anemic base, she says, and avalanches are much apt to hap arsenic the caller snowfall whitethorn not enslaved good and slide off.

The forecaster says March is typically the snowiest period of the twelvemonth successful B.C.

"It is simply a challenging month," Ryan added. "It's when, statistically, the astir avalanche fatalities happen."

Avalanche Canada says the information level astatine astir skis regions successful the state is "considerable," meaning avalanches are imaginable astatine some alpine and treeline elevations.

WATCH | Why this skis play mightiness beryllium amended than the last:

Ski play looking agleam for B.C.

The skis play looks agleam for British Columbia this twelvemonth with immoderate slopes already welcoming snow. It's a large alteration from past twelvemonth erstwhile immoderate skis resorts were closing owed to deficiency of snow. As Pinki Wong reports, skiers and snowboarders whitethorn person La Niña to thank.

In the Columbia Mountains, the hazard level has been raised to "high"— the fourth-highest class connected a five-level scale.

Ryan advises backcountry skiers and snowboarders to cheque avalanche bulletins regularly and debar high-risk terrain.