Ski season has started in Alberta as two resorts in the Canadian Rockies, west of Calgary, opened for skiers and snowboarders.
Lake Louise Ski Resort, near the village of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, started its winter operations on Friday, a week ahead of schedule, because of early snowfalls and good results from its snow-making team.
“It’s skiing really well,” said Leigha Stankewich, the resort’s marketing and communications manager, after testing out the snow herself on a run that opened Friday morning.
“There were at least 200 people waiting in line. We had a good crew there. They were all super excited. We had people from Red Deer and Stettler and Revelstoke, and they were all there super early and ready to go.”
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Stankewich said the resort hopes to open additional runs off of its gondola by Sunday.
Mount Norquay, closer to the Banff townsite, also opened some of its runs on Friday morning. It says on its website that it’s already had about 40 centimetres of snow, including five centimetres in the last 24 hours.
Nakiska Ski Area, located closer to Calgary in Kananaskis Country, is scheduled to open Saturday and Sunday for a preview weekend.
“The hill is starting to look well frosted with snow and ready for you to make some fresh tracks,” the resort said on its website, which notes only intermediate and expert terrain will be available this weekend.
Another resort in Alberta, Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park, is trying to open on Nov. 9, while many others in the Rockies won’t open until later in November or early in December.