Kelowna and Vernon’s ski hills opened with soggy conditions on the first day of the 2017/18 ski season, but welcomed a dump of snow by mid-afternoon.
The Big White Ski Resort began operations at 8:45 a.m., with 50% off lift tickets.
The resort opened with three lifts; Lara’s Gondola, Plaza Chair and Ridge Rocket Express and four runs.
It was raining on the mountains this morning due to warmer temperatures, but it cooled down by mid-afternoon resulting in significant snowfall.
The current alpine snow base is sitting at 83 centimetres.
The resort didn’t receive any new snow in the twenty four hours prior to opening, but received 28 centimetres of fresh powder within the last week.
Over at the Silver Star Mountain Resort near Vernon, the ski hills opened with an alpine snow base of 90 centimetres.
“A persistent southwesterly flow aloft has brought in sub tropical air, but this mild weather pattern will soon be replaced with more seasonal conditions by Thursday night,” said a weather report on Silver Star’s website.
Four lifts; Comet Six Pack Express, Alpine Meadows Quad Chair, Silver Queen Quad Chair and Discovery Carpet are in operation. Lifts opened at 8:30 a.m.
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