The sun is out and temperatures are warming up, but there is still snow on the ground and plenty of time to get out and enjoy skiing or snowboarding before it really gets hot.
The warm weather has drawn hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts to Castle Mountain Resort to hit the slopes for some peak skiing conditions.
“Spring’s a great time to get out and go skiing, particularly because the temperatures start to warm up,” explained Cole Fawcett, sales and marketing manager for the resort.
“That’s exactly what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks is, with warming temperatures, we’ve seen people coming out of hibernation from what was definitely a cold winter this year.”
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Cold, indeed — not only did temperatures hit well below -20 C this winter, they stayed that way for some time. But with warm days among us, plenty of southern Albertans are taking advantage of the last few weeks of the ski season.
“We’re kind of bummed that winter season is coming to an end here but we’re going to take advantage of as many more days as we can get in here at the hill,” said Scott Sherman, a guest at the resort.
With the warm weather influencing many to shed some layers of winter clothing, the resort is still reminding its guests to stay warm.
“It’s important to be prepared. The mornings still in the spring can be quite cool and definitely below zero, and that’s a situation where you want to have multiple layers. Usually, it’s that mid-layer, that insulating layer, we like to take off during the day, stash in the lodge or in our vehicle or sometimes our backpack as well,” added Fawcett.
The final day to hit the slopes is April 7. Meanwhile, passes for next year’s ski season are already available.