Thanks to more than three feet of snow, Marmot Basin will open Thursday.
Brian Rode, vice-president of marketing and sales at Marmot Basin, told 630 CHED that most seasons, snowmaking allows the ski resort just south of Jasper, Alta., to open a limited number of runs in the lower part of the resort.
“The difference this year is we got so much natural snow that we’re able to open not only the lower mountain with the snowmaking, but also the upper mountain,” said Rode.
Rode expects about 40 of the 91 runs to be open to start the season.
He said the early opening will provide much-needed financial gain to not only the resort but the town of Jasper.
“We definitely took a big hit in the summertime with that fire… The real danger with the fire was that it was taking out the power lines,” said Rode.
“Without power, it’s pretty hard to operate a town site. So we did take a big economic hit. Being able to open early is huge for the economy.”
Sunridge Ski Area, located in Edmonton’s northeast, is expected to open on Saturday.
Both Rabbit Hill and Snow Valley are eyeing openings next week and Edmonton Ski Club has a tentative opening date of Nov. 28 listed on their website.