B.C. Southern Interior slopes benefit from heavy snowfall

Skiers and snowboarders were rejoicing Monday morning when they woke up to a fresh, powdery layer of new snow.

Michael Ballingall, senior vice president of Big White, said the resort saw 35 centimetres of snowfall overnight, contributing to a 225 cm base.

Even in the resort’s village centre, they were actually standing on four feet of packed snow.

“It’s been a very good snow year for us and it’s not going to stop,” he said. “We’re going to get snow for the next three or four days, and then it’s gonna get cold. This is going to be some awesome skiing here for the next week.”

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In the South Okanagan at Apex, the snow was similarly impressive with 19 cm of new snow falling in the last 24 hours. There’s currently an alpine base of 195 cm.

Similarly, at Silver Star, in the North Okanagan, there was 20 cm of snow in the last 24 hours and the base is 216 centimetres.

The mix of good ski conditions and good accessibility to B.C. resorts is a boon to local economies across the valley.

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“We’re watching our social feeds right now and people are talking about the ‘real deal’ and (saying) ‘might come back before the end of the season’,” Ballingall said.

“It just really helps the tourist economy here in the Central Okanagan and from Mount Robson to  Osoyoos, we’re very busy this week and we just want to make sure everyone drives safe because it’s going to snow in the high passes tonight.”