Sunshine Village not singing powder blues
These days, when you step off the gondola at Sunshine Village and breathe in the surroundings, it can be hard to believe we’re only a few months beyond one of the driest summers in recent memories.
Today, Sunshine’s slopes are covered in a fluffy layer of powder. There’s more snow on the mountain than they’ve seen at this time of the year for decades. That’s no exaggeration, either. While there’s typically plenty of snow for skiers and snowboarders in early December, 2017 has been something special.
In the last week alone, the Banff resort has been blasted by 65 cm of powder — more than just about any other resort in Western Canada — and it’s brought the season total to 299 cm.
That is, frankly, an astonishing total for this time of the year.
“Last year, we had a really early opening as well, but this is really unusual to have this good conditions this early in the season,” said Dave Riley, chief operating officer at Sunshine Village.
“I was out skiing today, and it’s like mid-winter coverage. It’s really fabulous.
“We must be living right — we’re really fortunate.”
With a base that’s a metre deep, Sunshine opened the Goats Eye lift this week, meaning that all 12 of its lifts are already operational, as well as 102 of the resort’s 137 runs.
Compared to last year, when December hit and temperatures around Alberta plummeted, which isn’t ideal for a day outside in the mountains, the 2017 ski season is shaping up incredible nicely.
There’s even a possibility that the famous Delirium Dive could be ready for adventurous skiers and snowboarders before Christmas.
That’s not guaranteed, of course, as staff at Sunshine are carefully monitoring the avalanche risk in one of North America’s most infamous pieces of inbounds terrain.
But Riley said he thinks Delirium Dive should — hopefully — be open “soon,” meaning skiers and snowboarders looking to get a little taste of the backcountry without leaving the boundaries of Sunshine Village could be in for a long, powder-filled winter.
It’s an experience that skiers and snowboarders will find impossible to find anywhere else without hopping on a plane and heading overseas.
Unusual to have this good conditions this early in the season. I was out (today). and it’s like mid-winter coverage.
“It’s unique to, really, any resort in Canada or North America to have terrain that you could call free-ride or adventure terrain that gives you an experience like you’re in the back country, but you’re in the ski area, the patrolled area,” Riley said.
With conditions being what they are and Sunshine being located so close to Calgary, the resort has become the “home mountain” for many skiers and snowboarders in the big city.
With that in mind, the resort is offering the Sunshine Super Card for guests who are likely to be making the trip to Banff over and over again throughout the winter.
For $99, skiers and snowboarders get their first, fourth and seventh days on the mountain free, while there are discounts at several hotels and restaurants as well. The card can also be used at WinSport, Snow Valley and Rabbit Hill.