Olympic Park ski hill closes 2 weeks early
Officials at Canada Olympic Park closed the ski and snowboard hill Friday with a lack of snow cutting the season short two weeks.
“The season generally has been good, but in the last month or so it’s been unusually warm,” said Dale Oviatt, spokesperson for WinSport, the organization that runs all facilities at the park.
Originally slated to close April 12, the park cut its winter season short 16 days to avoid unsafe conditions.
“You’d notice some more soft spots and some more slushy spots, and the warm winds take a toll on the hill,” said Oviatt, who’s heard of similar conditions at nearby mountains.
“Now we’re not even getting those cool winds at night.”
The hill uses 97 per cent manmade snow that is applied in November and December, with an extra coating in January that normally lasts through to April.
Oviatt said the hill used to remain open until mid-March, but the season was extended by a month in the ’90s due to demand.
Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park also closed Friday, earlier than the normal season end.
Both announcements came as Calgary hit a record high for the second day in a row.
Environment Canada reported that the Calgary airport hit 19.5ºC midday Friday, breaking the March 27 record of 19.3ºC set in 1986.
That followed Thursday’s 18ºC high, which broke the 1992 record of 15.7ºC.
The forecasted low for the next week is -2ºC next Friday evening.