January conditions…
The skiing is REALLY good out there!
It’s time to hit the slopes again after the Holiday’s deep freeze. All the nearby resorts are in fantastic shape, and the temperatures have warmed back up to seasonal. This week looks warm and sunny, which will feel great to any skier who’s frozen their toes this last month.
Even better than the mellowing temperatures, the snow is good. Actually, it's historically good!
Lake Louise has had more snow-to-date this winter than they’ve had in any other season since 1967. And other local resorts have received even more snow! Let’s check in with all the stats from the ski hills that Calgarians frequent:
Lake Louise (mid-mountain):
34 cm new this week, 185 cm base, 484 cm to date this year
Sunshine Village:
49 cm new this week, 193 cm base, 527 cm to date this year
Norquay:
25 cm new this week, 117 cm base, 252 cm to date this year
Fernie:
43 cm new this week, 263 cm base, 570 cm to date this year
Castle Mountain:
90 cm new this week, 165 cm base, 464 cm to date this year
Kicking Horse:
46 cm new this week, 212 cm base, 520 cm to date this year
Up a Norquay this weekend, we bumped into Director of Sales and Marketing, Simon Moffat, “That early snow this season came it wet and just caked the mountain. Boundary Bowl is skiing great, and Memorial Bowl has these little drops that you can’t usually do this time of year but are fantastic.”
My 12 year old can attest that the tree trails and glades all over Norquay are in uncommonly good shape. If you have little ones, go enjoy the monkey trails with them! Night skiing has started up again Fridays and Saturdays.
The Fresh team got out for a couple of days at Lake Louise over the holidays. On December 22nd, Fresh skiers Eric Hjorleifson and Mark Hendrickson came to shred with Steve and the family to celebrate the shop’s 20 seasons. The Wave and Grizzly Bowl were soft and smooth.
Fresh's own Jonathan Mikitka boosts a backflip, Lake Louise.
On January 3rd, we closed the shop, and the whole Fresh crew hit Louise for a day of fun and hucks. LeapFrog and every similar air got launched. Paradise Bowl was more powder than moguls, and ER 3 was smooth and fast.
Dave Petch, Lake Louise Avalanche Forecaster, "The Lake has been skiing amazing!! More snow on the way too."
Hoji, Mark Hendrickson, Steve Saranchuk at Lake Louise.
Some people still don’t trust snow reports like those quoted above. Or even the word of mouth reports like this. For those skeptics in the crowd, you can always check webcams that have live temperatures and show you what the mountains actually look like. The cams that show actual snowfall amounts are great, too!
Snowfall cams:
You can also check Parks Canada weather stations which can be a bit off (they’re just electronic sensors measuring snow depth) but give you completely unbiased data. These stations and the webcam’s temperatures can help you catch those days when it’s brutally cold in town but actually warmer up on the mountain. Lake Louise says,
"Did you know?
Temperatures here can vary by more than 10°c from the base area to upper elevations. When it’s warmer at the top, it’s called a temperature inversion. Take advantage of this when it happens by sticking to the upper or lower lifts that suit you the best."
-Link for Parks Canada Weather Stations-
Sunshine Village is up in the village.
Look Out is at the top of Delirium Dive.
Bosworth is a bit west of Lake Louise but close and has two different stations at different elevations.
You’ll want a good powder ski that can carve anything the resort offers right now. How about the Armada Declivity 108?