(Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

SKI SEASON SNOWFALL

Visitor increase follows highest snow depth in 25 years at Sun Peaks Resort

Jan 10, 2020 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — After a slower start to the winter season than Sun Peaks Resort would have liked, the snow 2020 brought in has made a noticeable improvement in visitors.

Director of Marketing and Communications Christina Antoniak says the snowfall amounts in January have been significant to say the least.

“We’ve had 90 centimetres of fresh snow since January 1 alone, which is actually double the amount of snow we had in the whole month of January last year,” Antoniak notes. “And right now we’re sitting at the highest snow depth we’ve had in 25 years since we started recording our snow data. So today (Jan. 10), we’re at 185 centimetres for our alpine base.”

All of the mountain’s alpine, cross country, and snowshoeing trails are open for visitors to experience the fresh snow. (Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds)

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Local ski traffic has picked up with the fresh powder, and over the next month Antoniak says Sun Peaks will see an influx of international visitors. She says many visitors during January come in from Australia, and New Zealand, before the springtime bookings from around North America.

“This week we actually have a group up from the southeastern United States, and they’re bringing 110 people with them,” she says. “So typically we see numbers of about 30 to 50 in these groups, so we’re seeing some really nice growth in that market as well.”

Last season, the mountain had some weather challenges, but Antoniak says 2020 is shaping up to be a better year for attracting skiers and snowboarders.

MUNICIPALITY MATTERS:

For locals, and the employees who live in the resort municipality, recent construction has increased the housing options available, alongside improvements to amenities with the building of the Sun Peaks Centre.

Mayor Al Raine says the lack of snow a few weeks ago made things easier for construction crews.

“We were very fortunate because while all the skiers were hoping for a lot more snow, for us it was actually perfect because we got the roof over the rink, and the roof on the other buildings, so now they’re all working inside or mostly under cover. So I think it’s going well.”

According to Raine, construction on the approximately $8.5 million project is expected to wrap up in June or July, with the centre to open shortly after.

Lately, the Mayor says an item on the mountain community’s improvement agenda is monitoring the amount of water being used.

“The ground water aquifers that we’ve been using for a water supply for the past 20 years aren’t replenishing themselves as rapidly as we’ve been taking water out,” Raine explains. “So we’re now monitoring that very carefully to make sure we have a handle on how much water we’re short.”

To address the shortage, Raine says more surface water will be used instead of solely ground supplies. He also notes that a long term plan in the works is to re use waste water coming through the treatment plant for irrigation and snow making.

“You know, that’s always a concern, and the solutions are there, but they’re all expensive.”

For now, the resort municipality will keep up with 2020 improvements and see what economic benefits come with the yearly swell in winter tourism.