Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

SKI AND RIDE CONDITIONS

Recent snowfall puts Sun Peaks in good shape for latter half of ski season

Feb 22, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Springtime may be near for valley bottoms, but there’s plenty of snow for skiers and snowboarders in the Interior’s alpine areas.

At Sun Peaks Resort, January saw 18 days of snowfall, with another 13 centimetres falling in the past week. Some ski resorts around the province have had a rough season and Sun Peaks has noticed more visitors driving up from the Lower Mainland and Washington state.

It was a slow start to the ski season across the board this year. November saw minimal flakes, December was also quite dry, but January was a totally different story.

“Really strong January for snowfall. We had 96 centimetres through the month. Which was more than average,” explains Sun Peaks Director of Communications Christina Antoniak. “I think we had 18 days of fresh snow in January alone, and February has fared really well on the snowfall front as well.”

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That goal was credited to Mother Nature, assisted by a team of snowmaking machines and grooming equipment.

“We were able to do a lot of snowmaking and build those conditions up, which set us up well for January when the snow finally came,” adds Antoniak.

Other areas in the province haven’t seen similar snowfall amounts. And Antoniak notes Sun Peaks has seen more people driving in from the Cariboo, Vancouver Island, North Vancouver and Whistler areas.

“Our call centre at guest services, they handle [about 200] calls every day. And a lot of those inquiries right now are from folks in the Lower Mainland. They’re looking for the snow and they’re wondering how conditions are here at Sun Peaks.”

Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today

Pandemic travel decline isn’t a concern this year and typical international visits to the resort municipality are back.

CFJC crews spoke with several skiers from the top of the chairlift on Thursday (Feb. 22), from all over. A family from the Seattle area made the trip up for the first time and said the experience was smooth so far.

“I wanted to go somewhere in Canada to go skiing, and this popped up. It’s perfect. It’s the first time we’ve done, with the kids, a ski-in and ski-out experience. It’s pretty exciting.”

Another group told CFJC they came in from the U.S. after seeing videos of the skiing conditions.

“The snow was really good yesterday and it’s been a lot of fun. Been a good time. We’ve got nine of us out here from Chicago, so… go Bears!”

And one skier from Ontario says his favourite part of the area is the social aspect.

“The people! So friendly. Like really, it’s unbelievable. Everybody chats on the chair, no awkward silence coming up or that sort of thing.”

Hotel occupancy is also up to speed, and Tourism Sun Peaks’ executive director Naomi Kerchinsky says they’re right on pace with last year’s record. Adding that spring bookings indicate many people aren’t ready to say goodbye to winter yet, at least when it comes to recreation.

“We’re actually seeing a little bit more of an uptake of people coming in who’ve gone, ‘I haven’t been able to get out yet this year and I still want to get out.'” she explains. “(They’re) seeing that we still have consistent snowpack, we’ve got snow in the forecast, good temperatures — so a little bit of change I’d say from previous seasons.”

So far, Sun Peaks is planning to keep lifts turning until the final day of winter season operations on April 7.