Mount Washington Alpine Resort will be partly open on Saturday now that snow is finally arriving.
The Tube Park and Easy Acres beginner area, with five magic-carpet areas, will be open, the resort has announced.
Skiers can enjoy 10 kilometres of cross-country terrain and snowshoe trails as well.
The resort’s learning centre will be offering beginner lessons and rentals.
Dec. 5 was the original opening day target, but that was pushed back because of lack of snow.
But temperatures have now dropped, creating a more typical winter environment at the resort near Courtenay.
More than 30 centimetres of snow has fallen since Monday. Another
40 cm is expected this weekend.
“It’s great to see the last couple of weather systems line up like this,” said Don Sharpe, resort director of business operations and marketing.
“The snowfalls we are seeing are noteworthy. As we get more accumulation, we will open more lifts and terrain as soon as possible.”
The popular ski area normally shoots for 120 days of skiing and has 800 staff on the job.
A shortage of snow last year delayed the opening into January, giving skiers and boarders only 82 days on the slopes.
But proving that it’s impossible to predict weather, the resort opened early in 2012. That year, Dec. 7 was the target date, but snowy weather meant ski lifts began running on Nov. 30.
That was the fourth year in a row that the resort opened early in November.
The resort typically attracts more than 300,000 visits annually.
To track what’s happening on the mountain, go to mountwashington.ca.
