It appears that La Niña is up to some of her same old tricks.
Cooler-than-normal temperatures, higher-than-average precipitation. The kind of weather that makes you want to curl up by the fireplace, or better yet, strap on your skis or snowboard.
“This is the third winter in a row where we've been able to open before our projected opening date,” explains Mount Washington spokesperson Brent Curtain. “We've received over 200 centimetres of snow in November and this has established a great snowbase for the start of the season.” Mount Washington opens for skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing and cross-country skiing Dec. 2. Lifts and trails open at 9 a.m. sharp.
The mountain's snowbase, now sitting at 135 centimetres with over 25 centimetres of new snow falling in the past 24 hours, will enable the resort to open up the majority of its frontside terrain. All frontside lifts will be in operation for opening day with the exception of the Whiskey Jack Chair, which will begin operations on Dec. 15 for night skiing.
The resort will also operate all four Magic Carpet lifts in their new Easy Acres learning terrain. “As of yet, we don't know the exact runs that we will be opening this Friday so stay tuned and check out our snow reports at the end of the week,” Curtain adds.
In addition to the alpine terrain, Mount Washington will open two tubing lanes for snow-sliding at the Ozone Tubing Park and over 20 kilometres of cross-country trails in the nordic centre. At the Stomping Ground Terrain Park, a selection of rails and new park features to ride will be open this weekend. The mountain acquired new decks, rails and boxes over the summer to keep things fresh and flowy.
For more information, phone 1-888-231-1499 toll free or locally at 250-338-1386. Surf to www.mountwashington.ca for additional information, including the live snowcam.
— Mount Washington Alpine Resort