Local skiers got a lucky break on Friday the 13th this year as ski season kicked off early in the North Shore mountains.
Cypress Mountain was the first out of the gate, opening several runs to downhill skiers Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. after receiving 45 centimetres of new snow.
“It’s a powder day,” said Joffrey Koeman, marketing director for Cypress Mountain Resort on Friday afternoon. “Everyone was pretty happy.”
The mid-November opening is definitely early for a North Shore ski hill, which normally tend to open between late November and early December.
“It’s predicted to be a La Nina winter, which means that it's big snow winter,” said Koeman.
Mother Nature was helped out by snowmaking efforts on the mountain.
Recent cool weather which has seen overnight temperatures drop has allowed the mountain to make use of its 47 snow guns.
In perfect conditions “in probably 72 hours we can have a ski run open,” said Koeman.
Word spread quickly among pass holders and the parking lot filled up quickly on Friday.
The ski hill had also sold out of tickets for the rest of the weekend and was booking into next week.
This year will be very different for local skiers, Koeman acknowledged.
Cypress is opening with a number of new COVID-19 safety protocols. Those include wearing face coverings, riding chairlifts with members of your “bubble”, social distancing within indoor areas and pre-booking all tickets online to control numbers. Skiers requiring rentals must also pre-book a time slot to come and pick them up.
So far, those new rules don’t seem to have deterred local skiers.
“There’s definitely interest for outdoor activity,” said Koeman, comparing it to the enthusiasm shown for hiking in local parks during the summer, especially given continued restrictions on many indoor activities.
How beautiful are our mountains this morning! ❄️☃️#SeaToSky #CypressMountain #GrouseMountain #MountSeymour #snow #BCstorm @JWagstaffe @YvonneSchalle @miawgordon @jwhittalTWN @NEWS1130Weather @ensembleator @Zach_wx @KGordonGlobalBC @KasiaBodurka #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/4yqvvK3nXg
— Thierry Goose (@ThierryGooseBC) November 10, 2020
Only a few ski runs, including the beginner hill and some intermediate runs off the Eagle Express chair were open on Friday. But the ski hill plans to continue opening more terrain when possible, said Koeman, including the tubing park and cross-country ski area.
The two other local ski hills – Grouse Mountain and Seymour Mountain – haven’t confirmed opening date yet but hope to do so soon.
They have also announced plans to operate under special COVID-19 protocols including requiring all tickets to be booked online in advance.
In the case of Grouse, the Skyride will operate at less than 50 per cent capacity and will require tickets to be booked in advance. Upper windows in the Skyride have also been removed to increase airflow.
