Real Ski Report: A chilly opening weekend for some resorts

Darn cold this morning!

I am looking at temperatures right now: –28 C in Lake Louise, –23 C in Fernie, –29 C in Nakiska. Because of this cold, we have also had WinSport's ski hill in Calgary shut down for much of this week, Friday included, but the staff there plan to be up and running for the weekend. Every resort has its own policy on when they will stop running their lifts.

Out in the mountains, basically you have to get into the –30s, that seems to be the policy.

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Honestly, when we get temps like this you are spending more time wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate in the lodge .

It is warming up a little bit for the weekend.

Expect temperatures ranging from –17 C to –24 C around Banff. Downright balmy in B.C., highs of –10 C, lows of –20 C at the likes of Fernie, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Kimberley, and Panorama. It is still going to be chilly, but warming up a little bit.

Opening Days

Kicking Horse gets rolling Friday with one of the fattest snowpacks up in the alpine that it has ever seen for an opening weekend. It is still pretty thin down low though, so keep in the upper bowls for the best conditions.

Panorama also opens Friday, but with very limited terrain. 

"We have had a really rough fall with natural snow fall and cold temperatures so it is only recently we have started to pick up," said spokesman Michael Brush.

"It is really cold so we are pumping out a ton of snow right now. We only have six runs opening, unfortunately, but it is what it is. You will be able to go right to summit though and have a coffee up there."

Meanwhile, Kimberly wins the snowfall award this week with about 65 centimetres of fresh snow. It opens on Saturday with what I expect to be some pretty good turns.

Good deals to be had

Also opening for a sneak peek weekend is Castle Mountain with just the Huckleberry chair spinning, but lift tickets are reduced to $39 for adults and speaking of good deals, Mt. Norquay, which opened last week, has its first toonie day of the season on Wednesday (Dec. 14).

Best deal around: $2 to ski.

The snowpack is slowly beefing up, just shy of 40 centimetres this week at both Sunshine and Lake Louise.

I am being told Lake Louise is doing well on the front, but there are some awesome conditions on the backside.

At Sunshine, it depends on the terrain you are on. Standish is great, the smaller chairs are great, Teepee Town probably needs a bit more coverage.

Revelstoke is unusually chilly as well, with temperatures swinging from –11 C to –22 C this weekend. Very thin on the lower mountain there as well. Taking the gondola back down is mandatory but skiing in the upper bowls is mid-season quality.

In Fernie, an intense blizzard last weekend blasted its way through there and it really boosted the snowpack so pretty much the whole mountain now is open. Do keep an eye out though for early season shrubberies. It is still a bit thin in spots. Fernie is expecting another solid hit over night into Saturday, we could see 10 to 15 centimetres of fresh snow.

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All the other hills are expecting a few centimetres by the end of the weekend so nothing huge.

Cross Country Conditions

The staff at the Canmore Nordic Centre are making tons of snow with this cold snap. Frozen Thunder and Stadium Trails continue to be the only things open as of Thursday. For skinny skis, really Lake Louise continues to be your best bet with good conditions on both the Fairview Loop and Moraine Lake Road.

I am told the Rider Creek Trail wasn't bad either, a little thin at the start but better than he expected.

Conditions are improving out in Kananaskis Country, but still not great. Some trails have been groomed in the Kananaskis Village area, they are OK but you want to take your rock skis.

Pocaterra is also getting groomed and maybe even track set in time for the weekend.

In the backcountry, the biggest thing to be aware of are wind slabs in the alpine. With the variable winds that have been whipping through the mountains lately, this slab is kind of everywhere right now. This is like a thick, stiff bit of Styrofoam on top of more powdery snow that can be a possibility for avalanches.

Dress in layers in always the key. Cover any exposed skin because frostbite is not fun. If anything goes wrong, make sure you have the gear for it.

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