Real Ski Report: Colder temperatures welcomed after warm week

Each week, CBC Calgary's Paul Karchut speaks with dozens of dedicated skiers and boarders across eastern B.C. and southern Alberta to get the real scoop on conditions at resorts, on cross-country trails and in the backcountry.

Rain hit a number of hills this week as the temperature rose, meaning skiers heading to the slopes for the Family Day weekend won't get the impressive conditions experienced last weekend.

Norquay, Nakiska, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley, Fernie and Castle all got at least a drizzle on the lower slopes.

But there's still some snow falling on the upper slopes — you just have to get to it. And with colder temperatures on the way, skiers are staying positive.

"It already started snowing on the upper half so hopefully it continues this trend and gets colder all the way through," said Fernie skier Ross Jansen.

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The weather has also affected roads. Several skiers described nasty driving conditions, because of freezing rain or roads thawing during the day and freezing up over night.

Rain stayed away

The extra bit of elevation at Sunshine and Lake Louise kept the rain at bay. The skiing is quite good at both resorts; Sunshine had 42 centimetres of fresh snow in the past week, while Lake Louise saw 21 centimetres.

Skier Alex Armstrong said the conditions at Lake Louise have been "pretty awesome."

"We got a bunch of precip overnight. It came in pretty wet and heavy but definitely is softening up the hill, and we haven't seen any rain so we're pretty lucky about that," she said.

Colder temperatures welcomed

Heading into the Family Day weekend, temperatures are expected to drop below freezing in the Bow Valley and hover right around that freezing bubble at Kicking Horse, Kimberley, Castle and Fernie.

At Revelstoke, where it hit 6 C earlier this week, staff say there's a good chance Family Day events may have to be cancelled because it's been so warm and wet.

There are no huge snowstorms in the forecast — just trace bits of snow. But if it stays cold enough to keep the rain away, even a couple of centimetres of new snow could help heal things up a bit.

Despite the rain down low, Leah Gardner thinks going to her home hill of Kicking Horse this weekend will be worth it.

"The alpine will be super fun and 60 per cent of our mountain is alpine, so that will be awesome," she said.

Cross-country ski trails suffer

The warmer weather hasn't been great for cross-country ski trails, though. 

"Right now, everywhere the snow is wet. And in a lot of places it has tree debris as well, so the tracks are going to turn icy," said Bob Truman, who runs skierbob.ca.

The grooming equipment used on trails in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, the Canmore Nordic Centre and Ribbon Creek may help make the icy snow more skiable, he said.

"There's hope coming. The cold weather will help," he said.

For now, get out on what's been track-set recently for your best chance at good skiing.

Special avalanche report issued

Meanwhile, in the backcountry, the cooler weather forecast for the weekend could help start to stiffen up the snow pack again.

"Down the road, it's supposed to stay cold for a little while so things should tighten up and improve," said Matt Mueller, from Kananaskis Public Safety.

A special public avalanche warning was issued Friday afternoon for Jasper, Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.

"Over the past week these regions had a major avalanche cycle where numerous large avalanches ran well into the run out zones," the report states. 

"The natural activity will taper off as we head into the weekend leaving very tricky and dangerous avalanche conditions at treeline and above where large human-triggered avalanches are possible."

Head to avalanche.ca for more information.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener