Unlike like last year, Edmonton's hills and the nearby mountain resorts are relying heavily on snowmaking equipment to get the season started. An enormous effort has been put in to allow for opening slopes as planned. Here in the city, only Snow Valley is open, with Rabbit Hill, the Edmonton Ski Club and Sunridge only days away. In the alpine areas, Marmot Basin, Lake Louise, Nakiska and Norquay have been blasting snow guns around the clock for weeks. Norquay was the first to open (weekends only), with Lake Louise, Marmot Basin and Nakiska following suit. All openings are on limited terrain, with only a rail or two to grind for boarders. The snow hasn't been forthcoming over the border in British Columbia either, with hesitant openings for the big resorts scheduled at the start of December. But for most snow enthusiasts, limited terrain is better than no terrain—a point proven by the steady lineups spotted on webcams at Marmot Basin and Lake Louise last weekend. Greatly reduced lift-ticket prices didn't hurt the turnout either. Big White, near Kelowna, is really trying to attract the early season skiers by offering "free" skiing from opening day, December 3, until December 15. The catch? You have to book a room for at least two nights, but all guests, double or quad occupancy, qualify for free lifts. V
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.
Privacy Policy:
Vue respects your privacy. We will not forward your personal information to any other organization except as required by law, and will use your e-mail address only to respond to your comments. We reserve the right to edit and remove comments for length, clarity and/or if they are illegal or inappropriate. Your email address is never shown to visitors to vueweekly.com. Read the whole policy at: http://vueweekly.com/privacy
Comments policy
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.