Skiers on the Sun Peaks slopes on opening day, Nov. 19, 2023. (Photo via Sun Peaks Resort)

While snowfall accumulations are ‘well below’ levels that would let some B.C. ski resorts open, the Canada West Ski Areas Association isn’t sounding the alarm just yet.

The organization’s President and CEO Christopher Nicholson tells Radio NL he’s seen slow starts to ski seasons in the B.C. Interior in previous years.

“It is because of all the investment into slopes and grooming and preparation and snow making that allows skiing in November,” Nicholson said. “It’s early, and there have been many other years over the decades that have been similar to this year.”

While Sun Peaks Resort has been operating with limited capacity for the past two weeks, opening dates at Big White in Kelowna, SilverStar in Vernon, and Revelstoke Mountain Resort have all been postponed into early December.

“I think we’ve also been very very spoiled by some unusually strong early seasons so for the past couple of years,” Nicholson said. “As skiers and snowboarders, I think our memories are a little short.”

Speaking on NL Newsday, Nicholson says the start date for each ski season varies based on the weather, which he says is the single biggest factor in determining when ski resorts can begin operations.

“Anytime you’re talking about November skiing, when you look back 20 to 30 years, and you look at the different snow levels and so forth, early starts span all over the time where you have got low snow or sometimes you get lucky with lots of natural snow,” Nicholson said.

“There has been years where maybe November it was light but then December especially you get towards Christmas time, then you start to see those big systems roll in with big accumulations.”

Environment Canada is forecasting snow in the Kamloops area beginning Thursday night into Sunday. Temperatures at valley bottom are expected to be between 0 C and -6 C during that period, before climbing to a high of 3 C on Sunday.

“Certainly this time of year, any skier or rider is going to know as soon as you get those first crisp mornings, there is just something innate within us that gets very exciting,” Nicholson said, when asked if the concerns about the postponements was a case of people being impatient.

“We just can’t wait for the winter ahead as we’re all ready to go.”

As of publishing, Whistler Blackcomb is the only other B.C. ski resort that has opened for the 2023-24 alpine season. Nordic ski trails at SilverStar Resort have opened for the season at SilverStar Report but not at Sun Peaks Resort.

You can find a tentative list of ski resort opening dates in B.C. and Alberta here.