Sun Peaks resort is pulling out all the stops to make sure it can predict when it will open up to skiers and snowboarders by utilizing new snow storage technology.

Sun Peaks Resort is the first ski area in all of Canada to utilize a one-of-a-kind approach to snow farming and storage. It is taking advantage of a system developed by Snow Secure which is based out of Finland. Officials say that this snow management program aims to ensure reliable early-season alpine ski training in Sun Peaks, by harvesting and preserving snow through the spring, summer, and fall.

“This project is an important piece in our ongoing commitment to innovation and operational excellence,” said Tim Foster, Chief of Mountain Operations for Sun Peaks Resort. “We’re proud to be the first ski resort in Canada to adopt this proven technology and to be able provide a reliable and resilient training facility for young athletes from around the world.”

The project began in April. It uses insulated mat technology developed to preserve a massive snow pile collected on the OSV (Österreichischer Skiverband) ski run on Tod Mountain. The snow pile measures approximately 300 feet long by 100 feet wide by 30 feet tall. On May 5, the snow was wrapped with insulated mats that house a real time monitoring system. A total of 18 mats are being used.

Sun Peaks spokesperson Christina Antoniak says that when the mats are removed in late fall, the snow will be used to support the early opening of the Nancy Greene International Race Centre. “We’ll have about 80 to 85% of that snow remaining for us to use early season come late October, early November. We’re going to use that snow on our race center so that we can have guaranteed dates of our race center opening, because we have athletes that come in from really all over the world to train at Sun peaks early November preseason, before they go on their competition circuit around the world.”

“We’ve had the Nancy green international race Center at Sun peaks for many years, and there’s actually a really neat history there,” Antoniak says. “It was the race center for the Austrian National Ski Team for five years during their pre season center before the 2010, winter games that were held, of course, here in BC. So the race Center has had a really good reputation in the market for many years, and we’ve been welcoming athletes here, and it’s been a growing part of our business segment over the years.”

She calls is a really good piece of business for Sun peaks. “What’s a tourism based economy up here, it’s pre season before we open for recreational skiing. So it’s really good a business coming into the resort where they stay in hotels, they’re going to be eating in the village and just enjoying and getting to know Sun peaks. And who knows, they may come here for a winter holiday at another point in time, bringing family and friends. So all these athletes come in, thousands of them, over the course of the winter, because the race center is open right through regular season and late season as .”

Sun Peaks Resort has invested $180,000 in the project.

Antoniak says that along with keeping that snow for a predictable opening date for competitors who train at Sun Peaks, it will also allow them to do snow making in other areas of the mountain that would otherwise be somewhat ignored until the race centre was ready. “So what we have stored is 14,000 cubic meters of snow. That equates to about 1.5 million gallons of water that would be needed to make that snow out of our snow making system. And that 14,000 cubic meters of snow will cover four acres, two feet deep, which is what we need as a surface for the training facility. And then 1.5 million gallons of water that we’re not going to use there, that will be used elsewhere in our snow making system as we get into November. So we use snow making in critical areas like our terrain park, our learning area, lower at lower elevations and up five mile to make sure we have full access up the mountain early season.

Snow Secure’s CEO, Antti Lauslahti, who was on site to oversee the process, says he is excited to be working with Sun Peaks Resort as its first partner in Canada. “Our technology helps combat unpredictable early-season weather with high quality, natural snow.”

The snow storage project works in concert with a new multi-million-dollar investment in upgrading the existing Sun Peaks snow making system, that started in summer 2024 and will take place over the next few years. This upgrades includes adding new, more efficient snow guns into the fleet, employing on-board weather monitoring stations for automation, and upgrades to in-ground infrastructure.