Sun Peaks Resort has pushed back its opening day for the 2025-26 winter season to Thursday, Nov. 27, citing an unusually mild stretch of weather that has slowed both natural snowfall and snowmaking efforts.

“We never want to delay our opening weekend… but we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature,” said Christina Antoniak, Director of Communications for Sun Peaks Resort. “We just haven’t had the right amount of natural snowfall, and we also haven’t had the right temperatures for consistent snowmaking.”

Antoniak said webcams show snow at higher elevations, but conditions in the valley have hovered too close to freezing to run snowmaking at full capacity. “We did just kick it up today,” she added. “We’re hovering around minus zero in the valley, and that’s where we need to be. We’re hopeful we’ll see more natural snowfall between now and Thursday and that we can keep our snowmaking system going.”

Resort officials will reassess conditions on Monday, with another public update expected the same day.

Terrain outlook still uncertain

When asked what guests might expect for terrain on opening day, Antoniak cautioned that it’s too soon to know.

“It feels a bit too early for me to say confidently what that might look like next Thursday, because we just don’t know what’s going to happen over the next few days,” she said. A more limited opening is possible, she added, but “things can change really quickly up in the mountains.”

Automatic refunds for early ticket holders

Guests who pre-purchased lift tickets, lessons, or rentals for dates Nov. 22–26 will receive automatic full refunds without needing to contact the resort. Lodging guests are asked to reach out directly to the property where they booked. Tickets for dates from Nov. 27 onward remain on sale.

Any discussion about pricing adjustments or capacity will depend on Monday’s operational assessment, Antoniak said.

Race Centre thriving despite delays

While public skiing is postponed, the Nancy Greene International Race Centre has been running strong since Nov. 8, thanks to snowmaking and the resort’s new summer snow-storage program.

“It’s been a fantastic year for the training centre… conditions have been great for race training,” Antoniak said. The combination of stored snow and targeted snowmaking created an ideal training surface, drawing teams from across Canada and abroad. Although operations paused briefly during recent warm days, “for the most part, we’ve had them on the snow and they’ve been really pleased with the conditions.”

More than 1,200 athletes are expected to train at the facility this winter, providing a welcome economic boost for the community.

Opening-weekend festivities moved to Nov. 29

Sun Peaks’ traditional kickoff celebrations—après and ales at Masa’s Bar & Grill, complimentary cinnamon buns, and appearances by Harry the Bear—are also being rescheduled. While cinnamon buns will still be offered on the official opening day, the full slate of festivities will take place Saturday, Nov. 29.

“That’s when we know most people will be able to come up and join us,” Antoniak said.

Despite the weather delay, resort officials say the upcoming season remains promising, following a record-breaking 2024-25 winter and with a busy events calendar and new village dining activations still to be announced.