If you are heli-skiing with us this winter, you will be as excited as we are about our area’s record-breaking early-season snowpack.
As you may know, Great Canadian Heli-Skiing is strategically located right beside Rogers Pass, which is a world-famous backcountry skiing destination. The area’s great reputation amongst backcountry skiers is largely due to its reliably deep and dry powder snow. Mount Fidelity, in Rogers Pass, records the highest average yearly snowfall in the country, making our location literally in the snowiest region of Canada.
This winter, the snowpack in Rogers Pass is already setting records, as the amount of snowfall set a record every single day from November 26-30. On top of that, our closest ski resort, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, opened early with the deepest base that they have ever recorded on opening day, at 160cms (63 inches).
Our guides have been out in our terrain this week, and measured a snow depth of 170cms (67 inches) at tree line in both the Purcell and Selkirk Mountain areas of our terrain. Our Lead Guide, Rob, describes this as "uncommonly deep."
As all of our surrounding fellow ski operators are celebrating our historically deep early-season snowpack, we are busy preparing for our first guests to arrive on December 26. The maintenance team is particularly busy with snow removal this year!
With such a deep base already on the ground, and our famously ample snowfall set for the region for the rest of winter, it is shaping up to be another incredible season at Great Canadian Heli-Skiing. The Weather Network reports that in BC they predict above normal precipitation over the winter season, which “will bring an abundance of snow to the alpine regions.” They are also predicting a colder than average winter, stating that “this should set the stage for an extended ski season.”
It’s hard to believe that while we are breaking all sorts of records up in Golden, BC, we are reading reports that ski resorts in the Western United States are unfortunately suffering a particularly bad early-season dry spell. Even in southern BC, ski resorts are delaying opening days. While we can’t share our fortunate weather systems with our friends to the south, we can certainly share the snow we have here. There is already plenty of powder to go around, so wherever you are in the world, make sure you come for a visit soon!
