 The sun sets on a record-breaking snow season following Easter weekend. Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Alpine Resort |
MOUNT WASHINGTON, BC — If you want to ski or snowboard at Mount Washington, this weekend is your last chance to hit the slopes. The final weekend of the snowiest season on record sees the resort reopen this Friday, April 22nd through to Easter Monday on April 25th.
“We've seen more snow fall on the mountain this winter than any other on record,” explains resort spokesperson Brent Curtain. “Our total snowfall accumulation to date is over 1840 centimetres, which surpasses our previous record of 1835 centimetres in the 1998-99 season.”
The old record fell last week when a significant weather system moved through the region. The system dumped over 40 centimetres of new snow onto Mount Washington's slopes. The La Nina weather phenomenon, which was predicted in early fall, brought a barrage of snow early to the mountain in November and never let up.
An amazing April
“Even with snow settling and less frequent snowfall over the last two weeks, the amount of snow we have up here for late April is amazing,” adds Curtain.
Ideal late season conditions have enabled the resort to keep its Ozone Snowtubing Park, Nordic Centre, and Sunset Ski programs running right up until the final weekend.
“You can still go cross-country skiing, night ski, or slide down the lanes in our Tubing Park in near perfect snow conditions,” says Director of Business Operations Don Sharpe. “This will also be the last weekend for our Green Chair, the longest serving chairlift on the mountain."
A new look next season
The venerable Green Chair is the anchor of Mount Washington's Green Zone learners area and was installed when the mountain began operations back in 1979. The mountain will remove the lift this summer and there are plans already in place for a whole new look for next season.
“Our main goal is to make the new Green Zone as user-friendly and accessible as possible,” explains Sharpe. “If you want to ride the Green Chair one more time for nostalgia's sake, now is the time to do it!”
Mount Washington's last weekend is jam-packed full of great events which includes the two-day Monster Rail Jam-o-rama beginning Friday evening and an Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday. Don't forget that the first two stages, the alpine and nordic legs, of the Royal LePage Snow to Surf Race take place on the mountain on May 1.
For all the details on Mount Washington's final weekend of the season, surf to mountwashington.ca.
About Mount Washington
Mount Washington Alpine Resort's final weekend of winter operations takes place April 22-25. The resort is located 30 minutes above The Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. WestJet, Central Mountain Air, Pacific Coastal Airlines, and Island Express service the Comox Valley Airport (YQQ). To find out about accommodation and package information, call Mount Washington Alpine Resort at 1-888-231-1499 toll free or locally at 250-338-1386. Surf to www.mountwashington.ca for additional information including the live snow cam.