Airline Passenger Captures Snowcats Grooming Slopes From 30,000 Feet

Ian Greenwood
·1 min read

As skiers, we're used to seeing ski resorts from a couple of standard angles. There's the parking glance upwards, followed by a mid-mountain swivel, with the piece de resistance being 360 views from the peak. Provided your mountain of choice has a peak.

But this angle of Sunshine Village, Alberta, captured at 30,000 (ish) feet by local snowboarder Sophie Lane, will be novel to most of you.

Watch from the air as a dedicated crew of tiny snowcats burns the midnight oil.

Anyone here play Sim City or Cities Skylines? That was my first thought watching this video. It made me feel like I was playing a ski resort management game where you, the ever-enterprising GM, build lodges, runs, and lifts from a top-down angle. Game designers, if you're reading this, make this hypothetical Ski Resort Tycoon happen -- it sounds like loads of fun. (Technically, it already exists, but I'm talking about a modern version).

Sunshine opened earlier this month on November 11th with access to the Mitey Mite magic carpet and a terrain park. Since then, the resort has expanded its terrain offerings. According to Sunshine's website, five lifts (including the base access gondola and magic carpet) and 20 runs are open. For a better look at this early-season terrain selection, click here to view Sunshine's digital trail map (it's really cool).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that more snow will head Sunshine's way so they can continue to open more terrain. I'm sure you locals are jonesing to get some laps in on the Dive.

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