How 10 days turned the entire B.C. ski season around
It’s a startling turn of events.
B.C. mountains are churning most of their chairlifts, and hectares and hectares of terrain have been flooded by champagne powder.
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So, how did that happen?
We can thank a chilly air mass that originally was sourced from Siberia. A unique goldilocks pattern delivered the rare combination of onshore flow and below-seasonal freezing levels.
All the modified Arctic air swirled over the eastern Pacific, meaning the moist, Pacific frontal systems wouldn’t spike the freezing level at all.
Take Whistler Village, for example. No snowpack on Feb. 27, but by March 4, worked its way to a 34-cm snowpack at 650 metres elevation.
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The ultimate British Columbia currency fell at values of nearly 200 cm of snowfall across the mid-mountain region of Whister-Blackcomb.
Here’s a snapshot of the Whistler Snow accumulation on Feb. 4, highlighting just 470 cm of accumulation. The famous ski resort was in danger for having one of its lowest snow years over the past 25 years.
Fast-forward a month.
Here’s the latest chart, a not-so-modest addition of 247 cm. Yes, that’s taller than the tallest, current NBA Player Boban Marjanovic (224 cm).
What’s also extraordinary is Cypress Mountain, nestled in the North Shore Mountains, received 154 centimetres of white gold –– 25 per cent of an entire season average, piled up in just seven days.
Between 50-100 cm of snowfall also occurred in the Columbia and Rocky Mountains, including 92 cm of snowfall during a seven-day stretch for Revelstoke.
More on the way?
The answer is yes. As much as an extra 50-100 cm of snowfall along the Vancouver Island and Coastal Mountain ranges is expected over the next week or so.
