Almost 3,000 skiers, snowboarders and winter adventurers visited Sun Peaks Resort on a record opening day, kicking off what is expected to be one of the best seasons on the mountain.
"We had a really strong opening on Saturday with the amount of people who came up and the amount of terrain that was open," said spokeswoman Brandi Schier.
The turnout on Sunday was already shaping up to be a repeat of opening day, which bodes well for the weeks ahead, she said.
Sun Peaks' alpine base was 88 centimetres on Saturday, the highest it has been in the last five years, and the mid-mountain base sat at 52 cm. All that snow, which stuck around due to a week of unseasonably cool temperatures, allowed all three mountains to open.
"That's only the second time that's happened in the resort's history, so there's a lot of terrain to go around," said Schier.
Even with the record turnout, no run was too busy and good skiing and snowboarding conditions persisted throughout the day. Schier took to the slopes Saturday afternoon and still saw powder on many runs.
If all goes well, things won't slow down this winter. Schier said the weeks leading to Christmas break get increasingly busier. Once the holidays are out of the way, the resort hosts its annual wine festival.
"It just keeps on going," she said.
The word from staff at the resort's hotels and lodges is reservations are up 15 to 20 per cent for the winter, which has people excited, said Mayor Al Raine.
"It's great to have a good snowpack on opening day," he said. "It's a good start."
Sun Peaks markets itself as a year-round resort, with events scheduled winter and summer. Schier said this effort contributed to the strong turnout on Saturday.
