Ski Resorts Opening in Canada

4th November 2022

Last modified on November 14th, 2022

Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, Mt Norquay and Nakiska in Alberta are open. The first resort in British Columbia, Big White, opens this Thursday. UPDATED

The first to open in British Columbia is set to be Big White that has announced it firing up some lifts on Thursday November 17th.

The Weather Network’s, Jaclyn Whittal, has more.

Mt Norquay is the final of the SkiBig3 resorts near Banff in Alberta.

“Three weeks ago, we were in flip flops and today, we’re getting ready for one of the earliest openings in the Big Chair’s 74-year history,” said Jasper Johnson, Marketing & Communications Manager at Mt. Norquay.

“Conditions up here are looking great and we’re so happy to return to welcoming back locals and visitors from all over the world!”

We’re Open! pic.twitter.com/T6SM9VRK9R
— Mount Norquay (@MtNorquay) November 10, 2022

On Opening Day, Thursday 10th November, Mt. Norquay was a mix of locals, visitors, former Olympians and young ski racers all excited to be playing once again in “Banff’s Backyard”.

Located 10 minutes from town, Mt. Norquay is the closest SkiBig3 resort to Banff.

Ahhhh. Blue skies & corduroy. Opening day bliss @MtNorquay pic.twitter.com/79MFZ6TLkj
— Ken Read (@Skier_one) November 10, 2022

Lake Louise opened Friday 4th November.

It claimed a base of 40cm with 42cm of fresh snow in the last week.

Over the past two weeks the Canadian Rockies has seen consistent heavy snowfall.

The resorts are on the Ikon Pass.

Canada’s ski season has officially started @SkiBig3 opened @SunshineVillage on November 3 and @SkiLouise today, November 4 ❄️🇨🇦 Adding TWO more #IkonPass destinations on the open for the 22/23 winter season. pic.twitter.com/DoJYCmVzCK
— Ikon Pass (@IkonPass) November 4, 2022

The recent storms allowed Lake Louise Ski Resort to open the longest run to date in the Canadian Rockies from the top of Glacier Chair.

It is thought more lifts will be open by the weekend.

“Good news! Our crews are working hard and we expect to open 1 or 2 more lifts by the weekend. Stay tuned for updates,” said Lake Louise in a statement on Tuesday.

Lake Louise. Image © Ski Big Three

Lifts started turning in Sunshine Village in Alberta on Thursday 3rd November.

Sunshine Village. Image © Ski Big Three

It was a week earlier than planned.

It’s official, we are now open for the 2022/23 ski and snowboard season! pic.twitter.com/kj8wgIxdiA
— Sunshine Village (@SunshineVillage) November 3, 2022

More runs are now opening.

High fives to our trail crew! We’re opening two more lifts tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/XeXxUcGelU
— Sunshine Village (@SunshineVillage) November 4, 2022

The area has seen 53cm of fresh snow in the last 7 days.

“This is the earliest opening day in my lifetime,” said the Brand & Communications Manager at Sunshine, Kendra Scurfield.

“As we were watching Snowmageddon roll in, and the snow continue to pile up, we decided that it would be possible to open a week early and get our snow cats out on the mountain to open Strawberry Chair.”

The Strawberry Express lift is now open, giving access to limited terrain.

Lift tickets were $68 on opening day and will remain $68 until more runs open.

There is also a small terrain park set up on Strawberry.

Trapper’s, Java Lift, Creeksideearlier and Alpine Grill are open for food and drinks.

Sunshine Village. Image © Ski Big Three

Sunshine has seen some good snow in recent weeks.

All Canadian Travel Restrictions Lifted

As of October 1, 2022, all Canadian COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, meaning this winter it’s easier than ever to book a ski trip to the Canadian Rockies.

Border requirements including proof of vaccination, use of the ArriveCAN App, and any testing and quarantine/isolation requirements have ended for all travellers entering Canada whether by land, air or sea.

The resort remains a particular favourite of ours at PlanetSKI.

See this earlier report on a visit for why it appeals to us:

Sunshine Sparkles

Sunshine Village will now remain open for skiing and snowboarding until its annual Slush Cup on May 22nd 2023.

Four resorts are now open in Canada with all of them in Alberta.

Nakiska is the other resort open.

We will be open for our first preview weekend from tomorrow until Sunday! Information on what will be open – https://t.co/gjjCfIPZSj.
Any further updates will be added to our Snow Report.#skiclose #nakiska #kananaskis #skiseason #winterishere #ski #snowboard #yyc pic.twitter.com/vi3TBEb9Y9
— Nakiska Ski Area (@SkiNakiska) November 10, 2022