Western Canada snow forecast

Skiing in Western Canada

Western Canada covers the ski resorts of Alberta and British Columbia, from the Coast Mountains near Vancouver to the Rockies along the Continental Divide. Snowfall is generous almost everywhere, from about 4.4 m a year at Marmot Basin to around 12 m in parts of the Kootenays.

This page compares five areas. The Canadian Rockies covers Banff Sunshine Village and Lake Louise in Banff National Park, plus Kicking Horse near Golden and Panorama near Invermere. Sunshine sits on the Continental Divide and usually runs from early November to late May, Lake Louise has a long history of hosting early season World Cup speed races, and Kicking Horse and Panorama both have around 1,300 m of vertical.

Jasper covers Marmot Basin, about 20 minutes from Jasper in Jasper National Park, with an even spread of terrain from novice to expert and a season from mid-November to early May.

The Okanagan covers Big White near Kelowna and Silver Star near Vernon, both with village bases and around 7 m of snow, plus Revelstoke, which has the biggest vertical of any ski resort in North America, about 1,710 m.

The Kootenays covers RED Mountain at Rossland, one of the oldest ski hills in North America, and Whitewater near Nelson, which averages around 12 m of snow and is known for steep tree skiing.

Sea to Sky covers Whistler, the largest ski resort in North America, where the Peak 2 Peak gondola links Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Its coastal position brings heavy snowfall up high but can mean rain at the base, so its conditions often differ from the interior resorts.