A warm week at Apex Mountain Resort followed by a big drop in temperature this week has set up the ski hill for some of the best conditions so far this season.
“Conditions are good, obviously it is very cold this week, but the nice thing was that temperature change set up the mountain for some of the best conditions of the season,” said James Shalman, manager of Apex Mountain Resort. “As we go throughout February and March the snow really starts to accumulate.”
Shalman said the forecast is showing a solid snow system to come through Apex on Thursday or Friday, with an estimated 15 centimetres anticipated to fall. This will add to the 25 centimetres that fell overnight on Jan. 23 and to the 95 cm alpine base.
If the snow system does come through, Shalman said it will set up a great month of events at Apex.
Brewski, a craft beer and food festival at the Gunbarrel, sold out within four days of the event’s announcement. In March a similar event that features wine and food, Vertical and Vintages, takes place in conjunction with the Naramata Bench Wineries Association.
Related: Tickets now available for the Vertical and Vintages wine weekend
Apex is also offering a two for one discount on full day lift tickets on Valentines Day when you use the phrase “roses are red, violets are blue, we would like to ski for two” at the ticket window. A 50 per cent discount will be offered on Family Day (Feb. 18) when you show your B.C. or Alberta licence or proof of residency at time of purchase.
“Besides those events, our one kilometre adventure skating loop has been super popular this year after getting a lot of traction on social media and we have a full NHL-sized skating rink. With these conditions and the cold temperatures, both of these are great,” said Shalman.
One thing that is working against Apex is the Highway 97 road closure just north of Summerland. Shalman said they held an event on the weekend for youth ski racers that saw attendance dip because of traffic not being able to pass through the rock slide area.
Related: Aiming for slope stability at Highway 97 rock slide
“Typically we have young kids from Big White involved and while some parents did the drive around through Rock Creek, not as many wanted to make that trip. We were down about 40 registrants from Big White alone, so is it affecting business? Yes, we saw that with this event, but how much is it affecting it in total? I am not sure just yet,” said Shalman.
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