22-05-2025
Canada's Second Largest Ski Resort Using New Technique to Preserve Snowpack
Sun Peaks Resort is thinking long-term when it comes to early season snowpack. The resort located in British Columbia, Canada is taking advantage of leftover snow from this season to get a head start for next season. Starting in April, Sun Peaks' grooming team harvested 14,000 cubic meters of snow and and shuttled it to the OSV (Österreichischer Skiverband) ski run. The harvested snow was then covered by mats developed by a Finnish company called Snow Secure. These insulated mats are filled with a material called Finnfoam and arranged over a an oblong dome-shaped pile of snow, which Sun Peaks' case is 300 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 30 feet tall. See to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates.
The mats work to protect snow from wind, rain, and high temperatures that decimate snowpack and utilize a real-time monitoring system. Come fall, Sun Peaks' grooming team will shape the mound of snow into an ideal surface for alpine racers and skier cross athletes to start training early at the Nancy Greene International Race Centre.A set of 18 mats cost Sun Peaks $180,000, which is not a small sum for a ski area. However, in a feature on the resort by CBC British Columbia, CBC's meteorologist Johanna Wagstaff claims it's a worthy investment. Wagtaff says that based on a 'middle of the road' climate change scenario, we could lose between 10-40% of our overall winter snowpack. Elevations around 1500m or 5,000ft will be particularly affected by these changes, which is bad news for winter sports destinations. If how rapidly our planet's climate has changed in the last five years is any indication, we're likely in for anything but a 'middle of the road' scenario.
Solutions like Snow Secure mats are, all things considered, less costly than snowmaking, and take up less precious resources, while having great potential for extending a ski area's season. Preserved natural snow also retains its quality better than man-made snow which makes for a better ski experience. The mats are also highly durable and one set is expected to last 10-20 also interviewed local ski cross racer Euan Curry, who noted that an extended season at his home resort could help him and other racers get a competitive edge with a longer training season. An already costly sport, this could save folks like Curry some significant cash if they're not traveling to Europe to find snow during that early season. You can see the full CBC piece below. Tap or click to watch.
Sun Peaks is not the first resort to utilize this technology, but they are the first in Canada. According to Snow Secure's website, their system has been installed at several European resorts such as Saas-Fe, Trømso Alpinpark, Ruka, and Levi. North American resorts like Ski Apache, NM and Tyrol Basin, WI have also began utilizing the installation of the Snow Secure system comes in conjunction with a multi-million dollar upgrade to the resort's existing snowmaking system that began in 2024.
