Some ski resorts close early but other Kamloops, Okanagan hills finishing strong

The mild winter has been difficult for a lot of ski hills, and while some around B.C. are closing early, others are getting ready for their grand finale right on schedule.

Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton and Baldy Mountain Resort near Oliver are both shutting down for the season Sunday, March 29.

“These are tough decisions and we have enjoyed having each and every one of you up this season and will look forward to the last few days… and an amazing start to next season,” Baldy Mountain said in a statement.

Apex’s general manager James Shalman said the issue was warm weather and a high freezing level at times throughout the season leaving little snow coverage at the bottom of the hill. It’s the first time the hill has closed early in 25 years.

“On the top half of the mountain the skiing is quite nice, but on the bottom half of the mountain we had some rain events earlier in the season that were snow events in the top half and that is our problem with our current conditions,” he said in a video announcement about the early closure.

Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops and SilverStar Mountain Resort near Vernon are still plan to close, April 6.

SilverStar is keeping the terrain park open for a few extra weeks until April 26.

Alternating warm and freezing temperatures have had an effect on ski conditions. Conditions at Big White are described as “hard packed and groomed.”

The meteorological winter, which is from December to the end of February, was one of the warmest on record for the region.

In Vernon, it was the warmest winter on record, and in Penticton it ranked sixth, while in Kamloops and Kelowna it was the third warmest.

For skiers and snowboarders trying to get the last runs of the season over the next week there isn’t much more snow in the forecast.

Big White’s daily highs are forecast to hover between -5 Celsius and -1 C, while overnight lows are going to be around -10 C. Some trace amounts of snow and flurries are expected over the weekend with winds up to 50 km/h.

SilverStar is expecting low temperatures around -5 C and high temperatures just above freezing, and there isn’t any snow in the forecast.

Sun Peaks is supposed to be a bit colder with high temperatures around -3 C and lows around -7 C and a chance of flurries heading into next week.