Ski resorts rejoice as heavens open up with major snowfall

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If you listen closely, you can hear the shouts of pure joy from skiers and boarders throughout the region.

The dump of snow making our lives miserable in the valley bottoms is just what the ski resorts in the Thompson-Okanagan were hoping for.

Kelowna’s Big White received 29 centimetres of fresh “Champagne” powder in just 12 hours and as of 10 a.m. Monday there was a total of 43 cm of new snow.

At Kamloop’s Sun Peaks, 35 cm of fresh snow fell in 24 hours, with another another 9 cm forecast to float gently from the sky Monday.

Even without electricity, the Sun Peaks Resort is reporting an epic day of skiing and boarding with the help of diesel back-up generators powering the four main lifts.

Silver Star Mountain Resort is reporting 35 cm of new snow with all their lifts spinning.

At Apex Mountain near Penticton, a whooping 49 cm of fresh snow in 24 hours. The snow was so heavy Monday, the Quad Chair was closed because of an extremely high avalanche hazard.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.