The surprisingly low-tech way a B.C. ski resort is saving its snow
Sun Peaks adopts European 'snow blankets' to preserve season amid climate change
The Sun Peaks ski resort near Kamloops, in B.C.'s Interior, has a new tool to fight the impacts of warming temperatures: 18 giant, insulated blankets to help keep their powder cool during summer months.
The resort said its 300-foot long snow mat, believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, was developed by a Finnish company called Snow Secure. The company marketed the product as a way to ensure reliable early-season ski conditions amid warming temperatures.
Crews at Sun Peaks spent part of the winter harvesting snow and bringing it to a singular location high in the mountain. They then covered the pile to protect it from the summer sun.
When fall comes around, they'll begin distributing the snow in order to make full runs, available for alpine teams to train on.
"It's fantastic ... we can stay home and save some money," said Euan Currie, a ski cross racer based at Sun Peaks.
Typically, he travels to Europe early in the ski season in order to find enough snow to work with, but he hopes this new strategy will help give him a home-court advantage.
"Earlier ski times equals more winning," he said.
The surprisingly simple technology was launched in Europe around the turn of the century, and has become increasingly popular among resorts there.
The blankets are made using extruded polystyrene and have real-time temperature monitoring.
More recently, they've been adopted by North American ski hills as they deal with increasingly unreliable climate patterns that have led to declines in both revenue and people willing to shell out money for season passes that may not be put to good use.
Currie's father, Duncan, is Sun Peak's operations director and one of the people who has been laying the blankets out. He said each one covers the equivalent of about four football fields.
He said even when temperatures surpass 30 C, it's expected 75 to 80 per cent of the snow should stay secure.
"We have confidence that the quality of the snow will be what we want to train on," he said.
Sun Peaks said it shelled out $180,000 for the mats but believes it's a worthwhile investment if it means a more secure ski season.
According to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, the spring snow pack in B.C.'s souther Interior mountains has dropped between 20 and 40 per cent since the 1970s. Based on current trends, another 10 to 40 per cent could be lost by 2035.
"We are going to lose more snow," she said, adding many winter resorts are looking for ways to preserve the season.
Sun Peaks communications director Christina Antoniak said she's excited for the mats to come off this fall and the ability to announce the start of the season, earlier and with more confidence than in recent years.
"I think it's going to be a very milestone day," she said.
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