Canada’s 2019-20 ski season will kick off on Saturday after Nakiska ski area announced it would be making its earliest ever opening, this Saturday 26th October.
Nakiska usually opens in the first week of November alongside resorts like Mt Norquay in Banff but this year has decided to open early, after several good October snowstorms (pictured below on the 8th of October). It has also been running its snowmaking arsenal whenever possible.
The resort will open about 2.5km of trails for its ‘preview weekend’ on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October, from 10am each day, before closing midweek.
The resort says its base should be at 50-60cm for opening day, despite temperatures hitting double digits above freezing in recent days.
There is a possibility another Canadian ski area probably in Quebec, may sneak in and open first in Canada. Mont-Saint-Sauveur usually opens a run using snowmaking in October and is also reported to be targeting Saturday 26th October this year for its opening day.
“Nakiska is excited to welcome skiers and snowboarders. We are very thankful to be able to open up this early to provide skiing and riding to our valued season passholders and day ticket guests,” said Matt Mosteller, the resort’s Senior VP, Marketing & Resort Experience, adding, “Shout out to our team who have been working around the clock to get runs open so our very passionate skiers and riders can share the tradition of celebrating ski season starts with first turns at Nakiska.”
