“One of the strangest seasons” for Canadian ski resorts

Among these, Mont-Tremblant, in Laurentians. Jean-Francois Gaur, communications director of the Mont-Tremblant station, notes that weather conditions have varied since the start of the season. The last week clearly illustrates the vagaries of the weather: the temperature reached 9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday before dropping to -14°C The next day.

We were served an authentic cocktailHe says.

In Ontario and Quebec, some golf courses opened while ski resorts ceased operations.

Daniel Scott, a University of Waterloo professor who studies climate change and tourism, 2024 winter One of the strangest ski seasons Across the country in recent years.

It's not often that resorts struggle to provide good skiing conditions during March break week.He mentions.

Ski resorts, particularly in Quebec and Ontario, sometimes struggle to open during the holidays, but they make enough snow in January and February to stay open through March, Mr. Scott says.

And he notes that when one area goes through a tough season, others usually do better, but that wasn't the case this year.

He adds that It's been a different winter, coast to coast across North America, the United States and Canada.

It's an anomaly I don't recall seeing in the 20 years I've been studying ski seasons.

Mr. Scott cites the example of a frequented ski hill in Ontario that was closed this week despite falling temperatures. Thunderstorms and high temperatures reduced the ability to make enough snow.

A nearby golf course announced it will open this weekend.

He mentions that he has never seen this before. It may be a publicity stunt, but the reality is that it's open and running during March break, when young people are more likely to golf in March than ski, which isn't the kind of winter we usually experience..

However, some stations were lucky Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia received 110 centimeters of snow. This fresh snow covered the dusty slopes located in the lower reaches of the resort.

Snow cannons usually stop working in Whistler-Blackcomb at the end of January. They are still operating at full capacity due to the rains at 2500 meters last month. Photo: Radio-Canada/Francis Plourde

Mother Nature is capricious this season. Even today, despite all the fresh snow, the number of open slopes is lower than usualA spokesperson for the station confirms Whistler-Blackcomb, Dan Gerkovich. Usually all trails are open at this time of year.

Another unusual fact is that the resort constantly produces artificial snow. We continue to do this to compensate for losses due to extreme heat and rain.Mr. Kerkovich underlines.