Heavy snow falls on Canadian ski areas

A number of ski holiday resorts in the province of Alberta, Canada have seen heavy snow over the past few days.

Travel Alberta reported that more than half a metre of fresh snow has fallen over the past three days in the ski areas of Mt Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village in Banff national park.

Skiers and snowboarders are now taking advantage of fresh powder covering almost 8,000 acres of terrain.

People taking holidays in the area this month will have the chance to attend the Ice Magic festival on the shores of Lake Louise from January 23rd to 25th, which includes a 34-hour ice-sculpting competition.

Other popular activities in the Banff national park and Lake Louise region include spa trips and wildlife tracking, with deer, elk, cougars, moose and even grizzly bears roaming free through the park''s protected forests.

Calgary and Edmonton, two of the biggest cities in Alberta, can be reached by taking flights with airlines including KLM and United Airlines.

Fatal Avalanches Rattle Ski Country in the West

Whistler Blackcomb resort in British Columbia has stationed guards at the top of some areas to prevent skiers and snowboarders from entering hazardous terrain. Grouse Mountain resort, in North Vancouver, has suggested that government action may be needed to deter skiers and snowboarders from using off-limit areas. And Jackson Hole in Wyoming has already burned through nearly half of this year’s budget for avalanche hazard reduction work, one month into the season.

Resorts throughout the western United States and Canada are struggling with avalanche hazards as weather patterns have created uncommonly widespread conditions of instability, wreaking havoc on mountains crowded with skiers of all levels at the start of ski season. Last week, avalanches at Whistler Blackcomb killed a snowboarder and a skier on terrain outside the resort’s boundaries. On Wednesday morning, a controlled slide ran past Jackson Hole’s $10 million Bridger Restaurant — already damaged by a recent avalanche — while the mountain was closed to the public.

Avalanche forecasters anticipate that hazardous conditions could persist well into the season throughout the backcountry in the Rockies, the Pacific Northwest and the Tetons. The Teton County Sheriff’s Department reminded the public last week — for the first time in its 17-year history — that search and rescue may be significantly delayed or unable to respond to backcountry incidents because of heightened avalanche hazards.

Lifts stopped by cold in Canada

Low temperatures in Calgary, Alberta, led to the region’s Olympic Park ski area shutting down on Friday because the weather was too cold for the lifts to operate within required limits.

An Arctic Storm brought temperatures down to -27C during the daytime on Friday with wind chill below -40C. The cold weather is expected to continue for several more days and may bring actual temperatures as low as -40C. The cold weather has been accompanied by strong winds of up to 41mph.

Canada Olympic Park cancelled all outdoor activities, but park spokesman Stewart McDonough told local media that it was rare for the park to shut down due to bad weather. However the lifts should not operate in strong winds or very low temperatures. The forecast high at present is about -31C.