Pond Skim wraps up successful ski season at Snow Valley

Snow Valley wrapped up its ski season on Sunday with its annual Pond Skim event.

It was a perfect day for spring skiing as Snow Valley Ski Resort concluded its season on Sunday with its annual ‘Pond Skim’ event.

“Mother Nature’s given us a real treat today,” said John Ball, the resort’s general manager. “Plus nine or ten degrees, sun, blue sky, and a pond that we made so that we can have people go through that to wrap up the season.”

Nearly 150 skiers of all ages attempted the challenge of instantly going from skiing on snow to skiing on water and successfully crossing the man-made pond of melted ice and snow.

Those who succeeded stayed dry and received loud cheers from the crowd. Those who failed got soaked.

“It’s cool, but it’s not that bad,” joked Jamie Paterson, one of the adult contestants. “I expected worse.”

The event had to be cancelled last year due to the Ice Storm, depriving the resort of a strong finish to the 2024-25 ski season.

“Last year we planned to have it on the Sunday (March 30), but on Friday night, the Ice Storm came in and the power went out for about seven days,” recalled Ball. “This year, we made it through, no ice storm, beautiful sunny day, and we’re going to enjoy the pond skim.”

Ball confirmed that this year’s season was a success, with 106 ski days and a remaining snow base of nearly 87 centimetres.

“It’s right on our average,” continued Ball. “Our average for the past 20 years is 102 days. So we come in at 106, we’re just above that, so we’re right on track.”

Spring skiing outlook

For those still looking to go spring skiing in the region, Horseshoe Valley Resort is still mostly open and is scheduled to continue ski operations until next weekend.

Its reported snow base on Sunday was 85 centimetres with all but one night skiing run open. Conditions were reported as ‘machine groomed granular.’ Its nordic centre is closed for the season.

Mount St. Louis Moonstone is also scheduled to continue ski operations until Easter Sunday.

“Last chair spins April 5th. We’re snow grateful for every carve, send, and après laugh this year. It’s been snow joke, you all absolutely shredded,” says the resort on its site. “Don’t flake out on us, conditions are still amazing, take that final spring lap!”

All 36 slopes were open on Sunday and its reported base was 70 to 90 centimetres.

At Blue Mountain Resort, nearly three quarters of its trails, lifts, terrain and parks were open on Sunday, and its reported base was 75 centimetres.

According to Blue’s calendar, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ski operations are expected to continue in some capacity until April 12.