Lake Louise Ski Resort enjoys record snow; Parks Canada urges backcountry skiers to be safe

A massive amount of snow has been nice for the ski hills, but Parks Canada is reminding those heading into the backcountry to put safety first.

Lake Louise Ski Resort is celebrating a strong start to the season with more than 500 centimetres of snow.

“We’re at 503 centimetres base at the upper mountain right now, which is the first time in our history for this time of year that we’ve broken through the 500s,” said Emmett McPartlin, Lake Louise Ski Resort director of sales and marketing.

That hill measures November and December snowfall.

This snowfall has allowed the hill to open up nearly all of its runs with all 13 lifts in operation.

Due to the heavy snowfall the resort has experienced, it has also opened up 200 acres of new terrain called Richardson’s Ridge three months earlier than expected.

“It’s a brand new lift,” said McPartlin.

“It is fantastic skiing for beginners and intermediates (and) it really provides a whole new view of the resort—it’s extremely, extremely picturesque.”

The hill is encouraging people to carpool or take the bus in from Banff to help with potential traffic congestion.

Backcountry safety

The snow the area has experienced has people flocking to the backcountry.

“It’s been a good year for snow. Avalanche conditions haven’t been the best, but hopefully it gets better,” said Tyler Hauger, on his way to go backcountry skiing.

Parks Canada says avalanche conditions should be on the minds of those heading out.

“We’re definitely into the height of the winter, and the single biggest hazard in the wintertime is avalanches,” said Brian Webster, Banff National Park visitor safety manager.

In Banff National Park, area conditions are considerable at the alpine level, moderate at the tree line and low below the tree line.

“‘Considerable’ is ranked as dangerous avalanche conditions, with natural avalanches possible, human-triggered avalanches likely,” said Webster.

Webster says anyone heading into the backcountry should take an avalanche safety course and come with the right equipment.

Fatal Avalanche Incidents Database

Avalanche Canada launched a national database that documents every known avalanche fatality in Canada since 1792.

“It’s a complete collection of all the avalanche fatalities basically for as far back as we have records,” said James Floyer, Avalanche Canada program director.

“More than 40 years ago, we saw the majority of incidents involved with transportation or mining or other industrial-related activities. Now, in the modern era, we see almost all of the incidents are recreational—that’s snowmobilers, that’s skiers, that’s hikers out of bounds, ice climbers."

Floyer says each incident reflects a tragedy but also an accident people can learn from.

“Our motivation is to learn from past incidents. … That informs the education that we do and informs the forecasting processes that we do that ultimately keep people safe,” he said.

People can access the database here.