There are still a few twigs showing through the snow, but that won't stop the skiers this weekend at Tabor Mountain Resort.
Nearly two weeks behind last year's opening date, Tabor opens for the season on Saturday.
The trails are covered with a base of 53 centimetres - not quite enough to create a winter wonderland but, officially, winter doesn't start until Tuesday.
"We need to do the snow dance," said resort manager Virginia O'Dine. "We have minimal snow and there are patches of mown willows sticking out, but it's good enough to go. We'll give it a shot for a couple days and hopefully we'll make it through the Christmas break.
"The boss (Tabor owner Fern Thibault) was out there trying it out. It's not perfect but it's doable."
The forecast the next three days calls for cool nights with lows dipping into the -24 C range by Sunday and highs ranging from -9 C to -17C. No new snow is expected.
"When it's that cold, it saps all the moisture out of the snow, so with our weird weather we actually have the perfect base," said O'Dine. "It got cold and it froze hard, so that takes care of the underground springs that we battle with all year. Then we had the wet snow on top and it got packed down and the cold weather will sap that moisture out and it will be powdery.
"It's all track-packed and half the hill is groomed."
Groomed runs include East Rider, Bear Alley, Mambo, Grandad, and Tabor Main. The ungroomed trails are Sugar Face, The Face, Trainer, Nancy Greene, and O My Gawd. Crazy Train, Mangy Moose and Sweet Redemption trails are still closed.
"We can't count on the weather, they've been calling for snow at the end of the week since August," laughed O'Dine. "Pretty much, when it shows up is when we can expect it. They're calling for snow on Monday, so hopefully we'll get it."
Lifts will be runing from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on weekends and from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Tabor is located 22 kilometres east of downtown off Highway 16. For more information and updated snow reports, got to www.tabormountain.com.
Further east of the city, Purden Mountain plans to open today, with snow conditions rated as fair at the base, to better than fair at higher elevations. Purden has received 10cm of new snow in the past week, including 2 cm that fell on Wednesday.
The Baker Chair and T-bar runs are open but the Yellow Chair will remain closed until more snow falls. Soya's Choice, December Sun, Expressway, Whiskey Jack and Blue Jay runs have been groomed in the last few days.
Discounted lift ticket pricing is in effect. Skiers are warned to watch for hazards, especially on the Lakeview and Shogun runs and recommends only experts attempt to ski Kienzle's Canyon. Updated ski reports are at www.purden.com.
At Powder King Mountain Resort, near Mackenzie, 22cm of new snow has fallen in the past three days, leaving a 70cm base at the day lodge, 133cm at mid-mountain and 142cm at the top. Purden is open now every day through the holiday season. The day lodge opens at 8 a.m. and lifts begin operating at 9 a.m.
Grooming has been done on Chesters, Abbey Road, I Will, Mountain Road, Penny Lane and the Penny Lane Bypass runs. Twelve of 37 runs are open.
For more information go to www.powderking.com.
