Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island is closed Wednesday as “unseasonably warm weather persists” on the mountain, according to staff.
The Mount Washington team took to the resort’s website and social media pages Wednesday morning saying, after the rain the night before, “our team has made the tough decision to suspend operations for the day.”
This means chairlifts will not operate, and all alpine and Nordic activities are closed, reads a statement from the resort. Eagle View Bistro will remain open for regular hours, but retail stores are closing at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The resort’s alpine report shows a current snowbase of 44 cm. Rain is in the forecast throughout the day today before becoming mixed with snow starting Thursday, notes The Weather Network.
Earlier this week, nearby Comox saw its warmest Jan. 29 on record with a high of 13.3°C.
“We hope to hunker down during this downpour to maintain what we can of the slope conditions for when colder temperatures arrive,” said Mount Washington.
“The good news is that our forecast appears to be improving, and we still have plenty of days left in our winter season to enjoy together.”
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Further north, the Island’s other ski destination, Mount Cain Alpine Park, is also closed.
“Mount Cain is closed until further notice,” staff member Erin wrote to Facebook on Jan. 23. “I’ve got some serious winter blues today folks. Try as we might, high freezing levels, and lots of that nasty r-word are thwarting our winter ski season.”
At the time, Erin said they needed a “big dump” of snow “to get back up and running, like 50 cm at least.”
On B.C.’s mainland, Grouse Mountain Resort is also shut down Wednesday “due to inclement weather.” The North Vancouver-based resort posted the update to social media, adding, “the downhill area for skiing and riding is closed today.”
Nearby Cypress Mountain’s downhill and Nordic areas are also closed today.
.@MountWashington says it has decided to close today due to rain and unseasonably warm conditions. @CHEK_News pic.twitter.com/9hqo5V3LCT
— Dean Stoltz (@deanstoltzchek) January 31, 2024
Ethan Morneau
