One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the old saying goes. But when it comes to Vancouver Island, one man’s trash weather is a skier’s pleasure.
Mount Washington Alpine Resort has announced it will reopen for Father’s Day weekend as a long spell of cold, wet weather stretches into the start of summer.
“So, you know how everyone is talking about the interesting island weather keeping us on our toes…We’re rolling with it,” the resort said on its website Tuesday. “Get your toes back into those ski boots and feel the rush of sliding down snow one last time before bike and beach season is in full force.”
The resort will open Saturday and Sunday with the Whiskey Jack Chair operating from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, with access to limited terrain, coaster and the terrain park. Eagle’s Flight Ziptours will also be open for tours hourly.
Single-day tickets will be available for all ages for $29, and fathers will get to ski for free. Anyone with a season pass from the previous ski season, and those who have passes for next season, will get free passes for the weekend-only event.
Vancouver Island has seen colder-than-normal weather so far this spring, with temperatures a degree-and-a-half to two degrees cooler than what they normally would be, Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee told CHEK News earlier this month.
While complaints over the winter-like weather have been common, mountains north of Nanaimo have remained covered in snow.”
It was definitely wet in the last three months across the area, receiving somewhere between 200 and 300 millimetres of precipitation, which translates to about 130 per cent wetter than average,” said Lee.
In the mountains, that has translated to a snow pack that is more than 150 per cent of its normal amount for this time of year.
Jeff Lawrence
