Apex Mountain Resort will be opening this Saturday, Dec. 9, thanks not to Mother Nature but to snow machines.
Only two runs off the T-bar will be open this weekend. The Magic Carpet, quad and stock chairs will remain closed. The tube park, as well as the skating loop and rink, are also closed.
The Gun Barrel Saloon is open as is the Edge Bistro. Season passes office is open as is the general store.
This has been an unseasonably mild November and December that has resulted in little snow for any ski mountain in the Okanagan.
At Apex, there is a 30 centimetre base. Silver Star in Vernon and Big White in Kelowna are also opening with limited runs. Most mountains are getting rain instead of snow.
This is a sharp contrast to last season when the Okanagan experienced freezing temperatures and plenty of snow starting in November and going through December.
“Keep up the snow dances everyone,” said Apex general manager James Shalman this week.
“We had some challenges with our snow-making machines in November but they are working now. More terrain opening soon. We need a little more snow for the magic carpet area as you can see,” he says in a video posted on the Apex Facebook page.
