Edmonton ski hill anticipates colder temperatures to begin making snow in earnest

The scene at Edmonton's Snow Valley Ski Club on Nov. 4, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)

Clocks have been turned back and 2024 has a little less than two months left, so it's all downhill from here.

But frost and foremost, there'll be a flurry of activity of the white kind.

Not only has Edmonton seen its first snowfall of the year amid temperatures below zero, at least one local ski hill is busy firing up its snow-making machines for the season.

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Snow Valley Ski Club is hoping for a mid-November start date, says Tim Dea, the southside slope's marketing and communications manager.

"It might be a little later in November, but we're still confident we're going to get on (skis) before December," Dea told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

Last year, warm weather delayed local ski hills from opening until early December.

Dea said Snow Valley, located in the Whitemud Creek ravine next to Rainbow Valley Park off Whitemud Drive, is waiting for the mercury to dip even more so snow-makers can go full bore.

"The colder it gets, the more snow we can pump, so that's what we're hoping for," he said.

And with Rocky Mountain resorts opening soon – Lake Louise is scheduled to begin operation on Tuesday and Sunshine Village on Friday , with Jasper's Marmot Basin aiming for a mid-November start – anticipation for closer-to-home hill options will only build.

"Like, 'Yay!,' because that just means everyone gets excited about it," Dea said.

Other ski hills in the Edmonton area include the central Edmonton Ski Club located next to the Muttart Conservatory and across the North Saskatchewan River from downtown, the Sunridge ski area accessible from 17 Street and located across the river from Rundle Park, and the Rabbit Hill Snow Resort in the southwest corner of the city.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brandon Lynch