EDMONTON -- An Alberta ski resort closed its access road while another reached its parking capacity on Wednesday as skiiers headed for the hills.
Marmot Basin, located in Jasper National Park, warned potential downhillers at 9:30 a.m. that its “first come, first serve” parking lot was already full.
Meanwhile, in Banff National Park, Sunshine Village announced it closed its access road for the second consecutive morning Wednesday citing heavy traffic volume.
The resort announced it had reopened its access road just before 11:00 a.m.
Under the current public health order, outdoor recreation amenities such as ski areas are allowed to operate unless specifically closed.
Brian Rode with Marmot Basin said Dec. 28 to 30 are typically the busiest days of the year.
"Nothing out of the usual in that regard," he said. "People aren’t carpooling the way they used to, and that’s a good thing, so we’re ending up with fewer people per vehicle — that vehicle should be just people from your household — so that means there’s more car traffic than usual and we only have so much parking capacity."
Food-serving businesses operating at ski hills are permitted to allow people inside to take away their orders. Those businesses must stay under 15 per cent capacity and customers are required to wear masks.
Rode said he doesn't expect it'll be as busy as it has been this week the rest of the season.
"Now that we’re through the Christmas holidays we won’t see that again until maybe the occasional Saturday and also the Sunday of Family Day weekend, that’s also another busy day."
