EDMONTON -- Three ski hills opened in the Edmonton area on Friday, marking the official start of the season.
Snow Valley Ski Hill opened Friday morning, noting a recent bout of colder weather helped the season kick off.
"It's a big excitement. So happy to be open. We had that nice cold snap—which wasn't nice to live in, but it was great for making snow," said Snow Valley's Tim Dea.
"We (were) able to finish off the hill last weekend and push it all this week, so we have these great conditions."
Dea said once the hill's snow is down, a major obstacle has been completed—even if Edmonton sees warmer weather later.
"Those kinds of challenges are not as dire as you might think. Once the snow's down, it's down. The conditions of the snow that you ski or snowboard on, yeah, that's going to change a little bit. But essentially, it's not going anywhere and it's here for the rest of the season."
Although the club saw a line up for its first chair Friday morning, it was expecting another rush after 4 p.m. until closing at 9 p.m.
Rabbit Hill Snow Resort and Sunridge Ski Area open at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
According to Edmonton Ski Club's website, that site will open on Dec. 7.
