Canadian Rockies Daily Snow

Update

El Nino 

El Nino weather conditions were in full bore across Western Canada going into the start of the season. Above average temps and below average snowfall are characteristic across the Canadian Rockies with these types of conditions brought on by warmer waters in the Northern Pacific convergence zones.  

Early Season

The snowfall started off the season quite strong at Lake Louise and Sunshine Village which recorded 136 cm and 164 cm respectively from November 1 through December 31, 2023.  Here are a few early-season pow shots from both resorts…

Both images below were from the December 4 - 5 storm period... The first is from Sunshine, and the second is from Lake Louise. (images SkiBig3, Rousseau, D.Evans) 

But snowmaking operations were the key everywhere else as the December storm track mainly favored the Banff/Lake Louise region. Nakiska, with extensive coverage, was in good shape for the Christmas/New Year Holidays. The flip side was the limited snowmaking at Castle Mountain with November/December snowfall of only 78 cm brought low-tide conditions across the mountain. The operators at Castle persevered with witty humor and extreme fortitude…  

Mid Season

A particularly frigid Arctic blast in January was the onset of a pattern change at Castle as they recorded the most monthly snowfall of all Alberta resorts with 66 cm. This was still below average, but a decent start towards slowly resurrecting their season. 

To the north, January was generally nonproductive in snowfall as frequent high-pressure ridges across the Eastern Pacific and British Columbia bumped storm systems to the south. Lake Louise and Sunshine Village only recorded 46 cm and 43 cm of cumulative snowfall in January, one of the driest on record. Jasper’s Marmot Basin was most challenged seeing only 28 cm. 

In February, the storm track continued favoring the Southern Alberta Rockies, and slightly less so Kananaskis Country. It’s a bit abnormal (historically speaking) that K-Country’s Nakiska recorded more snowfall in February (84 cm) than Lake Louise (74 cm) and Sunshine (69 cm). Castle Mountain continued to ride this southerly storm track tallying 137 cm for the month. Upslope storms, where cold easterly winds off the prairies collide with a westerly flow of Pacific moisture favor the easterly placed resorts (Castle, Nakiska) was the factor for the increased snowfall.     

The ski season finally started to turn the corner in early February at Castle Mountain. (Image, Castle Mountain Resort)

February 14th was an epic Bluebird Pow day at Sunshine below... (Image, SkiBig3, D.Evans) 

Ultra-light cold smoke pow in February at Lake Louise below... (Images, SkiBig3, D.Evans) 

Late Season

The latter third of the season, March and April were the most productive regarding snowfall across all Alberta resorts. The SkiBig3 resorts saw several 20 cm+ dumps during March that primed the extreme zones of Delirium Dive at Sunshine and West Bowl at Lake Louise. 

West Bowl under a fresh 19cm at Lake Louise in mid-March... (Images, SkiBig3, D.Evans) 

Some images from Delirium Dive at Sunshine in March... 

The snow fell more consistently at Castle Mountain where several centimeters every 2 to 3 days through most of March eventually tallied to 140 cm, once again attaining the highest monthly snow total across the Alberta Rockies. Nakiska also had a very respectable March with 80 cm falling. Marmot Basin continued their challenging season recording only 30 cm. 

There were frequent storm days at Castle Mountain during the month of March... (image Castle Mountain Resort)

Enter April, where upslope conditions returned with the first week of the month bringing 20 – 25 cm at Nakiska and Castle Mountain. Castle Mountain was the first resort to close for the season on April 7th, but mainly because skier visits in their somewhat remote location drop off in April. 

For the Banff/Lake Louise region, April delivered unseasonably cool temps with consistent light snowfall events through the month as a parade of storms rolled out of the Gulf of Alaska. Lake Louise accumulated the most snow in April with 76 cm through May 1st. Sunshine saw 56 cm and Norquay ended the season on April 21st with 48 cm falling during the first 3 weeks. Marmot also saw just enough snow and colder than average temps to keep their snowpack consistent enough to last through their May 5th closing day.

Slushy spring snow, and some celebratory suds at Sunshine Village in April (Image SkiBig3, D.Evans)

2023/24 Cumulative Seasonal Snowfall Totals and Percentages of Average: 

1#  Castle Mountain Resort   698 cm / 275 inches / 76% of average 
2#  Lake Louise Resort   598 cm / 235 inches / 125% of average  
3#  Banff/Sunshine Village   571 cm /  225 inches / 75% of average 
4#  Nakiska   384 cm / 151 inches / 143 % of average 
5#  Mt Norquay  383 cm /  151 inches / 127 % of average 
6#  Marmot Basin  340 cm / 134 inches / 77 % of average 

Summary: 

The 23/24 season slowly bounced back after an extremely dry January that brought on low-tide conditions and grave concerns for the rest of the season. The snow returned in February, with the crux of the season’s snowfall coming in March and April. All resorts made it to their posted closing days (or later at Nakiska). All in all, I'd rate it a ‘fair to good’ season across the Alberta Rockies.  

Standouts were Castle Mountain which drastically rebounded after 2 months of drought, along with Nakiska and Norquay which both exceeded their historical seasonal snowfall averages. 

Lake Louise, which is known for lesser snowfall than its SkiBig3 partner Sunshine Village, outperformed Sunshine in cumulative 23/24 snowfall. Lake Louise had the most consistent conditions and overall coverage season-wide across the Alberta Rockies.  

But don’t forget, Sunshine preserves the late-season snowpack better than any resort in Canada and is still on target for their May 20th Slush Cup event and closing day. If you’ve never been, the Slush Cup is arguably the biggest and baddest pond skim party in North America. There’s no better way to celebrate the end of another fun-packed ski/ride season. 

And before signing off, there are positive signs that a La Nina pattern will return by the end of 2024. This is a pattern that historically has brought cooler temps and above-average winter snowfall. Here's a link that explains both El Nino and La Nina.

Thank you so much for reading this season and hopefully I provided you with helpful insight for powdery fun (and comfort) on the slopes. We’ll talk again next November, until then enjoy an amazing spring, summer, and fall! 
  
Powder Out!

Bob 

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