Snow Valley | |
---|---|
Location | Edmonton River Valley |
Nearest major city | Edmonton |
Coordinates | 53°29′03″N113°33′20″W / 53.48417°N 113.55556°W |
Vertical | 40 m (130 ft) |
Top elevation | 665 m (2,182 ft) |
Base elevation | 625 m (2,051 ft) |
Skiable area | 20 acres (0.1 km2) [1] |
Runs | 8 40% - Easy 50% - Intermediate 10% - Difficult |
Longest run | 549 m (1,801.2 ft) |
Lift system | 4 (2 chairlift, 2 magic carpet) |
Lift capacity | 3,500 skiers/hr |
Terrain parks | 2 |
Snowfall | 122 cm (48 in) [2] |
Snowmaking | 95% |
Night skiing | Yes |
Website | Snow Valley |
Snow Valley Ski Club is a ski area located in Edmonton, Alberta, near the Whitemud Freeway at 119 Street in Rainbow Valley. The resort functions as a not-for-profit organization. The slope caters primary to beginner skiers and snowboarders, with only 15% of the area designated as advanced.
It has one pulse quad chairlift, one triple chairlift, and two magic carpets. Snow Valley also has a variety of features and man-made jumps in their beginner and advanced terrain parks.
Snow Valley was opened in 1961 by members of the Eskimo Ski Club. The original lodge was built in 1972 with two rope tows. In 1981 a T-bar replaced one of the rope tows, and limited snow making was added to extend the ski season. [3] In 1988 a Triple chairlift was installed, along with expanded snow making capability. A significant amount of landfill was completed on the North Hill, where the present-day terrain park is located.
During the summer of 1995, Snow Valley management took over responsibilities of the adjacent Rainbow Valley Campground. The campground operates in the summer off season.
A new 17,800-square-foot (1,650 m2) lodge was constructed in 2001, replacing the old lodge and maintenance buildings. Additionally in 2001 the first magic carpet was added. A second magic carpet replaced the handle tow in 2003.
In 2008, Snow Valley opened a first-of-its-kind high-speed 'pulse' quad chair. This chair replaced the t-bar and opened up more terrain. [4]
During the off season, the Snow Valley Ski Club not-for-profit operates several seasonal summer attractions. Only attractions that have been present for over 3 years are included in the list below.
The Snow Valley Aerial Park is a 15m (50ft) tall aerial-adventure tower built by German-based company Kristall Turm and operated by Snow Valley Ski Club. The tower was the first of its kind built in Canada [5] though there are now several Kristall Turm towers in the country. [6] The Snow Valley Aerial Park features approximately 100 Edmonton-themed features and was opened to the public in 2017. [7]
The Rainbow Valley Campground ins a long-running campground in Alberta, opened sometime before the 1970's, [8] as the Whitemud Creek Mine operation (which closed in 1970) was described as immediately adjacent to the campground. The Rainbow Valley Campground today has over 75 sites and is open from May until October. [9]
Coronet Peak is a commercial skifield in Queenstown, New Zealand located seven kilometres west of Arrowtown, on the southern slopes of the 1,649-metre peak which shares its name. A popular ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, Coronet Peak offers a long snow season, well received skiing and snowboarding terrain and lift systems.
Cypress Mountain is a ski area in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located in the southern section of Cypress Provincial Park, operated under a BC Parks Park Use Permit.
Wachusett Mountain is an alpine ski area in the northeastern United States, located on Mount Wachusett, in the towns of Princeton and Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. It has 25 trails, served by eight lifts, including three high-speed chairlifts and three magic-carpet lifts, a triple chairlift, and a Pony lift.
SilverStar Mountain Resort (SilverStar) is a ski resort located near Silver Star Provincial Park in the Shuswap Highland of the Monashee Mountains, 22 km northeast of the city of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. SilverStar's snow season runs from late November to mid-April weather permitting. SilverStar provides summer lift access for mountain biking and hiking from the end of June through to September.
Canyon Ski Resort is located on the banks of the Red Deer River. It is located 9 km east of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, along the David Thompson Highway.
Banff Sunshine Village is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighbouring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the town of Banff. By car, it is about a ninety-minute drive from the city of Calgary; the Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5 mi) west of the town of Banff.
Nashoba Valley Ski Area is a small ski area in Westford, Massachusetts, United States, located at 79 Powers Road. It borders on Littleton, Massachusetts. Operating each winter since its opening in 1964, it has 17 trails, including a variety of terrain. There is also a terrain park that is one of the best in Massachusetts. The area also features a tubing park with 16 runs served by two Poma handle tows and a Sun-Kid Conveyor; this is on the same property, but has a separate entrance on Route 119 in Littleton, Massachusetts.
Timberline Lodge ski area is the ski and snowboarding area of Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of a few ski areas in the United States with most of the skiable terrain below the main lodge. It is located on the south face of Mount Hood, about 60 miles (95 km) east of Portland, accessible via the Mount Hood Scenic Byway.
Canaan Valley Resort State Park is a state park in the eastern United States, within Canaan Valley in Tucker County, West Virginia. Located in the highest valley east of the Mississippi River, the park contains the second-largest inland wetland area in the United States. The valley featured the first commercial ski development in West Virginia.
Berkshire East Ski Resort is a medium-sized alpine ski area in the northeastern United States, located in the Berkshires on Mount Institute in Charlemont and Hawley, Massachusetts.
A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-comfort aerial lifts, such as chairlifts and gondola lifts. Today, surface lifts are most often found on beginner slopes, small ski areas, and peripheral slopes. They are also often used to access glacier ski slopes because their supports can be anchored in glacier ice due to the lower forces and realigned due to glacier movement.
Paoli Peaks is an alpine ski resort located in Paoli Township, Orange County, near Paoli, Indiana. Paoli Peaks is for skiers, snowboarders, snowbladers, and tubers.
Horseshoe Resort, formerly Horseshoe Valley Ski Club, is an Ontario ski resort and four season vacation destination. Located north of Barrie, the resort is about 1 hour 15 minutes driving time from Toronto. The resort enjoys a long ski season due to snow making abilities. Acquired by Freed Hotels and Resorts in 2021, Horseshoe Resort is spread out over 680 acres (280 ha) of land. The resort offers 28 ski runs, over 30 kilometres of Nordic trails, 12-hole Valley golf course, Amba Spa, 101 rooms at the on-site inn, 40 condo-style suites, two year-round restaurants, 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) of meeting and banquet facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a full gym, and over 25 miles (40 km) of trails connected to the Copeland Forest suitable for hiking, biking and snowshoeing.
Nub's Nob is a ski area in Pleasantview Township, Michigan, United States. It is near Harbor Springs. Opened by Norman and Dorie Sarns in 1958 as a small ski hill, it has sprawled out to a fairly large ski destination with nine lifts. The area gets its name from the nickname of founder Norman "Nubby" Sarns.
Great Bear Recreation Park, more commonly referred to as Great Bear, is a small ski hill in the northeastern section of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the United States. It is owned by the City of Sioux Falls, and co-managed by Great Bear Recreation Park Inc.
Perfect North Slopes, is an alpine skiing resort in Southeastern Indiana. It consists of 5 magic carpets, 2 rope tows, and 5 chairlifts. The area has 23 trails, 1 of which is expert, 3 of which are most difficult, 2 of which are advanced intermediate, 12 of which are intermediate, and 5 of which are beginner. Lessons at this resort are available.
Sommet Edelweiss is a ski area located in Wakefield, Quebec, 30 minutes north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the Gatineau Hills.
Perisher Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages and their associated ski fields, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (5 sq mi), with the base elevation at 1,720 metres (5,640 ft) AHD, and the summit elevation of 2,054 metres (6,739 ft) at the top of Mount Perisher. 4.4 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) of this area is covered by 240 snow guns, which are used to artificially supplement the natural snowfall. Perisher was acquired by Vail Resorts, United States on 30 March 2015 for a sum of approximately AU$177 million.
Sandia Peak Ski Area, originally La Madera Ski Area, is a ski resort located in the Sandia Mountains in northeast Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, immediately northeast of the city of Albuquerque. It is part of a Special Use Permit Zone in the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. It is New Mexico's first ski area, opening to skiers in 1936. It features Sandia Peak Tramway, which was until 2010 the longest tramway in the world, and remains the longest in the Americas. The resort includes 35 ski runs and a terrain park, and also serves as a site for summer recreation. It is one of the few ski resorts in the US that can be directly accessed from a major city.
Ski Santa Fe or Santa Fe Ski Basin is a medium-sized ski resort located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, 16 miles east of the state capital of Santa Fe. It includes 7 lifts and 68 runs at elevations of over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It is the southernmost major ski resort of the Rocky Mountains, and one of the oldest and highest in the nation.