With another 20cm (eight inches) of snow falling on Whistler in the past few days, the resort’s snowfall tally since it opened for the season last autumn has passed 1,430 centimetres or 47 feet, surpassing the 2006/07 record of 1,416 centimetres or 46 feet, making this season officially the second snowiest on record at the famous Canadian resort.

“This is great news for our spring season as we head into the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival kicking off on April 16,” says Stuart Rempel, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Whistler Blackcomb. “With a snow base of close to four metres (over 12 feet), the skiing and riding will be incredible right through to the end of our spring season which extends to May 24. This snow has our terrain parks in top shape, including a new 22-foot halfpipe on Blackcomb, which is being built for the Festival and will remain open to the public afterwards”.

In the post-Olympic period, almost 100 per cent of Whistler Blackcomb’s terrain remains open, including the Olympic Men’s and Women’s alpine skiing courses.Other resorts in Western Canada that stay open in to May have also reported up to a foot (30cm) of fresh snow in recent days including Lake Louise and Sunshine in Alberta.