British ColumbiaVancouver Island’s two ski areas have delayed opening for the season this weekend, each of them blaming a lack of snow for the delay.Both ski hills in wait-and-see mode as warm, wet weather hits B.C.’s coastMaryse Zeidler · CBC News · Posted: Dec 11, 2025 7:26 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington Ski Resort. Mount Washington and Mount Cain ski areas are still waiting to open their slopes to skiers due to lack of cold weather and snowfall. (Mount Washington Resort/Facebook)Vancouver Island’s two ski areas have delayed opening for the season this weekend, each of them blaming a lack of snow for the delay.On social media, Mount Washington says it’s still going ahead with some planned events throughout the weekend, but running the lifts isn’t part of that equation.”Despite our team’s best efforts, snowmaking every chance we get and pushing around every patch Mother Nature has given us, the weather just hasn’t co-operated,” the resort said in a Facebook post.The post says the resort may be able to make enough snow to run its “Learn free discovery days” program on Saturday. The resort says ski enthusiasts will have to wait for updates on the resort’s website. Read more stories from Vancouver Island.’We had high hopes’Further up island, Mount Cain ski area has also delayed opening, for the same reasons.It was originally scheduled to open last weekend, but was rescheduled to Saturday. And now, it’s been pushed back again. “We had high hopes,” said Mount Cain communications manager Lucas Smith. “We were hoping for a wetter and maybe cooler winter but at the moment it hasn’t quite happened.”Smith said Decembers are often a bit of a gamble for the ski area, and delays are sometimes par for the course. B.C.’s South Coast was recently hit with two atmospheric rivers that brought wet, warm weather with them.Earlier today Environment Canada said the winter forecast is pretty much up in the air.Across vast areas of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and southern parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, ECCC wasn’t able to make a prediction one way or the other with confidence. ABOUT THE AUTHORMaryse Zeidler is an award-winning reporter who covers news from Nanaimo and north Vancouver Island. Have a news tip? You can reach her at maryse.zeidler@cbc.ca.
Why these 2 B.C. ski resorts have delayed opening
