Skiing and Snowboarding in Canada: What Will the 2021/22 Season Look Like?

October 22, 2021

Stan Rey powder skiing on Whistler Mountian

Canada’s ski and snowboard season is just around the corner, with alpine resort opening dates starting from October 30. Here’s what you can expect:

We all remember when the chairlifts stopped turning in March of 2020. As the first-wave of Covid-19 spread across Canada, most ski seasons finished early and everybody was sent home to wait.

Then winter ended with very few (authorized) turns being made that spring.

And winter came again—along with changes the ski industry had never before seen. There were enhanced hygiene and physical-distancing protocols, busier resorts implemented day-pass reservation systems, indoor dining was done in most cases and more than a few resort communities saw Covid outbreaks that kept outsiders at bay—not to mention the international crowd being all-but-nonexistent.

In short—the 2020/21 season was rife with uncertainty.

The 2021/22 season is set to be quite different. With vaccine uptake high in Canada and borders mostly open for travel, Canadian winter resorts are looking forward to a cautious and thoughtful—but ultimately positive—ski and snowboard season to come.

Jennifer Smith, Senior Communications Manager at Whistler Blackcomb, in British Columbia, anticipates a return to near-normalcy: “This season will look and feel much like a regular ski season. Pop your mask in your pocket for your indoor time, and remember to pre-book your mealtimes. Otherwise be prepared to get out there and enjoy the best of what Whistler Blackcomb has to offer—amazing skiing and riding!”

Gone are the lamented days of a day-pass reservation system; this year Whistler Blackcomb will “optimize guest movement around the resort,” by loading gondolas and lifts at normal capacities. (Masks mandated in gondolas.) As Smith indicates, dining reservations will be required—although the resort, like most others, is expecting increases over last year to indoor capacity limits. Indoor and patio dining will, of course, be subject to provincial proof-of-vaccination regulations.

Along with the provincial regs, each resort is making its own way in this new reality—Grouse Mountain, in North Vancouver, BC, recently announced that eligible guests would need to be fully-vaccinated to board the gondola, as did Alberta’s Banff Sunshine Village Ski Resort, and Crabbe Mountain in New Brunswick will require all eligible guests be vaccinated as well, among others. Grouse will even be implementing its own version of the vaccine passport—VaxTrax, which allows for the one-time registration of fully-vaxxed passholders.

“Throughout the pandemic, Grouse Mountain has exceeded provincial health requirements to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests and team members,” said Michael Cameron, President of Grouse Mountain Resort. “We believe implementing this policy over the winter season will provide the strongest protection against Covid-19 to those who visit and work at the mountain.”

Grouse is not alone in wishing to safeguard its operations. The SkiBig3 resorts of Banff, Alberta—Mt. Norquay Ski Resort, Lake Louise Ski Resort and Banff Sunshine Village—will require eligible guests to provide proof of vaccination, or a negative test PCR within 72 hours of service, even to board a mountain shuttle bus.

Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), announced that, in accordance with advice given to them by the provincial health authority, all guests over the age of 12 will require proof of vaccination to ski at any of their six resorts.

Big White Ski Resort, in BC’s Okanagan, will not at this time be requiring guests to be vaccinated to shred their slopes, but in a press release from mountain president, Peter Plimmer, he encouraged vaccination—citing a desire to protect staff and guests: “We have been through two seasons where we have been forced to close early. We don’t want a third.”

Back at Whistler Blackcomb, with the season opener set for November 25, Jennifer Smith is focusing on the snow: “We’ve had such a great run with the snow in recent years. I honestly can’t wait to get back out there and share in the excitement of a big powder day.”

Takeaways? Regulations are going to be tightly monitored—and possibly dynamic—to ensure seasons progress safely. Check with your intended hill to ensure you’re in compliance. But as the snow flies, you should expect a full season at most Canadian ski hills this year—coast-to-coast.