An image from Fosters Place, Across from Hawk House Chalet Rental
Powdered Dreams
Most ski resorts only dream of the kind of winter Mount Washington had in 2010–2011. That season, nature dumped an astounding 1,920 cm of snow on the mountain – over 19 metres of snowfall! (mtwashingtonaccommodation.com) This remains the highest seasonal snowfall ever recorded at Mount Washington. It even shattered the resort’s previous record (the 1998–99 winter saw 1,835 cm) and put Mount Washington in rare company as one of North America’s snowiest places (theweathernetwork.com). For perspective, 19 metres is about the height of a five-story building completely buried in snow.
From the outset of that winter, it was clear 2010-11 was something special. Storm after storm pummeled the mountain. By late December 2010, the resort was already under more than 5 metres of snowpack (theweathernetwork.com) – literally up to the rooftops in many places. Locals recall digging out cars and doorways repeatedly, as “day after day of 50 centimeters of fresh snow” blanketed the slopes (snowseekers.ca). Skiers and boarders were in heaven with endless powder days; the phrase “powder fatigue” actually became a joke because even die-hard riders almost got tired from so many deep-snow runs in a row!
Happy Canada Day! Lets go Skiing!
It snowed so much that Mount Washington ended up doing something unprecedented: it reopened for skiing in the middle of summer. After the official season ended, the snow still hadn’t melted away. So the resort fired up a couple of chairlifts on Father’s Day in June 2011 for a special spring skiing party dubbed “Snowmer” (snow + summer) (snowseekers.ca) . Then, incredibly, they did it again for Canada Day on July 1, 2011 – allowing people to ski and snowboard on Canada’s birthday. For the first time ever, Vancouver Islanders could ride lifts in July on their home mountain.
Enthusiastic skiers celebrate Canada Day 2011 on Mount Washington’s snow-covered slopes – a rare chance to ski in T-shirts and flag capes under the summer sun.
The scene during that Canada Day weekend was surreal. Skiers in tank tops and Canadian flag capes shared the lift with snowboarders in summer shorts (snowseekers.ca). Down at sea level it was warm and green, but up on the alpine runs there was a thick base of white snow – enough to carve turns as if it were the middle of January. People built snowmen in July, had impromptu slush-snowball fights, and soaked in the novelty of riding familiar winter runs under a bright summer sky. Many long-time locals still talk about that “skiing in July” experience with amazement; it capped off what SnowSeekers magazine called “an unbelievable season”.
Legendary Flurries
Beyond the fun anecdotes, the 2010-11 season earned Mount Washington serious bragging rights in the ski world. By April 2011 the mountain had accumulated more snow than any other resort in Canada. (In fact, that winter Mount Washington even out-snowed famed Mount Baker in Washington state, which is known for world-record snowfall – Baker’s all-time record of 2,896 cm was set in 1998-99 (theweathernetwork.com), but in 2010-11 it was Mount Washington that stole the spotlight.) This Island resort’s unique geography – positioned to capture Pacific moisture and convert it to heaps of snow – often gives it huge snow totals. Even in recent years, Mount Washington has topped the charts with the deepest snowpack in North America during strong winter storms (theweathernetwork.com).
For Vancouver Islanders, the legend of the winter of 2010-11 lives on. It’s the year Mother Nature showed what she’s capable of – dumping historic snowfall on a coastal island mountain and letting us ski in summer. Visitors standing atop Mount Washington today, gazing at the snowy trees, might hear locals say, “You should have seen it in 2010 – the snowbanks were taller than the buildings!” It’s a reminder that under the right conditions, this friendly Island ski hill can deliver world-class snow to rival any mountain anywhere.
