Camp Fortune - December 26, 2017

Shane Séguin

The best Boxing Day deal today was going skiing. It was fairly clear that the majority of people you would have expected to be skiing had chosen to go shopping instead, leaving the mountain in pristine condition and contributing to no line-ups at the lifts. Thank you!

As yesterday was Christmas Day and Camp Fortune was closed, the snow and conditions today were excellent. The fresh snow from the recent snowfall made the slopes perfectly soft and smooth. In fact, the only hard spots or ice I found was in the steepest portions of the expert trail Bud Clark. The rest of the mountain was offering the fresh fluffy stuff, with several spots to sneak in some first tracks.

The skiable domain continues to grow, and already the Valley side is almost completely open, with the exceptions of Slalom and Duffy. Meech is in great shape with Paradise. It's sister trail, North American is no doubt on the short list to open in the near future if the natural snow keeps coming. Skyline opened for the first time on Saturday and already is offering up its classic trails, such as Sparks and Bud Clark and Lower Canadian.

The best trails to ski today were Clifford and Marshall, as well as Sparks. The snow on these trails was just perfect, a good base with soft fluffy snow on top, and in certain places several inches of powder. Just perfect.

With the continuing cold weather forecasted for the week ahead, it will give that extra boost to snowmaking efforts and help get the last few trails opened up. Even better, night skiing starts December 27th (Wednesday) so you will be able to ski under the stars.

I'm definitely coming away very satisfied and impressed with the ski season thus far. The natural snowfall has not disappointed, and neither has the mountain. We are experiencing mid-January ski conditions right now, several weeks ahead of schedule.

Now is the time to head up to the mountains and do some skiing, with family, friends or solo. I guarantee you will go home completely stoked and ready for your next day out, because this year, snow is the gift that keeps on giving.