For Sunshine Village, Canada Day Skiing Is Aspirational

Banff Sunshine Village, an Albertan ski resort, briefly reopened in 2022 for several days of summer skiing and riding —including Canada Day (July 1st)—after its usual May closing date, thanks to a deep late-season snowpack.

Unsurprisingly, local skiers and snowboarders are hoping for another Canada Day session as the long weekend approaches.

Under several of Sunshine’s recent social media posts, commenters have urged Sunshine to reopen this week, citing what, at first glance, appeared to be widespread late-season snow coverage.

One video recently shared by the ski resort showed workers clearing snow from hiking trails ahead of the summer operating season. The resort's Great Divide webcam looks similarly white, but the snow at Sunshine isn’t as deep as it seems, says Kendra Scurfield, Sunshine’s VP of Marketing Brand & Communications.

“Unfortunately, last season, we did not have our best snowpack ever,” Scurfield explained, noting that Sunshine won’t reopen for Canada Day this summer due in part to a lack of snow. “We had some snow after the season, but it was not enough to get a cat out.”

Ongoing lift construction work presents another obstacle. Sunshine is hard at work replacing the four-person Angel Express with a luxurious new high-speed six-passenger lift that will boast a bubble and heated seats. These construction efforts are taking up too many resources for Sunshine to offer summer skiing, says Scurfield.

Sunshine first reopened for Canada Day in 1991 after a banner winter. Since there was so much snow, the resort figured they’d let people ski instead of hike. “It kind of started just as a fluke,” says Scurfield.

The 2022 reopening was more organized. When the end of the regular operating season arrived that year, Sunshine realized they might have enough snow to host a Canada Day reopening for the first time since 1991.

They managed and maintained the leftover snow, and when Canada Day arrived, pulled the dang thing off, offering skiing and riding between June 28th and July 3rd.

"It was a total bonus long weekend. All the stars aligned perfectly. We had the snow, we had the weather, we had everything in our favor," says Scurfield. During the 2022 reopening, the ski resort operated the Strawberry Express lift with access to three runs and a few terrain park features. Scurfield noted that the odd Canada Day summer session at Sunshine isn't a "tradition"—it's aspirational—indicating that they won't happen every summer.

Still, Sunshine hopes to offer a few days of summer skiing in the future if conditions cooperate. The resort’s regular summer operations, including hiking and chairlift sightseeing, kick off this coming weekend, Friday, June 28th. “Unlike other areas in Banff National Park, we don’t require reservations,” says Scurfield. “And we’ve got lots of parking.”

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