October 10, 2008 – Sun Peaks, BC – Snowmaking has started at Sun Peaks…the earliest start in the history of the resort and the first in the country to start the Snowmaking 2 - Corey Wiwcharprocess. “We believe we are the first resort in Canada to start snowmaking this season,” says Anne Haight, Marketing Director with Sun Peaks Resort Corporation.

Cold temperatures allowed mountain crews to fire up the snowmaking plant last night to start blanketing the OSV and Upper Cahilty runs.

Sun Peaks Snow Guns

The Austrian Ski Team has used the OSV run for early season training at Sun Peaks Resort since 2005. The team is scheduled to arrive early next month to train in advance of the first World Cup races taking place at Lake Louise at the end of November.

Director of Outside Operations with Sun Peaks Resort Corporation, Kevin Bendick, says if Mother Nature continues to cooperate, it will take about 2 weeks to get enough snow base on OSV for the Austrians.

Snowmaking 1 - Corey Wiwchar“Out weather forecast is currently very favourable for snow production through the weekend, so crews will be pushing the envelope to make as much snow as possible during the positive trend,” Bendick says.

Sun Peaks is known for its reliable early season opening and this jump start to snow making just reinforces that. “Our early openings are really a combination of factors, with a yearly abundance of natural snow, man-made snow and extensive summer grooming which includes mowing the grass covered slopes,” explains Christopher Nicolson, President of Tourism Sun Peaks.

The Austrians aren’t the only people who can enjoy early season snow at Sun Peaks Resort. Ski and stay at Sun Peaks for three nights and we’ll throw in a fourth night and another lift ticket for free! Head to www.sunpeaksresort.com for all the details or call 1-800-807-3257.

Opening Day is scheduled for November 22, 2008.

About Sun Peaks
Sun Peaks Resort is a four season destination resort located in the interior of British Columbia near Kamloops. In winter, Sun Peaks is British Columbia’s second largest ski area with three mountains surrounding an intimate ski-in, ski-out village. In other seasons, Sun Peaks offers a diverse range of leisure activities including 18 holes of golf as well as numerous events and festivals. Sun Peaks Resort was the first ski resort in North America and is the only resort in Canada to receive the ISO 14001 designation recognizing the resorts environmental policies and practices. Sun Peaks can be accessed by two airport gateways - Kamloops (45 minutes) and Kelowna (2 1/2 hours) and by car, only a 4 ¼ hour drive separates Sun Peaks and Vancouver, B.C.