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Penticton  

Rocky but fun season start

Chelsea Powrie

A lack of snow on Apex didn't stop Canada Cup mogul skiers from converging on the mountain this weekend to compete and earn their spot on the world stage. 

"It's the best skiers in moguls in Canada that are not on the World Cup circuit right now, they're all going head-to-head, they're trying to get those next top national team spots," said Apex general manager James Shalman. "These are potentially future Olympic athletes."

Apex is home to a World Cup-level mogul course, which the athletes, who were in their teens, competed on. The resort had hoped to have their grand opening to the public this weekend too, but the weather didn't cooperate. 

"We had a good dump of snow in October, then nothing for about two weeks and quite cold temperatures, so thank goodness we have snow making here and we're able to get some stuff open," Shalman said. 

Only the low-altitude T-bars and a few man-made runs are open to skiers and boarders for the moment, with other runs coming soon. 

"In the high alpine, with those cold temperatures, we had about 50 centimetres of snow that has gone to sugar with those cold temperatures which is hard to pack," Shalman said. "We need another good snowfall before we can open more terrain, and we're just hoping it comes sooner rather than later."

In the meantime, visitors to Apex can check out the hockey-sized skating rink and one-kilometre skating loop, and the magic carpet run and tube park will be opening within a few days. 



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