Mt. Washington digs out from record snowfall

Drivers try to dig out a vehicle covered in snow at Vancouver Island's Mount Washington. Dec. 27, 2010. (CTV)

A ski resort on Vancouver Island was literally buried in snow Monday after 150 centimetres fell in less than 12 hours.

Mount Washington, near Courtenay, has never been hit with snow much snow in such a short time, and plows were unable to keep up. Rico Rogers and his crew of snowplow drivers were working non-stop, trying to get the upper hand.

"I've seen this amount of snow, but never coming down in five days," Rogers told CTV News.

Heavy snow was in the forecast, but no one predicted that quite so much was on the way. Drivers were spending hours digging out their vehicles so that they could leave the resort.

"My buddy spent about five hours yesterday digging," Wong Xiu said, adding that he had to return the next day to finish the job.

Meanwhile, some skiers excited by the prospect of fresh powder were turned away after the mountain reached capacity late Monday morning.

"We can do 12,000 skiers an hour, and based on what we're seeing in the parking lots, we literally have no space left for anybody else coming up here," the resort's Brent Curtain said.

Some skiers complained that the hills were too busy, but others said it was worth the hassle.

"This snow is incredible. It's a perfect day," one skier said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Brent Shearer