Ski season starts Friday at 2 North Shore mountains

Ski season off to earliest start in decades Local skiers and snowboarders are celebrating as two resorts on the North Shore open their doors extra early this season.

Ski and snowboard season is starting early for Vancouver's local mountains this year, thanks to a dump of about a foot of fresh snow last week.

Cypress and Grouse mountain resorts have both announced they're opening for the season on Friday.

The early start date is thanks to a combination of heavy snowfall on Nov. 1 and cooler-than-usual temperatures brought in by an Arctic outflow.

Since the snowfall, crews at Cypress Mountain have been using a snowmaking system to pump out enough snow to blanket the equivalent of 28 football fields, staff said in a statement.

The machines will continue to make snow 24 hours a day, weather permitting.

Starting Friday, Cypress' downhill area will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and skiers and boarders will have access to the Maelle Ricker's and Runway ski runs. The terrain park will also be open.

Grouse Mountain is opening at 3 p.m. the same day and guests will have access to Paradise Bowl, The Cut to mid-station as well as the Paradise Rookie Park and The Cut Terrain Park until 10 p.m.

"Cold temperatures allowed our snowmaking team to spring into action and with more snowfall in the forecast we'll be working hard to open up more terrain soon," Grouse Mountain's director of operations Grant Wahl said in a statement.

Friday will be Cypress's third earliest opening in the company's 33-year history and a tie for Grouse's earliest in the 40 years it’s been operating.