With more snow on the slopes than anyone can recall for this time of year, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is starting the 2006-07 season with an early opening and surreal powder conditions. With a mid-mountain snow accumulation of over 350cm, the most in the area by far, the resort announced it can’t hold back the powder hounds any longer and plans to open early for the season on December 2nd.

Originally scheduled to open on December 15th, the resort plans to open up the mountain for weekend skiing on December 2nd and 3rd and on December 9th and 10th before moving to its seven-days-a-week operating schedule on the December 15th.

“For the last couple of weeks we’ve been watching the snow come down on the mountain and just couldn’t believe our eyes,” said Michael Dalzell, Resort Director of Sales & Marketing. “All the locals have been eager to get up there and sample the epic conditions and we thought an early opening would be a fantastic treat for our loyal guests,” he said.

In time for season kick-off, the resort also unveiled its newly redesigned website this week. Featuring North America’s first real-time snow reporting system, the new website is clearly one of the most innovative in the industry. Spearheading new strides in truth in snow reporting, any visitor to the site can track real-time snow conditions which are updated hourly through a sophisticated snow tracking software application designed for the resort.

“We know we consistently have some of the best snow conditions in the world and our tracking software enables guests to log on and check out our conditions for themselves without ever having to worry the information has been manipulated in any way,” said Dalzell.

The new website also features enhanced information on transportation and travel arrangements, accommodation packages and area information.

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is located 2.5 hours west of Calgary on the Trans Canada Highway. For lift ticket or package information, visit the resort’s newly redesigned website at www.kickinghorseresort.com or call 1-866-SKI-KICK.