Marmot Basin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marmot Basin | |
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Location: | Jasper National Park |
Nearest city: | Jasper |
Coordinates: | |
Top elevation: | 2,612 m (8,570 ft) |
Base elevation: | 1,697 m (5,568 ft) |
Skiable area: | 6.8 km² |
Runs: | 84 |
Longest run: | 5.6 km |
Lift system: | 6 chairlifts, 1 T-bar 1 platter, 1 magic carpet |
Snowfall: | 400 cm/season (157 in./yr) |
Web site: | Ski Marmot |
Marmot Basin is an alpine ski area located in Alberta's Jasper National Park. It has offered a broad variety of basin and glade skiing since it first served enthusiasts in 1961 with a single rope tow driven by a truck engine.
As of 2005, Marmot Basin operates 84 named runs on 3,000 vertical feet of drop, and has a lift capacity of close to 12,000 skiers per hour on nine lifts. With 30 percent novice runs, 30 percent intermediate runs, and 40 percent expert runs, Marmot Basin is well-balanced in the terrain it offers to skiers. The season runs from late November to late April on average, although it can open as early as mid-November and stay open as late as early May. Partly because of its distance from major Canadian cities such as Edmonton and Calgary, Marmot Basin is generally not as crowded as other major ski resorts farther south in Alberta and British Columbia.
Marmot Basin is located twenty minutes south of the town of Jasper, which provides for the needs of some three million visitors a year. Jasper National Park offers Rocky Mountain vistas, hiking and trail riding tours, whitewater rafting, and other year-round attractions.