Healthy snow fall hits Canadian pistes

As European ski resorts suffer from unseasonably warm weather this year, their counterparts on the other side of the pond are celebrating record snow falls, drawing more winter tourists across the Atlantic.

Over eight metres of snow has fallen at Canadian ski resort Whistler this season, the highest amount since records began 27 years ago, improving what is an already long ski season in North America.

The world-famous resort in Vancouver enjoyed a huge 877 cm of snow so far, beating the previous record of 827 cm set 15 years ago, according to Transworld Snowboarding.

Today, the resort received 12 cm of new snow and its snow base now reaches a healthy 302 cm.

"This has been the most incredible season here and we've been extremely lucky compared to other resorts on the east coast and throughout Europe," Stuart Rempel, Whistler Blackcomb's senior vice president of marketing and sales, told the winter sports website.

"We've seen system after system blaze through this area and it seems like every few days there's another metre of snow on the hills. It's really quite amazing to wake up each morning to another epic powder day. We've been very blessed."

Meanwhile, European resorts have had a poor ski season so far due to surprisingly warm weather across the continent. Snow only began falling as usual in Grenoble, southern France, earlier this month while temperatures in Bankso in Bulgaria have reached as high as four degrees.

The Canadian ski season typically lasts from November until June, substantially longer than its European competitors, and this extended tourist season provides holiday home hunters with a good opportunity to jet-to-let and increase their returns on investment.

But those looking to North America to invest in property do not have to solely rely on rental returns for a healthy income. Annual capital gains are set to reach 9.4 per cent over the next 12 months, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Chartered airlines are now offering single flights to Vancouver and Calgary for just £70 so holidaymakers and property investors alike are set to be making Canada on of their top choices for 2007.

Martin Sadler, sales manager of Assetz International commented: "With one of the longest ski seasons in the world and a wide and varied range of summer activities, Canada is truly a year-round global destination.

"Prices are still considerably cheaper than in most other mature markets, with a typical one-bedroom ski apartment costing around £150,000."