Banff (AB), Canada – A few weeks after floating the possibility of providing skiing and snowboarding operations on Canada Day, July 1st, Sunshine Village ski area officials abandoned the idea in a decision announced on Tuesday.

Despite record snowfall this winter and a deep base of snow still on the ground, resort officials cited “significant operational and regulatory challenges that make the one-day opening impractical” in explaining their decision.

“Our gondola is getting a major upgrade this year, which means it will not be operational on that date,” said Doug Firby, Associate Director of Communications. “When we looked at all the challenges we faced, we realized – as much as we’d love to ski on Canada Day – it just wasn’t going to work.”

Sunshine Village uses its gondola to carry skiers and riders from the parking lot to the resort’s center of operations at mid-mountain where snowfalls this March and April were the deepest that the resort has ever recorded. Even though the resort is home to the longest non-glacial ski and ride season in Canada, it’s been 20 years since Sunshine Village offered skiing on Canada Day.