[EVENT] The Pond Skimming World Cup

The ski season is over at most of the northern hemisphere’s ski areas, but a few select resorts battle on into May – and not just for skiing and boarding.

The Slush Cup at Sunshine ski area is the mother of all “pond skimming” contests in the mountains and has taken place in mid-May each year for nearly 90 years – believed to be longer than anywhere else.

Pond skimming? It’s that end-of-winter rite-of-passage when skiers attempt to cross melt-water ponds of freezing waters on their skis, snowboard or sometimes any other vaguely sliding/floating object. Usually participants are in fancy dress, sometimes swimming costumes, but the atmosphere is always fun.

Credit – Dan Evans

This year there’s something new in the pond skimming calendar as in Banff will also serve as the host for the first Annual Pond Skimming World Cup.

Pond skimmers have been taking part in qualifying events across a variety of North American ski resorts in order to qualify for the finals in Banff National Park, and on 23 May we’ll find out just who is the first-ever Pond Skimming World Champion!

The Slush Cup has been staged for 88 years and helps to highlight Sunshine’s long season. Last year the event attracted around 7,000 spectators.

Some of the highest base elevations in Canada, coupled with a heavy annual snow accumulation, provide the ski resorts of Banff National Park with one of the longest non-glaciated ski seasons in the world, typically opening in early November and staying open to the latter half of May for a near seven-month ski season.

Long after many other resorts have completed their end-of-season parties and pond skimming events, Sunshine Village remains open, making the Canadian Rockies the ideal location to host the Pond Skimming World Cup.

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