The province of British Columbia is already widely known for skiing and snowboarding. There are many ski resorts already operating in BC, but as the population grows, there may be opportunities for new development. What areas of the province might be optimal for skiing activities and developing a new ski resort? In this project, I used GIS to assess ski slope capability and suitability in the lower mainland region of British Columbia based on physical criteria and access considerations. I assessed capability for ski slope development using overlay of reclassified elevation, slope, and land use layers. I performed the suitability analysis using a multi-criteria evaluation approach by doing a weighted sum of five normalized layers: elevation, slope, aspect, major road proximity, and average estimated snow depth. From the output of the suitability analysis, I identified three particular areas within the study region that would be most suitable for ski slope development.

Henry Flanagan – UBC GEOB 370 – Fall 2017