While the harsh winter conditions on B.C.'s South Coast have been hard on commuters, it has meant a record amount of snow for skiers and snowboarders at Whistler Blackcomb.

The resort says it has received almost nine metres of snowfall (877 centimetres) since the beginning of the ski season. That's a half-metre more than the previous record for the resort, set back in 1991-92.

The latest snowfall this week dumped an additional three centimetres on the ski runs, giving the resort a snow base of 305 cm, or about 10 feet, at its mid-mountain weather station.

Ski hills on Greater Vancouver's North Shore are also having a great year, with Grouse Mountain reporting nearly six metres of snow so far this season.

The heavy snow in British Columbia contrasts to resorts in Europe, Eastern Canada and the United States, where temperatures have been unusually warm for much of the winter and little snow has fallen.

At Ontario's popular Blue Mountain Ski Resort north of Toronto, about 1,300 staff were laid off last week because of the lack of snow. 
 
However, the area has received about 15 centimeters of snow since then, allowing the resort to open three of its 35 trails.

In Europe, ski resorts are dealing with the continent's warmest winter in more than 1,000 years, which led to the cancellation of a lot of World Cup ski races.