The unusually tropical weather in Ontario has made the early days of winter feel more like spring, with a disappointingly foggy, wet Christmas setting the tone for an equally messy start to the skiing and snowboarding season.

The Toronto area in particular has broken multiple warm weather records in the last month, including for some of the mildest December days and the latest arrival of sub-zero temperatures witnessed in more than 180 years.

I know with certainty that winters in Canada have changed since I was a young man as shown by the closure of many ski hills in Ontario for lack of snow and outdoor rink season being less than three weeks long. Used to drive cars across the frozen st Lawrence ever. Not any more

— golfpro94 (@golfpro94) December 8, 2023

It's not only impacting the overall spirit of the season, but is also having a huge impact on the region's usual activities for this time of year, with areas even as far north as Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay yet to see the snowfall they would have expected weeks ago.

As a result, skating rinks and ski hills provincewide are having a hard time staying open amid dismal conditions, including Blue Mountain, the biggest alpine resort in Ontario that is normally booming with activity by now.

Southern Ontario ski hills must be bleeding cash this year.

— Mark S. (@thetruthsucks12) December 20, 2023

Photos and videos from the popular Collingwood destination show ski runs in an appalling state so far this season, with one TikTok in particular going viral for its depiction of yucky-looking hills turned completely brown from the lack of snow.

"Top tier conditions" the visitor wrote sarcastically along with their downhill montage, which has been viewed 360k times since it was posted Wednesday afternoon.

"It's sad in Ontario right now" commenters agreed, with the original poster adding that only a measley two runs were open at a time that should have been peak season.

"Looking more like Poo Mountain," others joked.

@lukz.project Top tier conditions #blue #bluemountain #bluemountains #bluemountainskiresort #snow #snowboarding #skiing #fyp #foryou #fypシ #viral #blowup? #funny ♬ Titanic flute fail - Funny/Awesome Vids

According to Blue Mountain's weather and trail report on Thursday, the sudden (and inaugural this winter) burst of cold that finally arrived this week has helped things somewhat, with 8 trails and 6 lifts now open compared to 6 trails and 5 lifts two days ago.

But, this is out of 43 trails and 11 chairlifts total — dreadfully low for early January.

"Well, we need more snow and colder temperatures and we're waiting for Mother Nature to turn things around so that our snowmakers can get the guns running and get those top-to-bottom runs open once again," mountain staff said in an update last week, directing guests to instead enjoy the village in other ways while they wait and hope for snow.

There is certainly some climate change at work here but most of the above average temperatures are due to a strong El Nino this year. Curious if the ski hills here in Southern Ontario will even open. Going to be a lot of bugs next year.

— Dad (@chskin) December 16, 2023

Toronto's only ski hill, Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre, has yet to open at all for the season, while iconic outdoor ice rinks like the one at Nathan Phillips Square have looked more like swimming pools in recent days as staff struggle to keep things frozen enough to skate on.

These trends are especially concerning given 2023's bizarrely hot autumn, which actually prevented leaves from changing colours and smashed the record for the longest stretch of thermometers staying above 18 C.

It seems that the unseasonable warmth is an issue across the continent, with many bemoaning the lack of a winter wonderland they are used to enjoying over the holdiays and worrying about such seemingly rapid climate change.

Southern Ontario, Canada. Just got our first real snow Dec 31 and we usually get that at least 1-2 months earlier and tons of it.
So different now!

— Emsl (@Fanofjays) January 4, 2024

The future of one of Canada's largest winter festivals, Winterlude in Ottawa, is up in the air for this year and beyond, as it's been too warm for Rideau Canal to freeze for skating, which is a cornerstone of the celebration.

Last year was the first in the event's 53-year history that the skateway had to remain closed for the same reason.