Canyon Ski Area is located on the banks of the Red Deer River. It is located 9 km east of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, along the David Thompson Highway. It has one triple chair, one double chair, two T-bars, and a handle tow. Some of its main runs are the Powderhorn, Holiday, and Sun Deck. The vertical drop is 146 m (480 ft). The main lodge is at the base of the ski runs and, being located in a river valley, at the end of a steep road. The tops of the lifts are at the top of the river valley, in relatively flat prairie farmland. While unloading at the top of the triple chairlift, you see a working oil pump jack and often cattle grazing immediately in front of you. Canyon Ski Area was one of the first Canadian ski resorts to get artificial snowmaking equipment in the 1960s. As a result of this and relatively cold fall temperatures in central Alberta, it was reliably one of the first ski areas to open in Canada. Consequently, the Canadian national ski team used Canyon Ski Area for its early season training in the 1960s."