No Fall-Back This Year: What a Magrath Heights Winter Day Looks Like on Alberta Time
On December 21 the sun will rise over Edmonton at 9:48 a.m. and set at 5:16 p.m. Under the clock Albertans used every winter until this one, those times would have been 8:48 and 4:16. The total amount of daylight hasn't changed. What has changed is the hour of it you get, and around Magrath Heights that hour now comes at the end of the day. It's an hour the neighbourhood's ski hill, kitchens and toboggan runs are already set up to use.
Alberta now runs on Alberta Time, abbreviated ABT, all year. The province's own page explains that the clocks used to go back to Mountain Standard Time each fall and that, starting in November 2026, they no longer do. The change came through Bill 31, the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2026. It received Royal Assent on May 14, according to the Legislative Assembly's bill record. So on Sunday, November 1, nobody here got the extra hour of sleep.
The Canadian Press, in a story carried by CTV News, listed the people facing darker mornings, with "adrenalin-seekers to the slopes" among them. It put Edmonton's late-December sunrise at around 9:50 a.m. and noted that "there will be more light in the evenings."
Here's how the trade-off looks on two dates that matter this season:
| Date | Sunrise on Alberta Time | Sunset on Alberta Time | Same sunset on the old winter clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 28 | 9:22 a.m. | 5:20 p.m. | 4:20 p.m. |
| Monday, December 21 | 9:48 a.m. | 5:16 p.m. | 4:16 p.m. |
That 4:16 versus 5:16 gap explains most of what follows. The old clock gave light from roughly 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., which matched the standard office day almost exactly. The new clock moves the light to the hours after school and after work.
Snow Valley is the first local operator to change its schedule because of the new time. In its 2026–27 season announcement, the hill says that "with the change to permanent daylight-savings time, our lifts will now start turning at 9:30 this season due to our longer, darker mornings." The building and indoor services still open at 9:00.
The other end of the day hasn't moved. Snow Valley's posted 2026–27 hours have lifts running 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends. Set those against the table above. On a weekday, the hill runs about four hours past sunset. On a December weekend, the lifts stop within minutes of the sun going down. That means a full weekend day of skiing now fits almost entirely inside daylight, and that's new this year.
The cheaper tickets sit in the late part of the day too. Snow Valley's lift ticket page lists:
A Friday ticket from 3 p.m. now comes with more than two hours of daylight before the lights take over. Last year the same window had about one.
The new season also brings a new webstore. Everyone has to register as a new user and pick up a new RFID card, because older Snow Valley cards will no longer work. The first replacement card is free. If you have last season's card on your key ring, it's done.
The lifts moved to match the light. Most of the kitchens near Magrath Heights kept their hours, and the new clock changes what those hours mean.
Ricky's at 14111 23 Ave NW opens at 8:00 a.m. every day. On November 28 that's 82 minutes before sunrise, and by the solstice it's nearly two hours. A Saturday breakfast there through December starts in full dark and can finish just as it gets light enough to head to the ravine.
OEB on Rabbit Hill Road, at 5133 Mullen Road, works the other way. It opens earliest, at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, and closes at 3:00 p.m. On weekends it runs 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. All of its service now falls before sunset. The seasonal Truffled Squash Benny and Caramel Apple Butter Latte are on at participating locations through November 30, so the fall menu has about a week and a half left after this post goes up.
Later in the day, the kitchens that open at 11:00 a.m. pick up the extra hour of light at their busiest time:
The pattern holds across 23 Avenue and Rabbit Hill Road. Breakfast spots now open in the dark, and a dinner reservation at 5:00 p.m. on November 28 still catches the last light.
The extra hour of light is most useful on a toboggan hill. The City keeps a list of maintained hills with safe run-outs and safety signage. Whitemud Park North, at 13204 Fox Drive NW, is the one on that list along the Whitemud Creek side of the southwest. The City posts park hours of 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Last winter, a run after school pick-up raced a 4:15 sunset. This winter, with late-November sunset at 5:20, that same hour after school is in daylight. Once there's enough snow on the ground, the gap between the last school bell and dark is the biggest change the new clock brings to a December weekday.
Several fixed dates fall in the next five weeks, and most of them sit in the afternoon. The Terwillegar Community League's membership area includes Magrath and the Citadel of Magrath, so these league events are local. The league is a separate body from the Magrath Heights Homeowners Association.
For Magrath Heights, the clearest sign of the new clock is the Saturday this calendar sets up. Breakfast at Ricky's at 8:00 in the dark, the craft sale or the Holiday Spectacular in the early afternoon, and the last Snow Valley run or toboggan slide as the sun sets around 5:15.
At The Anderson Co., the new clock has us thinking about showings too. In December, a home now gets its best natural light right when most buyers can actually come by after work. If you're considering a winter listing in Magrath Heights and want to plan showings around that late-afternoon window, start with a free home valuation and we'll build the schedule from there.
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