Panorama was founded in 1962 by Fritz Zehnder of
Invermere and Guy Messerli of
Switzerland, and some friends. The original facilities consisted of a warming hut, parking lot, and single
rope tow, running on a
V8, which ran transported users up the bottom of a ski run now known as "Old Timer". The area took its name from a nearby hiking area called the "Panorama Plateau". In 1964, a
platter, purchased from nearby
Sunshine Village, was installed to replace the rope tow. During these initial years, the ski hill was volunteer-run. In 1968, 12 local businessmen formed a group called Panorama Ski Hill Company Ltd to manage and grow the ski hill. A lodge, built in an
A-Frame style, was built. In 1969, several slopes were cleared, the platter was moved to its present location as the current Silver Platter, and a mile-long wooden T-Bar was installed along the route of the current Mile 1 Express. In the early 70s, Panorama Ski Hill Company continued to grow and required more area to accommodate more skiers. To raise capital for expansion, utilities were installed for 75 lots, which were sold near the base of the hill for development to raise money for the hill. Using the funds that they earned from the lots, a new double chair, named the "Horizon Chair", was installed. in 1975. The Horizon ran roughly three quarters along the path of the current Champagne Express lift. That year, the original A-Frame lodge was replaced. In 2008, the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup returned to the resort with Giant Slalom and Slalom. a group of local private investors, called Panorama Mountain Village Inc, purchased Panorama Mountain Resort from Intrawest. In December 2014, the resort opened the Discovery Quad. The new chair goes from the learning area to the top of Stringer, a green run. It makes for a very natural and easy learning progression for people transferring from the carpet lifts to the chair lift. and 2019, new terrain was added in the Taynton Bowl area, currently serviced by a 13 passenger
snowcat called "Monster X". Panorama is also frequented in the fall by race teams from around North America, including the
Canadian Alpine and
Para Alpine ski teams. In 2015 Panorama Hosted the
Para Alpine World Championships. ==Expansion==