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General snow stuff

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 11:57 am
by alakaboo
Headed to Canada for Christmas 2014 with extended family.

Trying to find a resort to base ourselves, and also a catskiing operation.

There will be about 14 of us so we're looking for a big house or 2. We'll have people ranging from 4 to 70 in age, most are not skiers or boarders so we can't be in a full ski-bum town.
Doesn't need to be all that flash but the grandparents are picking up the tab for accommodation so not a hovel.
Prefer not to have to drive up the hill each day, i.e. on mountain or a ski bus.

We have 2 advanced skiers, 2 advanced snowboarders and 1 lower intermediate boarder/advanced skier that is a total wuss (my wife).
Couple of others who can get down a hill but are unlikely to ski, and the others are total novices so we need somewhere with some bunny slopes and a kid ski school.

The days of hucking myself off big cliffs are behind me, I'm looking for bowls and gladed runs.

BC resorts strongly preferred, Alberta considered.

Any recommendations?

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:19 pm
by alakaboo
Forgot to mention...
Fernie is too cold, spent a few weeks there and it got to -47 with windchill.
Leaning towards Sun Peaks, Big White(out)

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:28 pm
by steve shearer
you've obviously considered Whistler/Blackcomb

ticks a lot of the boxes.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:39 pm
by alakaboo
We have. It's not off the list.
Little bro spent a year in Vancouver, his girl is from Calgary and is a gun skier. They've suggested that Whistler isn't the best and I'm guided by that. And having spent a season in Oregon, I hate wet snow.

The older generation is pushing pretty hard for Whistler for sensible reasons, I'm presenting alternatives but apart from not-Fernie I don't have a strong preference either way.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:52 pm
by steve shearer
OK but if you want dry interior snow you'll need to hack the cold.

milder, maritime climate= wetter snow.

I've heard lots of good things about Wyoming. Jackson Hole, if you like that cowboy vibe.

Whistler/Blackcomb are huge mountains with a ton of vertical and great back country/heli skiing options if the guns want to test themselves.

plenty of bunny slope/restaurant/shopping options for those not so inclined.

and it's easey peasey to get to from Vancouver.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:41 pm
by alakaboo
Yeah, I know. It is a persuasive argument.

I get the weather thing too, that's why we went to Fernie.
But kids in those temps isn't fun, I can tell you from experience.

BC is a balance of ease of access and family/future in laws.
If I was going US I'd go back to Utah or Big Sky (Montana).

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:55 pm
by steve shearer
whistler/blackC is fine for kiddies and if you get a pow-pow day on the Whistler pillows/glades or backcountry bowls so easily accessible from the peak chair you won't be complaining about snow quality.

sure the lower slopes can get gluggy in a bad season but up high is fine.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 2:17 pm
by alakaboo
Cool.

Looks like Whistler is the winner.
I'm always reassured by the presence of a glacier.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:23 pm
by Trev
I've been to Whistler and I reckon it's suit family groups.
My son had a mate working on the chairlift and he was there for the whole season. He's back in Oz now but loved the place.
We were there at the end of the season and the slopes still looke dgood but I'm no expert.
Bears were out by then, too.
Blurry. My camera was playing up so this was rushed, but that's a black bear in the middle of the ski tracks. All taken 17th May 2002.
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Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 3:03 pm
by nosedrip
I spent two weeks at Whistler / Blackcomb in late Feb of this year. It is so huge and varied that it'd easily meet the needs of a mixed bunch of traveling skiers. Cool spot for those less interested in skiing as well - heaps of other stuff to keep loved ones busy while you disappear into the mountains for the day. So no long faces when you walk in the door frothing about your day on the mountain. I had a hoot with my son on easier Green / Blue slopes - and got my butt seriously kicked on some of the black runs once I managed to get away.

Ski-in ski-out accommodation is a 'must have' if you can stretch the budget. It's like camping at Broken Head during the off season. Hard to beat...

Do a google search on 3D trail map of whistler - and be ready to ruin the rest of the day mind-skiing the spot.

And if you're an Aussie I'd ignore Canadian's complaining about Whistler. It's all relative. The place rocks by worldwide standards. Sure - there will be less crowded, more 'pure' back country experiences to be had - but how many hours a day will you really ski?

Just remember that B.C doesn't stand for British Columbia - it means 'Bring Cash'.

Final cool thing about staying in a big resort is that you can change skis easily. We had a massive powder dump overnight. My (skinny) ski's were just not going to cut it in deep powder. Within 20 mins I had swapped those for some wider skis and didn't look back.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:33 pm
by brendo
al, how bout lake louise? stay at the lake, or stay in banff and ride sunshine. sure its
not on snow, but at least there is stuff for the non skiers to do.
panorama is good to, good base village on snow, plenty of vert, heli trips leave from there as well.
i rate that place, got some really good double blacks,cool locals, and fark all aussies. dunno what it is, but when aussies congregate os, the bogan gene dominates :lol: I hear big white caters well for kids/families. have your kids skied yet?

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:55 pm
by alakaboo
No, kids haven't skied.
One of them has been toboganning, the other hasn't seen snow.

I wanted to go to Banff originally. Heard great things about Lake Louise.
Depends a bit if we have Christmas in Vancouver (where my bro and his girl will be working) or in Calgary (where her family is from).
I understand the bogan comment too. Hence why I'm a bit hesitant to go to Whistler despite the advantages.
nosedrip wrote:And if you're an Aussie I'd ignore Canadian's complaining about Whistler. It's all relative. The place rocks by worldwide standards. Sure - there will be less crowded, more 'pure' back country experiences to be had - but how many hours a day will you really ski?
Me? Pretty much first lift to close if I can.
This is the first ski trip since kids where we will have 2 sets of grandparents and they'll be old enough for ski school.
Also probably the only big one we can afford for another 5 years at least.
I intend to take full advantage.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 7:49 pm
by brendo
lake louise is really good. big resort, long runs. they even close a few at lunch for an hr and lay down
some fresh cord. the kids will dig it, but u may have to spend a day or 2 on the carpets with them.
my daughter is 6, I got her skiing last yr, she loves it. got her skis and helmet from the US for under 250
delivered. I enjoy riding round with her as much as my mates! and shes no slouch, our last day down, we did close to 6000 vert metres.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 7:50 pm
by brendo
one other thing, a few resorts over there are offering kids ski free deals :-D-:

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:07 pm
by alakaboo
Not going till next season, Brendo.

I reckon the kids will have a blast wherever they go, my main concern is actually the olds.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:03 pm
by carlton St
Hard to beat Sun Peaks.
Easy to get to, range of skiing is from true beginners to experienced powder skier/boarders,
3 mountains that all lead back to the village (found this a bonus with the wife and kids),
No altitude problems (unlike Jacksons or Telluride)
Mostly ski in/out.
It can rain anywhere in Nth America with the wrong weather (pineapple express) but Sun Peaks is away from the coastal range so there is a lesser chance.
Cheaper than Whistler and they have a huge range of accommodation.
Most importantly Conrad does great coffee (Cafe Bellaco?)
Big White can be Big White out for up to a week, but has many of the benefits of Sun Peaks.

Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:54 pm
by PeepeelaPew
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Re: Ski resorts in Canada

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:59 pm
by steve shearer
What about Japan Boo?

seems like the most reliable awesome quality snow.

and the culture to go with it.