bartron Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Hey folks, in my continuing effort to abuse my flight pass as much as I can, I'll be heading out west next week to do some riding (Feb, 7-9). Right now, my short list is Fernie, Banff (mostly Sunshine) and Silverstar. The weather looks like it will be really good -- nice and cold -- but how are the conditions at those resorts ? I've obviously checked the websites, but I would like to hear a more independent opinion. :) How is Silverstar for carving or powder (pretty much the only two reasons to snowboard AFAIC :) ? Thanks-O-Bunch ! 'later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 fernie or banff should be great. lake louise is having the year of the century. fernie is like two hrs north of me and it has been getting more snow than we have at big mtn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Barton: Big White is more carve friendly than Silver Star. About equidistant from Kelowna too. Silver Star has a lot of narrow, tree-lined runs. Big White is more wide open. Big White also has great grooming. Fernie is hard to get to from a major airport. B.W. and S.S. are within 45 minutes of the airport. They also offer free same day passes (same day as your arrival) for Westjet. Not sure about A/C. Conditions in Okanagan are outstanding. And we've all heard about the Banff resorts this year. Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 There's a bit of a drought on the snow front at present. I've been away on holiday, but it looks as if none of the BC and Alberta resorts have had any snow to speak of since I left, and nothing forecast for the next week. I was at Fernie over New Years and even after dumps of snow, there were some parts that were pretty icy and blown off. We didn't even go up Bear Chair because the conditions up there were reportedly a bit sketch. And Skategoat is right, Fernie is actually a bit difficult to get to, the nearest airport is Cranbrook and that's nearly 100km away. But accommodation in the area can be pretty cheap (Cranbrook especially). The other issue with Fernie is that the conditions there can turn literally overnight. I've been there when it's been epic on Saturday and pouring rain on Sunday ... but if the conditions are bad, you could always go to Kimberley, which is closer to Cranbrook, totally uncrowded and has some great carving runs. Oh, and the cost of a lift pass at Fernie now? $72+ per day. Ouch. I think Kimberley is about $54+ (great value) and the Banff resorts about $67+. Of the Banff resorts, Sunshine would be my pick when there hasn't been any fresh, as the snow there is all natural and tends to stay in pretty good shape. I haven't been to Louise this year at all, so can't comment there. Only bummer is flying in to Calgary, accomms in Banff are pretty pricey as Feb is prime time. Of the choices you gave, I would go with Kelowna but go to Big White. It's a huge hill with good snow and good grooming, and some top notch carving terrain. I've always wanted to go to Silverstar but never got there, so feel free to post a resort report if you do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I was in Kamloops this weekend and stayed at Sun Peaks. What a great place for a carver. lots great wide blue runs. a good place to bring a large scr board. I wore my legs out both days because I never had a chance to skid. The crowds were low and my bud got a room in the village for 80 bucks a night. not sure what the high season rate is but that is pretty good for a ski area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'm off to Sun Peaks on Feb 15. Should be a blast. We're staying at the hostel with the poor people ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Of the three mountains you mentioned, Big White is the most suitable for carving- Silverstar is too small and like others have said, too narrow to really let it open up. Fernie is great for powder riding when it dumps, and the accomadations around the mountain are the most modern. Other mountains in that neighbourhood worth looking at are Kicking Horse resort in Revelstoke and RED Mountain in Rossland- both have great terrain for carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Don't go the Revy looking for Kicking Horse... or anything groomed, for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffy Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Barton:Big White is more carve friendly than Silver Star. About equidistant from Kelowna too. Silver Star has a lot of narrow, tree-lined runs. Big White is more wide open. Big White also has great grooming. Fernie is hard to get to from a major airport. B.W. and S.S. are within 45 minutes of the airport. They also offer free same day passes (same day as your arrival) for Westjet. Not sure about A/C. Conditions in Okanagan are outstanding. And we've all heard about the Banff resorts this year. Henry Silverstar has lots of sweet carving runs that are quite wide open as well.....Big White is a good mtn but wayyyyyy busier than SS so the runs get alot more crowded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffy Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Of the three mountains you mentioned, Big White is the most suitable for carving- Silverstar is too small and like others have said, too narrow to really let it open up.Fernie is great for powder riding when it dumps, and the accomadations around the mountain are the most modern. Other mountains in that neighbourhood worth looking at are Kicking Horse resort in Revelstoke and RED Mountain in Rossland- both have great terrain for carving. Im just wondering what runs you were carving at SS....it has lots of open runs that get groomed nitely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 I was there three years ago and I recall most of the runs were below the treeline and not particularly wide. Not compared to Big White which had a lot of open alpine or with very small, widely spaced trees. I also remember the runs down to Gem Chair being wide, advanced intermediate and groomed nicely. Loved it there. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Silver Star too. Also, we went to Apex one day. Very nice and not nearly as busy as the other big mountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffy Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 I was there three years ago and I recall most of the runs were below the treeline and not particularly wide. Not compared to Big White which had a lot of open alpine or with very small, widely spaced trees. I also remember the runs down to Gem Chair being wide, advanced intermediate and groomed nicely. Loved it there.Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Silver Star too. Also, we went to Apex one day. Very nice and not nearly as busy as the other big mountains. They have doubled the terrain on the frontside since last year with the Silverwoods chair.............big changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Don't go the Revy looking for Kicking Horse... or anything groomed, for that matter.Not only is KHMR in Golden not Revy but it's about the last mountain I would recommend to carvers. It's a rocking freeride hill though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Amen. Definitely a hill for people with bigger nvts than me. And pretty much a carving free zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Lessee, the only time I was there, I recall I had to drop about a 10' cornice into a two-board wide 40 degree couloir and make a few jump turns before it opened up into a maybe 35 degree open bowl that gradually got gentler. That was rated single-diamond. All the double-diamond stuff required a hike as far as I could see. There's maybe 2 carve-friendly runs off the tram, and a couple of green ones off the one beginner's chair. Everything else is pow, bumps, trees... I love that hill, but it was a little much for my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCrider Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Of the three mountains you mentioned, Big White is the most suitable for carving- Silverstar is too small and like others have said, too narrow to really let it open up.Fernie is great for powder riding when it dumps, and the accomadations around the mountain are the most modern. Other mountains in that neighbourhood worth looking at are Kicking Horse resort in Revelstoke and RED Mountain in Rossland- both have great terrain for carving. I was at SilverStar 2yrs ago and thought it was great for carving. some runs were narrow but I was on my AM with a 10.5m radius. a couple of runs were of the carve hard or eat bark variety. definitely a thrill to link carves down those. I'm heading out at the end of the month. hoping to string together KHR, whitewater, red and Fernie. Feb23- Mar4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.