Guest scloyes Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 I would appreciate hearing from riders with experience at western Canadian resorts. I am interested in hearing opinions regarding the best carving mountains for both powder and groomed conditions. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 Whistler has some really nice runs, but if you want to get away from the crowds, Sun Peaks is the best choice. Good grooming, rarely lift lines, lots of choices for terrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 Having moved west from Ontario, I can only say that there is lots of powder, bumps and tree runs. The grooming is not nearly as nice as back east. I ride at Apex Mountain. I has a few good groomers and lots of steep technical ****. I wouldnt call it a great carving area but it does offer a good challenge. I can only ride my Coiler Pr on a handfull of runs, the rest of the time, I use an all mountain setup and it works great in the trees and steeps. I still have a blast everyday and have really improved my riding in the past year due to the varied terrain. I have heard of the terrain of the other resorts, but I cannot comment as I have never ridden them. I can comment on Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. I would recommend Lake Louise for pure carving enjoyment especially the Men's Downhill Run, its super wide and steep. If you like more rugged terrain and natural snow, go to Sunshine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Sunshine has some great carving too, especially Brewster (Great Divide chair) and the blue runs off the Goat's Eye chair. There's a couple pretty nice easy blue pitches off WaWa chair. There's a short but excellent pitch right under the Jackrabbit chair. Louise has the men's and ladies' downhill, a lot of the stuff off Larch chair, plus a bunch of blue and green stuff on the front that's OK so long as you're there mid-week, otherwise too crowded. Be sure to check out Meadowlark, an uncrowded blue waaay skier's left on the front. Forget Kicking Horse for carving, but it's a great hill. Big White has quite a few nice carving runs, so long as it isn't living up to it's rep as Big White-out. The ones under the Ridge Rocket are a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopetool Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Now that Bush is President again, I want to spend more time up in Canada, obviously. lol What would it take for me to move up there for a while. Could I work in your areas doing landscaping or sales getting paid under the table? Whatever it takes. No seriously, I would like to travel to Rossland and Nelson for a multi-day vacation. Any comments on those places? They both sound like great resorts with laidback local vibe and fun terrain. Whats the real story? thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Todd Stewart Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Panorama has some pretty good grooming as well as some pretty good back country accessible by cat tracks. No lines or crowds to speak of either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffy Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Ive carved for 8 yrs at silverstar mtn(vernon bc)--usually between 80-100 days a season-----soft boots as well)and there arent much for lift lines here--during the week you can board right onto the lift----weekends are a little busier but nothing like the big resorts.Grooming is usually really good----fairly consistent---usually groom 3/4 of the mtn on non pow days...Good mtn for the high speed carves with no one around.....Ever come up this way message me well rip it up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian barr Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Red mountain in Rossland is probably the best resort i`ve been to - trees all day and minimal lift lines. great snow in inelson- but not a real big resort - pack some snow shoes and follow the locals into the back country Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scloyes Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 My next question is which resorts are the best areas to live year round and which stay open the longest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 If you are looking for a temperate climate, the Okanagan Valley is really dry and hot in the summer and has 5 ski areas within 4 hours. Three great cities to live in....Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton. Lots of big lakes,beaches, orchards and wineries. The winters are mild also, average of -1 celsius but a bit cloudy and damp but not too much snow in the southern parts in the valley at 900 feet, the ski areas are at around 5000 feet, so they are usually above the inversion and get a lot more snow. The ski areas open generally at the end of november and are open untill easter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Originally posted by scloyes I would appreciate hearing from riders with experience at western Canadian resorts. I am interested in hearing opinions regarding the best carving mountains for both powder and groomed conditions. Thanks Sun Peaks. Great snow and grooming, no crowds, abundant carving terrain and cheaper than Whistler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 My vote for place to live is the Okanagon valley, too. If I didn't have friends, family and career here in Saskatoon I'd be there in a heartbeat. Bit of a wierd place economically though - from my viewpoint as a tourist, it looks like a whole lot of people barely eeking out a living from agriculture and tourism, and then a bunch of retired rich people from Vancouver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill My vote for place to live is the Okanagon valley, too. If I didn't have friends, family and career here in Saskatoon I'd be there in a heartbeat. Bit of a wierd place economically though - from my viewpoint as a tourist, it looks like a whole lot of people barely eeking out a living from agriculture and tourism, and then a bunch of retired rich people from Vancouver. You are right, it is hard to make a go here with no job, I was lucky and transfered to a good paying job as a journeyman Lineman with the city. There are lots of jobs for tradesmen, lots of growth, but not much else. Most jobs are tourism based and do not pay much. It would be a great place to live if you had an online business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 The snowsports are great but I have to honestly say that Kelowna is one of the worst planned cities in Canada. There are wrecking yards next to grocery stores next to residential communities. The sprawl makes Mississauga look compact. Then there is the ridiculous floating bridge that's a gigantic traffic bottleneck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 The snowsports are great but I have to honestly say that Kelowna is one of the worst planned cities in Canada. There are wrecking yards next to grocery stores next to residential communities. The sprawl makes Mississauga look compact. Then there is the ridiculous floating bridge that's a gigantic traffic bottleneck. You are right, I hate going to Kelowna, the road infrastructure is way too small, they need a bypass or a parkway. There is talk of building another bridge, but the only land on the one side of OK lake is Indian reserve, so they are playing the game too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty F. Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Two seasons ago I stayed in Nelson for two weeks. The town is great, there are plenty of great restaurants and the prices were quite resonable. About 40 minutes north there is the Answorth hot springs, if you are in Nelson you have to hit up those up. Whitewater is a great ski area, but not good for carving. I skied while I was there because there was so much powder. For $7CAD you can get a one ride ticket then hike into the back country. I hope to get back there this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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