WHAT’S NEW ON THE SKI HILLS?
With snow, thoughts turn to slopes
CASTLE MOUNTAIN
Opening: Dec. 15
Adult lift ticket: $84 Giddy-up!: Cat-skiing enthusiasts will discover a few additions at Castle. A hot buffet breakfast is available to skiers before they board the Powder Stagecoach and head up Giddy-up trail to access untracked powder. The resort is also offering a cat-ski package for small groups, which includes mid-week cat-skiing plus next day’s ski lift tickets. Prices range from $480 to $560, depending on whether you choose hostel or hotel accommodation. Weekend cat-skiing is also available.
Groomed for fun: a new grooming machine this season means more and better corduroy on steeper intermediate and advanced runs. Powder hounds, don’t fret, there will still be plenty of the fluffy stuff around.
Mark your calendar: Castle’s calendar is full of events. New ones this year include the Castle Kickoff Party on opening weekend, sunset snowcat tours, full moon snowshoe tours and a spring outdoor concert series.
MARMOT BASIN
Opening: Nov. 10
Adult lift ticket: $95
More terrain: The big news at Marmot is the addition of almost 18.5 hectares (roughly 25 Canadian football fields) of skiable terrain that includes five advanced and expert runs. It’s been named Tres Hombres, which both harkens back to the popular ZZ Top album of the same name in the ’70s and pays tribute to some locals who coveted the until-now untouchable terrain. It’ll be ready for skiers on opening day. Accessible from the Paradise chair, the new area features a large open bowl and the longest fall lines at the resort, at about 365 metres.
Holding prices: The Marmot Escape card returns for the same price, $75 plus GST. With the card, a lift ticket is $47.50. Easy and made-to-order eats:
Grabbing lunch and snacks will be a lot easier at the Caribou Cafe after an expansion and reorganization of the space. An area of the cafe has also been designated for serving custom stir-fries and made-to-order pizzas.
WINSPORT (COP)
Opening: mid-November
Adult lift ticket: $45
Bone up: Short on time, but want to hone your ski skills? WinSport has added intensive two- and three-day lessons that will help you get up to speed quickly. As well, a fourth day has been added to the ski and snowboard program in partnership with Sunshine Village. The price is unchanged from last season. Lessons are geared to all levels, and include rentals and lift passes.
Next Olympians: Watch who will represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Games. The freestyle moguls World Cup will be held Jan. 28, followed by a community day to meet the athletes on Jan. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
MOUNT NOR QUAY
Opened: Nov. 4 Adult lift ticket: $74
Faster to the top: Norquay has invested $1.5 million in improvements, including a modern snowcat to improve groomed runs. Mystic, Spirit and North American chairlifts will run smoother and faster this year, after some major upgrades over the summer. Wine and dine: The popular Starlight Dinners at the cosy Cliffhouse Bistro — only accessed by the North American chairlift — are back with more dates between January and March. Updates on this and other special events can be found on the website.
NAKISKA SKI AREA Opening: Nov. 4
Adult lift ticket: $84.95
Peak performance: Want to get better at glades, moguls, bumps or carving? Even seasoned skiers can use a refresher. A private performance lesson can nudge you back into your old ski game, or just help you gain confidence.
Rock star parking: Can’t stand the schlep from the parking lot with the kids and gear in tow? You can buy yourself some rock star parking with the VIP Purchase Pass and get on the slopes faster, with designated spots that are closest to the base area. Kick it up a notch in the park:
Take a terrain park lesson so you can nail the rail and gain more from one of the resort’s instructors.
Easier way down: It’ll be simpler to ski off the Silver Chair, thanks to a softer pitch off Grand Trunk, created this summer.
SUNSHINE VILLAGE
Opening: Nov. 10
Adult lift ticket: $109 Park it: Sunshine’s parking issues were resolved this summer when a federal court decided the resort could continue to allow overflow parking along the access road. Parks Canada had planned to ban parking on the road citing safety concerns.
LAKE LOUISE
Opening: early November
Adult lift ticket: $104
New chef: Brad Froelich is the new executive chef and food and beverage director at Lake Louise. Froelich comes from Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna and has worked around the world at top hotels such as Hilton, W, and Pan Pacific. He once cooked for the Queen of England while working in Australia.
Save some coin: The Lake Louise Plus Card remains at last year’s price, $109 plus GST. If you use your Plus Card, you get a $10-per-day resort credit and discounts at some area hotels. The card is also good at Revelstoke, Red Mountain, Castle, Silver Star, Panorama and Schweitzer in Idaho. You get the first, fourth and seventh days free and $20 off on other days.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
BIG WHITE Opening: Nov. 23 (Free skiing until Dec. 14)
Adult lift ticket: $105
50-plus weeks: The popular Masters’ Week, aimed at avid skiers and riders aged 50-plus, returns for three separate weeks with more special après-ski events, including wine tastings, more happy hours at area restaurants and evening sleigh rides.
Winter Warm-up: Big White has a long list of opening month events, from Dec. 1 to 17. They include an outdoor drive-in movie, giant bonfire and fireworks. Other events throughout the month include a Christmas Market (Dec. 3) and Big Reds at Big White Wine Festival (Dec. 8-9).
Beer and games: Craft beer company Elevation Brewing Company opens at Sessions Tap House, claiming to be the highest elevation brewery at more than 1,740 metres. Sessions is also getting in on the Escape Room craze, with three rooms for you and five friends.
Movie nights: A seven-metre outdoor inflatable movie screen will display movies and sporting events on designated nights.
FERNIE
Opening: Dec. 1 Adult lift ticket: $104.95 Branching out: There will be more room to ski and ride on two popular runs, Arrow ( blue No. 55) and Bow ( blue No. 52). You can also rip through these newly gladed runs: Surprise, Timber Bowl, NE Glades Steep and Deep, Stag Leap, Skydive Traverse.
Stretch, then ski: Strike a tree pose or happy baby pose before you hit the slopes. Yoga classes will be held in Lizard Creek Lodge on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Snow fun and dine: Take a guided fat biking tour and cap it off with a burger and beer. Discounts available if you have your own wheels. Or join a guided snowshoe tour followed by a pasta and wine dinner Tuesdays and Fridays.
Backcountry basics: You can sign up for a two-day course and learn the art of ski touring and how to use avalanche rescue equipment.
Women’s weekends: Get a few of your girlfriends together for a ski and snowboard day followed by a spa treatment at Lizard Creek Lodge’s Neve spa.
Local beer and new eats: Sip on Fernie’s latest local brew, Polar Peak Ale, at the Fernie Griz Bar at the end of the ski day. Or, check out the new Legends Mountain Eatery (formerly Kelsey’s).
REV EL STOKE MOUNTAIN RESORT
Opening: Early December (www. revelstokemountainresort.com) Adult lift ticket: $99
More rides: With the addition of 24 gondola cabins and 21 chairs on the Stoke lift, Revvie will be able to accommodate 25 per cent more visitors.
First cat tracks: The resort will once again offer cat-skiing during select days and optimal weather conditions. It has partnered with Great Northern Snowcat Skiing to offer small-group cat-skiing trips just south of the resort. Excursions will head out to an area with more than 75 square kilometres of terrain over two mountains in the Bad Shot Range of the Selkirk Mountains. Snowfall there averages 15 metres per season.
KICKING HORSE
Opening: Dec. 8
Adult lift ticket: $104.95
Rippin’ Betties Women’s Clinic:
Up your ski and ride game with a group of gals. The resort says the two-day clinic is “led by women for women,” and aims to build confidence for intermediates or edge advanced women into more expert terrain. Learn new tricks and explore new terrain — from steeps and bumps to powder and chutes.
Yoga on the mountain: Take advantage of the chance to re-energize with four free mountaintop yoga classes on the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant Terrace.
Freeride Ride World Tour: Kicking Horse will be the only Freeride World Tour stop in North America Feb. 3-9, 2018. The event is held at four other locales around the world.
KIMBERLEY ALPINE RESORT
Opening: Dec. 9
Adult lift ticket: $79.95 Bumps and brews for guys: Get in on this ski camp that will bring an edge to skiing and riding through powder, over bumps and through trees.
Backcountry heli-getaway: Sign up for one of these weekends with Boulder Hut Adventures. It will transport you by helicopter to 6,070 hectares of untracked powder in the Purcells around Kimberley. Pickup is from the Trickle Creek Lodge at the base of Kimberley Alpine Resort. NorAm & Para World Cup Races:
Kimberley will host international athletes competing in February and March 2018. The special events will also include parties, parades and other celebrations.
New eats: Buckhorn & Main Mountain Eatery is set to open at the resort in the previous Montana’s location, featuring the locally brewed Stemwinder Ale.
SILVER STAR
Opening: Nov. 23 (www.skisilverstar.com)
Adult lift ticket: $96
Mini-terrain park: The terrain park has expanded to accommodate beginners with a carved out area for a mini-terrain park. New heli-trips: Guests of Kingfisher Heli- Skiing can now be picked up and dropped off at the resort.
More Nordic track: Cross-country skiers will have a new singletrack, five-kilometre loop and a new green connector to the Sovereign Lake trail network.
Under construction: You’ll notice the construction of a village-to-summit high-speed gondola. It is scheduled to open in 2019.