TIME TO HIT THE SLOPES
Top resorts have plenty to offer
It’s the most magical time of the year for skiers and boarders: It’s November and the snow has started falling on the mountains. We are blessed to live in a province with world-class resorts that are ski destinations for international travellers. But for us, we can be on the mountains in no time, and any time. Here’s what’s new at five of the top resorts.
WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
For Vail Resorts, owner of Whistler Blackcomb, it’s all about getting you out of the lines and on the hills faster, so it is opening three new lifts this season.
The new Blackcomb Gondola, running from the Upper Village to the Rendezvous Lodge, rises almost four kilometres and can transport 4,000 people per hour. It replaces the Wizard and Solar chairs and connects to the Peak 2 Peak and Village gondolas, for a 12-km circuitous lift system, the longest in the world.
A six-passenger speed lift replaces the Emerald Chair on Whistler Mountain, and a new four-passenger, high-speed lift on Blackcomb Mountain will replace the Catskinner Chair.
Vail’s Epic Pass provides unlimited, unrestricted access to Whistler Blackcomb, and can be used at other Vail properties including Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Park City. Epic Pass holders receive seven days of skiing at Telluride, Fernie Alpine Resort, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Kimberley Alpine Resort, Nakiska, Mont Sainte-Anne, Stoneham, and five consecutive days at nine ski resorts in Japan.
The largest resort in North America, Whistler Blackcomb is just a 125-km drive from Vancouver. The resort features more than 200 marked ski runs, 3,307 hectares of terrain, 16 alpine bowls, and three glaciers.
BIG WHITE
A new Leitner Poma lift replaces the Powder Chair, increasing the upload capacity by 1,900 passengers per hour. The skier tunnel on the Hummingbird run also gets an upgrade expanding from a width of 7.6 to 18.2 metres, to accommodate more skier and foot traffic.
Opening day at Big White is scheduled for Nov. 22 and the winter season has been extended to April 22, 2019, so guests can spend Easter on the snow.
Less than one hour from Kelowna, Big White Ski Resort is a family-friendly destination that boasts Canada’s largest ski-in/ski-out resort village.
Skiers and snowboarders can enjoy 118 designated runs, 15 lifts, 2,765 acres of skiable terrain, and one of the best terrain parks in North America. The 25 km of combined Nordic and wilderness trails are for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing lovers, while dogsledding, snowmobiling, an ice-climbing tower, sleigh rides, tubing, and Canada’s highest outdoor skating rink keep everyone else entertained.
When the sun goes down, enjoy the largest night-skiing terrain in Western Canada, with 15 hectares of runs lit up Tuesday through Saturday nights.
SUN PEAKS
A new four-person chairlift connecting the East Village area will open in December, giving better access to the main village core and some of the most under-utilized terrain of the resort.
And all 221 rooms at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel and Conference Centre have been renovated.
With three different mountains to ski, there is no shortage of new zones to explore. Some of B.C.’s finest heli- and cat-skiing destinations surround Sun Peaks Resort.
Off the slopes there is plenty to do too. Take a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow, stroll the shops and restaurants of the pedestrianonly village, or have fondue on the mountaintop before skiing down the mountain, guided by the stars.
Sun Peaks Resort is 45 minutes north of Kamloops and has Canada’s second-largest ski area and a European-style, ski-through alpine village. It has 1,728 hectares, two alpine bowls, 135 runs, and 13 lifts.
There are direct flights from Vancouver to Kamloops and an airport shuttle that can take you directly to your slopeside accommodation.
An inter-resort shuttle operates seven days a week with service to SilverStar and Big White, providing an easy way to experience all of B.C.’s interior resorts in one ski trip.
SILVERSTAR MOUNTAIN
A new eight-passenger gondola will offer guests faster access from the village to the top of the mountain, with incredible views of the Monashee Mountains. And a new widened ski-way will provide easier access to the Comet Chair on the front side of the mountain.
New touch-screen rental checkin stations should allow for a much quicker experience for guests looking to rent equipment during their stay on the mountain.
SilverStar is located 22 kilometres from Vernon and less than an hour from Kelowna’s airport. It offers a lively mid-mountain ski village with ski-in/ski-out access, and Canada’s first all-inclusive lift ticket.
SilverStar is also a prime destination for cross-country skiers, with 105 kilometres of trails that include neighbouring Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, and features a four-kilometre lit track for night skiing, lift access to upper trails, and two certified biathlon ranges.
The resort features four distinct mountain faces and is the thirdlargest ski area in the province. It has 132 runs, 12 lifts, and on the backside of the mountain, more than 770 hectares of steep, deep, black, and double black diamond runs.
MOUNT WASHINGTON ALPINE
The mountain opened up 16 hectares of new adventure skiing terrain, allowing access to incredible glade and bowl skiing. The new terrain is located in the Outback area on the backside of the mountain and access is from the Eagle Express or Boomerang chairlift.
Its Nordic Centre offers 55 km of machine-groomed cross-country trails and 22 km of snowshoeing trails that meander through forested parkland. The world-class Nordic Centre offers equipment rentals and lessons, and features the impressive Raven Lodge.
The resort has a family-oriented alpine village with ski-in/ski-out accommodation for more than 4,000 visitors. Thanks to its Island setting, it gets tons of snow, 11.5 metres per season on average. It has more than 688 hectares of skiable terrain, 81 runs, two terrain parks and five lifts as well as four Magic Carpets.
Mount Washington is located high above the Vancouver Island city of Courtenay, next door to Strathcona Provincial Park, and just a 40-minute drive from Comox Valley International Airport and the city of Campbell River.
The three North Shore mountains couldn’t be more convenient for those wanting to ski. The best part? After a long day or night of skiing you can head downtown or home to your own bed.
“I think of Seymour as the beginner family mountain, Grouse as a great place to ski, and Cypress as more vertical, people spread out and more of a serious skier, boarder mountain,” says long time skier and North Shore resident Janet Pople-Clement.
All three resorts offer night skiing.
CYPRESS
For the second year in a row, Cypress is expanding its snowmaking system. “This latest installation will be a huge benefit for our day-to-day mountain operations, which in turn will help us provide our skiers/riders a better product,” says Russell Chamberlain president of Cypress Mountain.
Over the summer there has been regrading work on Panorama, to provide a better entrance to Crazy Raven. Top Gun and Horizon ski runs have also been improved.
A new snow-making line will provide coverage from the base of Lions Express Chairlift up Lower Horizon to the exit of Humpty Dumpty. The expansion should allow them to open Horizon Ski Run earlier than previous years.
Cypress has the most terrain, and most lifts of the North Shore mountains. It offers skiers 600 acres of downhill skiing on everything from gentle groomed slopes to black diamond runs.
GROUSE MOUNTAIN
At the top of Grouse Mountain, there’s plenty of activities to choose from; skiing, skating, snowshoeing, ziplines, sledding, and a night Light Walk are all available.
For the 2018-19 season Grouse Mountain is celebrating the 25th anniversary of terrain parks on the mountain.
With 221 acres of skiable terrain, Grouse Mountain has 33 ski and snowboard runs, 15 night runs, four chairlifts, a magic carpet, five terrain parks plus the Cut Jump Line, Sliding Zone, and nine kilometres of snowshoe trails.
MOUNT SEYMOUR
New for this season is The Night Pass. A pass for those who enjoy watching sunsets and the city lights turning on beneath them. For $199, guests can ski or ride every night after 5 p.m. from Jan. 3 onward, until the end of the season.
Mount Seymour has five lifts serving 200 acres.