Skiing in Panorama, Canada
While most of New Zealand was smouldering under the intense heat wave of late January, we travelled halfway around the world in search of a colder climate. It has been a balmy 27 degrees as we left Auckland and quite some hours later arrived in Calgary to minus 20 degrees. Apart from the insult of the temperature shock we received a few strange looks as our group wandered through the airport in our shorts and t-shirts.
Our home for the next three weeks was Panorama, a quintessential ski resort tucked in the foot of the Purcell Mountain range in British Columbia, a mere four-hour shuttle drive from Calgary. If you do this drive in the day, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular scenery as you drive through Banff National Park on your way to the resort. The first impression of Panorama is hard to describe without sounding cliched… The village is blanketed in deep snow and fairy lights flicker off buildings and trees creating that fairy-tale setting. This was our second visit to Panorama, we had been previously over 7 years ago, and we were equally as blown away this time as the first. The village of Panorama is based at the foot of the main ski runs and is the hub where the restaurants are based and the accommodations that offer ski in/ski out facilities are right there, meaning you don’t have to drive or carry your skis any distance to get to that first chairlift... Our group were split between two hotels, Panorama Springs and 1000 Peaks Summit. Both offered fully equipped kitchens, gas fires and access to their own hot springs and only a few meters from the first chair.