Tourist Office

Sunshine Village
Sunshine Village, Box 1510
Banff, Alberta
Canada, TIL 1J5

Telephone: (403) 762 6500
Website: www.skibanff.com

Description

With slopes facing in all directions, Sunshine is one of North America’s oldest resorts, dating back to 1928. Yet it has recently invested heavily in massive infrastructure improvements and renovations. It’s even added a third mountain, Goat’s Eye, served by some of the continent’s fastest high-speed detachable quad chairlifts. The resort also boasts Banff’s largest ski rental shop and the only ski-in, ski-out hotel. The snow record is so impressive that snow-making would be regarded as throwing money away. The resort has terrain to suit all abilities. For advanced skiers and snowboarders the Delirium Drive, is the ultimate front-country adventure, with pitches of 40 degrees and vertical footage of 1919 feet. Delirium will be located on the north face of Lookout Mountain.

Review

There are few true ‘ski towns’ around the world, especially those with a choice of top ski areas on their doorstep, each with independent ownership. Austria’s Innsbruck, Utah’s Park City, New Zealand’s Queenstown and Argentina’s Bariloche are some of the few examples, Aspen grew up that way but with all the ski areas nearby now owned by one company some feel the character there has gone. Not so in Banff, where the Mount Norquay is the nearest to town and offers flexible skiing by the hour if you just have a little time to spare for a few turns. If you are planning a full day of skiing or riding there is much more terrain available at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise – generally regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful ski areas. Banff came in to being in 1883 when three railway workers building Canada’s first trans-Continental railway staked a claim on the hot springs area that bubbled up there. It was named by a Canadian Pacific employee after his home area of Banffshire in North Eastern Scotland, although it doesn’t look much like it! Two years later the railway was competed and soon afterwards the Canadian Pacific railway Company built the incredible Banff Springs hotel and Canada’s first national park was established, “the rest is history”. The town has a reputation also for being extremely good value and having genuinely friendly inhabitants. It’s particularly impressive that they manage to keep cheerful when you consider the 7600 ‘Banffites’ have to keep smiling at more than three million visitors a year. The snow on the surrounding mountains is known for its quality and abundance which help Sunshine and Lake Louise to open from early November to late May every year – one of the worlds longest ski seasons. The experience of being able to spend the day in true wilderness terrain or modern ski areas and then the evenings in a lively resort also appeals to many. The success of Banff as a world leading ski destination was laid out more than a century ago when Swiss mountain guides led parties of climbers on first ascents of the surrounding peaks and traversed prehistoric glaciers. In leather bindings and wooden skis they discovered untracked snow in wide-open bowls and meadows, laying the groundwork for what was to become a viable ski industry. Settling in Banff and Lake Louise the pioneers helped build trails then roads through the raw, rugged and largely uninhabited landscape and eventually they established hotels and businesses.

keywords

Banff, Goat’s Eye, Lookout, Standish, Bow Valley, Sunshine Village, BC, British Columbia, Canada, Rockies, Rockys, The Rocky Mountains

Tourist Office

Powder King
Pine Pass
British Columbia
Canada
V0J 2C0

Telephone: (250) 9976323
Email: powderhound@powderking.com
Website: www.powderking.com

Description

Favoured for its dry, consistent powder and great gladed tree and bowl skiing. Powder King is a self-contained centre with a good vertical drop and plenty to interest the majority of skiers. There’s a hotel and a hostel by the slopes where all skier-essential services including a day care centre are included.

keywords

Powder King, British Columbia, BC, Canada, Rocky Mountains, Rockys, Rockies,

Tourist Office

Fernie Alpine Resort
5339 Ski Area Road
Fernie
British Columbia
Canada
V0B 1M6

Telephone: (250) 4234655
Website: www.skifernie.com/

Description

With an annual snowfall of 8.75 m (29 feet) and limitless terrain, Fernie has a ski experience to meet the needs of all abilities.

Review

The facilties at Fernie have grown dramatically over the last few years and the result is a destination resort that takes its place among North America”s finest. Located in the south-east corner of British Columbia, Fernie’s skiable terrain doubled in 1998 with the addition of two new lifts. The powder that has made Fernie a haven for deep snow enthusiasts is produced by storm systems that develop over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Northern Oregon. The predominant south-westerly flow chugs across the near desert-like terrain of central Washington and Idaho before slamming into the Lizard Range of the Canadian Rockies.

Visitors to Fernie may wonder about the origins of the Griz Festival and why Griz is so important to the locals. According to legend, Griz is the Powder King and provider of the 8.75m/29 feet of snow which falls here annually. As the legend goes, a baby boy was born in a grizzly bear’s cave high in the mountains. The boy managed to avoid being eaten by a grizzly and was somehow able to survive the harsh winters. He has been spotted recently and is now said to have 6ft wide shoulders and carry an 8ft long musket which he shoots at clouds, releasing his special brand of powder snow making Fernie the beneficiary of some of the best packed and powder conditions in Western Canada. In recognition and admiration of the man who became known as Griz, the town’s people held a festival all week with sporting events, competitions, parades and gatherings to mark the gala week. The citizen who best embodied the spirit of Griz; through that week was made honorary Griz for the rest of the year. To this day this festival continues every March in tribute to Fernie”s Powder King.

Long before 1962 when Fernie resort was first established, it was coal which was the driving force behind the development of the Crowsnest area with the mines being the source of stories of hardship, tragedy and heroism. The discovery of coal by William Fernie in 1897 led to the formation of the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company, and in turn to the establishment of the City of Fernie, which was named in honour of the man who had helped to create its primary industry. In addition to being recognised as the Pittsburgh of the North; in its early days, Fernie was sometimes referred to as the Whiskey Gap; during Prohibition in the 1920s when it was an established corridor running between Alberta and Montana. While they have long since been covered over
and are no longer accessible to anyone, underground tunnels once used for bootlegging still form a network beneath the city’s streets.

One of Fernie’s legends is based around William Fernie”s discovery of the coal. During one of his many prospecting trips he met a tribe of Kootenai Indians and noticed one of the Chief”s daughters wearing a necklace of black stones which he immediately recognised as coal. On enquiring about the source of the black beads the Indian Chief agreed to show him, on condition that the prospector marry his daughter. After finding out where the coal had come from Fernie, who had already given his word he would marry the Princess, renaiged on the deal. Naturally, this deeply angered the Indian Chief who invoked a fire, flood and famine curse on the valley. Fire did destroy a large part of Fernie in 1904, the year it was incorporated as a city, and again in1908 when the Great Fire left only 37 buildings standing. Most of these buildings were residential and can still be seen along Park Avenue and at the end of 1st Avenue.

Despite the incredible devastation the Great Fire had caused, the efforts of the local townspeople following
the disaster helped Fernie become stronger than ever in the years afterwards. Only 4 months after the fire a business district of stone and brick was well on its way to completion and today those same buildings stand as testimony to their hard work and efforts. Floods hit Fernie in 1916 as the Elk River burst its banks waterlogging parts of the valley and town and near-famine arrived in the 1930′s in the form of the Great Depression. In 1964 members of the Kootenai tribes, headed by Chief Red Eagle, assembled in Fernie for a special ceremonial lifting of the curse, during which the town”s Mayor, James White made amends by smoking the Pipe of Peace with Chief Red Eagle. These days the only remainder of the curse, known as the Ghostrider of Mount Hosmer, can be seen each sunny summer evening when the sun casts the spectacular shadow of an Indian chief on horseback with an Indian maidenstanding beside him.

The town has an unspoilt nature; a sense that nestled here, under the Rocky Mountains, is a place that offers a retreat from the world and all its modern trappings. New residents come to get away from the complications of modern life that seem so inherent to the city. With only three traffic lights, Fernie lends itself to the process of slowing down and getting more in tune with the world.

Although there is still coal mining, in recent years its been the ski resort that has attracted both investors and development to the area. With an influx of new interest, the town of Fernie has retained its historic nature and ambiance while also moving forward to meet the growing demand for service that can compete in a global market. Visitors to Historic Downtown Fernie have come to see the town as a destination for shopping, restaurants, bars, nightlife and entertainment.

keywords

Fernie Alpine Resort, Fernie British Columbia, BC, Rocky Mountains, Canadian Rockies, Rockies, Rockys, Lizard Range, East Kootenay

Tourist Office

Cypress Mountain
PO Box 91252
West Vancouver
British Columbia
Canada
V7V 3N9

Telephone: (604) 9265612
Website: www.cypressmountain.com

Description

Cypress Mountain is the Official Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Cypress is only 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver and is proud to continue to provide our skiers, riders and sliders with the most vertical drop, most terrain, most lifts and best snow conditions on the highest skiing and riding peak of Vancouver’s Legendary North Shore Mountains.

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Black Mountain, Cypress Bowl Mountain, The Lions, Mount Strachan, British Columbia, BC, Canada, Coast range

Tourist Office

Big White Ski Resort
PO Box 2039, Station R
Kelowna
British Columbia
Canada
V1X 4K5

Telephone: (250) 7653101
Email: bigwhite@bigwhite.com
Website: www.bigwhite.com

Description

The highest (and second largest) resort in British Columbia is known to local’s as the ‘Friendly Giant’. 55km from the regional airport in the town of Kelowna, this is the largest resort in the interior of British Columbia, with full-service facilities on site.

Review

The highest (and second largest) resort in British Columbia, Big White is known to locals as the ‘Friendly Giant’. Somewhat overshadowed in size and international reputation by its famous neighbour Whistler, Big White has been quietly growing in size and fame so that it now attracts discerning skiers and ‘boarders worldwide. Its twin track approach of offering the highest quality facilities and at the same time a terrain mix that has reached cult status is reminiscent of Crested Butte next to Aspen in Colorado. Rapidly expanding, Big White keeps adding new lodging to its extensive accommodation base, all slopeside and to its quota of high speed lifts.

A major natural asset is the abundant powder snowfall which averages more than 7.5 metres (24 feet) annually – this snow is said to fall regularly throughout the season,, rather than being confined to huge one-off dumps, so the two thirds of patrolled terrain that is left ungroomed has fresh powder more frequently than most. This factor underlies Big Whites reputation with advanced skiers and ‘boarders despite the fact that only just over a quarter of the terrain is graded advanced. The big snowfalls are also responsible for the creation of ‘snow ghosts’ a common feature in Japanese resorts but less well known elsewhere in the world. Heavy snowfalls literally cover up threes and the action of wind and freezing temperatures can transform them in to weird shapes creating a magical and surreal environment in which to ski or ‘board.

keywords

Big White Ski resort, BC, British Columbia, Kettle Valley, Monashees, Okanagan Valley, Canada

Tourist Office

Kimberley Alpine Resort
Box 555
Kimberley
British Columbia
Canada
TOL 1E0

Telephone: (403) 5333611
Website: www.skikimberley.com

Description

Full service ski-in resort located 2.5km (1.5 miles) from the ‘Bavarian’ town of Kimberley with its additional amenities. The resort offers a ticket refund if skiers don’t like the conditions after up to an hour on the slopes. There are 3km (2 miles) of floodlit cross country skiing trails.

Review

Kimberley ski resort is a full service ski-in resort located 2.5km (1.5 miles) – or a five minute drive – from the ‘Bavarian’ town of Kimberley with its additional amenities. The ski area has improved dramatically in the past few years with modern lifts, a big terrain expansion (more than 50%) and the creation of a base village. The original town of Kimberley is a now vibrant former mining-town with a rather surreal feel to it, thanks to the strong onus on Bavarian Germany in some of the bars, restaurants and shops. The crowning glory is Canada’s largest Cuckoo clock.

The ski resort is jointly owned (with about half a dozen other ski areas) by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies group, the relative proximity of Fernie and Kimberley (90 minutes drive apart) in the south East corner of British Columbia, has led to several UK tour operators offering the two as a joint package (rapidly expanding Intrawest resort Panorama and Big Mountain, south of the border in Montana, are all in the vicinity too, if you have transport).

keywords

Kimberley Alpine Resort, British Columbia, BC, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains, Rockies, Rockys, North Star, Canada, Purcells, East Kootenay

Tourist Office

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
1500 Kicking Horse Trail, Box 839
Golden
British Columbia
Canada
V0A 1H0

Telephone: (250) 4395425
Email: guestservices@kickinghorseresort.com
Website: www.kickinghorseresort.com

Description

The owners of Kicking Horse is the remarkable remake of the former Whitetooth resort. Installation of a POMA-built 8-passenger gondola with floor-to-ceiling glass and new quad chairs has given Kicking Horse the second biggest vertical in Canada. A new restaurant, the Eagle’s Eye, Canada’s highest, has been built at the gondola’s top station. Although most lodging and additional facilities are currently in the nearby town of Golden, more and more facilities are being added at the resort base.

Review

The owners of Kicking Horse have spent huge sums on a seven year project to transform the former provincial Whitetooth resort into a major destination resort with one of he biggest lift-served verticals in North America. Kicking Horse opened in 2000, the first ‘new’ Alpine resort in the Canada Rockies for 25 years. The project has proved highly successful with investors from all over the world snapping up property as its construction is announced.

The resort is located in the Golden Valley region of British Columbia in an area that embraces two rivers, three mountain ranges and six National Parks. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort offers a part of the Canadian wilderness that was previously only accessible by helicopter (or extremely athletic individuals).

On the mountain the renaissance began with the installation of a Poma-built eight-passenger gondola with floor-to-ceiling glass and the construction of additional quad chairs. These have given Kicking Horse the second biggest vertical in North America. A restaurant, the Eagle’s Eye, Canada’s highest, has been built at the gondola’s top station.

The resort is named after a kicking horse that is now famous in the Canadian West. The history goes that in 1858, the Imperial Government sent one John Palliser out to find a feasible route through the mountains for the railway. A geologist, named Sir James Hector, was among those on the expedition team.

Hector was camped out at the Great Divide when one of the team’s packhorses got loose and crossed the river. Sir James jumped into the water and swam after it, eventually rounding the horse up. While trying to tie it to a tree near his own horse, the two animals became enraged and started fighting. During the ruckus, Sir James suffered a vicious kick from his own steed. After recovering, Sir James explored the valley and discovered the pass that became the route through the mountains. IT was named Kicking Horse after the event that led to its discovery.

Build-out of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort will be completed in 2010 including 3,000 bed units – a mix of town homes, single family residences, condominium lodges, hotels and B&Bs – as well as a multitude of shops, bars, restaurants, other commercial amenities, additional terrain and a variety of recreational opportunities.

keywords

Golden Peaks, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Whitetooth, British Columbia, BC, Purcells