Skiing in Canada
 

Hi

Can anyone recommend a really good Canadian resort to go skiing in. Hubby is intermediate, myself and 4 year old son are complete beginners. Looking for family friendly resort with private or group lessons plus plenty of other activities ie ice skating, swimming, bowling, etc.

Have trawled numerous brochures but got fed up trying to work out whether 4 year old could get lessons or not.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Scotschick

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

I am no expert but it depends on where in canada you want to go.I live in Southern Ontario and we have 4 snow hills near us i think they all have websites.Mount st louis moonstone,snowvalley,Horseshoe valley and Blue mountain ,i know blue mountain is a resort but dont know what they have

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

I would recommend Silver Star or Big White, both in BC or Lake Louise, near Banff in Alberta.

http://www.skisilverstar.com/
http://www.bigwhite.com/
http://www.skilouise.com/

Have fun you lucky bums! :)

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

In addition to those mentioned above there is also Sunshine Village that is only 8 KM west of the town of Banff.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

most definitely banff!!!!


we had never skiied before aand so in 2002 it was a toss up between bulgaria for 1 week half board or banff room only for a week....its a no brainer isnt it!!

it was a wonderful week and we signed up for 3 day ski school and skiied at a different resort everyday lake louise , norquay and sunshine village. we had a great time the instructors were great and the slopes were wide powdery and un crowded...........you'll have a fab time. the programme for kids seemed brill, all the kids were fast and fearless and they were a kindergaten class.

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

Hi, we have been to Whistler about 10 times at least, we love it there. You stay right on the mountain and it is not too cold, with loads to do there. But saying that, we haven't come across a Canadian resort we don't like. Banff area is great, depends on what month you are going, how cold can you stand to be. Do you want to travel to the slopes ? If you are a fair weather person and don't like much under about minus 8 stick with all singing and all dancing Whistler, but a little pricey.

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

If you base yourselves in Banff, you can ski Sunshine, Lake Louise and Norquay, as liz&jon said. There is a Tri-Area Lift Ticket that facilitates this arrangement. But, except for Sunshine Inn, which I understand feels isolated at night, there is no ski-in / ski-out accommodation in the Banff / Lake Louise area.

If you want ski-in / ski-out accommodation, you can consider Fernie, Panorama or Kicking Horse Resort in the Kootenay Rockies region of British Columbia. That's at the eastern end of BC, and the airport from which you would access those resorts is Calgary. Both resorts offer skiing lessons for little kids.

Resorts that already have been mentioned, Silver Star near Vernon and Big White near Kelowna, along with Sun Peaks near Kamloops, are in the interior of BC. They all have ski-in / ski-out accommodation and lessons for small children.

Whistler near Vancouver has ski-in / ski-out accommodation. I have heard, but do not know from personal experience, that Whistler has more runs for expert skiers and fewer runs for beginners.

Here is a website that has information on all the ski resorts in the Canadian Rockies. (Whistler is not included, since it's not in the Rockies.)

I have heard (but again do not have personal experience of this) that Kicking Horse Resort, near Golden, BC (about an hour west of Lake Louise, 2 hours west of Banff, and 3.5 hours west of Calgary) is very good. Being new, it apparently has not yet been "discovered" to the extent that the other resorts have been.

Mont Tremblant in Quebec is the subject of many discussions on Internet travel forums, but I don't know anything about it.

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

My favourite subject :D :D :D!!!


Last month I skied in Jasper, Alberta, a gem of a resort located 5 - 6 hours drive from Calgary Airport. The ski hill is called Marmot Basin http://www.skimarmot.com and is located 30 mins away from the town of Jasper. There were runs for all abilities all over the mountain, when I was there the slopes were beautifully quiet, and the ski school was excellent with friendly instructors and small group sizes. I loved the peaceful, beautiful surroundings and the community feel of the town. There is also an aquatic centre in town, an ice rink, ice walks at Maligne Canyon and plenty of other activities...and lots of restaurants to choose from! Also check out the Bear's Paw Bakery (yum!). I stayed at the Astoria Hotel on Connaught Drive (the main street) and would highly recommend it.

2 years ago I spent a winter season in Panorama, BC http://www.panoramaresort.com/mountain/index.htm . Pano is ski-in ski-out but feels artificial due to Intrawest's involvement. The nearest town, Invermere, is 30 mins drive away from the ski hill and hotels, and apart from a couple of restaurants and a bar there is nothing else up in the resort to do and you feel very trapped. The snowmobiling at Paradise Bowl by Toby Creek Adventures is great, but apart from that and the skiing it's very limited. Pano is a 4 hour drive from Calgary Airport.

Kimberley http://www.skikimberley.com/kimberley_alpine/ , also in Southeastern BC is another ski-in ski-out resort, with the town of Kimberley 5 mins drive away from ski hill and hotels. Kimberley has a more personal, friendly feel than Pano and it's where I learnt to ski. A nice little resort which is about 5 hours from Calgary Airport.

Personally I far prefer Jasper, but it depends on your holiday priorities I guess.

Any more questions on any of the above then just feel free to drop me a PM or reply on here. ;)

Skiing in Canada is awesome wherever you choose! :D

Adele xx

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

Has anyone tried the Apex Mountain Resort for skiing? http://www.apexresort.com/

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

Yes!!!! Mont Tremblant is very cool. I live very near the resort and it is fantastic. It is becoming a popular and cheaper alternative to the more established resorts.

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

This is one of my favourite subjects too... :D

I can't add much to the discussion. I have skied at Whistler and Banff. I would say that the skiing is better at Whistler than Banff. However, you will pay more to ski at Whistler. Hopefully some time soon the ski resorts around Banff will be my local ski hills.. :D

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

I would suggest basing yourselves in Banff. Then you have Norquay, Sunshine and Louise at hand, along with the other activities you mention.

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

All the resorts mentioned are world class. However if 2 of you are complete beginners then apart from great scenery most of these resorts are out of your league and you won't get the benefit of them. All Canadian resorts will have good childcare and lessons.

If you are coming from the UK I would strongly recommend Tremblant. It is a closer flight (to Montreal); less than 90 minute transfer; only 5 hour time difference and a great ski in/out resort where you won't need a car or a bus. The ski school is excellent and has a lot of young British instructors which I know my kids loved. The mountain itself has plenty to offer an intermediate for a week's holiday but at the same time has runs all over the mountain that you will be skiing within a week.

Have fun!
Gordon

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

Haven't been to Tremblant, but I am 46 years old and a slow learner, but after just two 2-hour lessons at the Olympic Park I found I could start to manage some of the greens at Sunshine. You can graduate to the mountains as soon as you can manage snowplough turns. I love Sunshine now and since starting at the beginning of the season have been 4 times and am reasonably confident on most greens there. There are also plenty of intermediate and black runs for the more adventurous.

I have heard that Lake Louise green runs are more difficult than Sunshine (this was from a couple of Lake Louise instructors we were chatting to in the Gondola at Banff). They said all the runs tended to be more "interesting" at Lake Louise!!

I'm not sure that ski in / ski out is that important for a complete beginner (you can't ski anyway!!) :D

Re: Skiing in Canada
 

Hi Everyone

Thanks so much for all your useful info.

Now we are going to have fun deciding which one to go to :D

Scotschick