Candaian Rockies Skiing

[Happy Feet]

I was out west Feb 1 through 9 and except for not seeing the sun, conditions were good - not great. They needed snow, but any real snow is better than the snow in the East (until today).

We started in Fernie, a fisrt time visit for us. It made a great first impresssion. A little something for everyone - glades, groomers, bowls. And an easy lift system. The only negatives, they need better dining options and a new day lodge.

Then on to Kickinghorse in Golden. Always a challenge and fun. They were about 100% open, although the ungroomed trails were getting knarlie due to lack of fresh snow.

Last but not least was Chattercreek for powder skiing from snowcats. A great experience. The flat light namde for more tree skiing than bowls, but total fun.

 

[cyn]

fernie and sunshine

We skied Fernie last March and loved it - although it was a much better snow year. Those five big bowls have something for everyone, including groomers for when you're getting tired, and we didn't have a single liftline, even though it was spring break there.
One place definitely worth checking out is Sunshine, Alberta. We were there a few years ago and it looks like we're going back in a few weeks. The base of the mountain is high - about 7,000 ft, so they always have more and better quality snow. When we went, we had tickets good for three area resorts, Sunshine, Lake Louise and Mt Norquay. We never got to Norquay (checked it out and it looked a bit smaller), but Lake Louise was nice.
The key is to stay in either Lake Louise or Banff and drive to Sunshine, which isn't far away. You park and take a gondola up to the base. There's a hotel up there, but I wouldn't want to stay there because you're kind of stuck in that one spot.
Sunshine has a lot of wide open bowl sking, the kind you get in Europe. There's another area, Goat's Eye, which has more trees, some extreme terrain (Delireum Dive) and is mostly black or double black.
Given this year's unpredictable snow conditions, we are hoping Sunshine is a safer bet.