I love watching James!!!! I'd never consider Whistler anyway, but Yes, I have watched his videos many times. Great content, and very relevant. He reminds me of my situation: DH= James I =Laura.Here's a video that may or may not help, it definitely gave me a few ideas and I love his enthusiasm
-
Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.
Never been to Canada, driving up from the Southwest
- Thread starter badger
- Start date
elemmac
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm in this boat... EVERYBODY asked, "are you going to Whistler?" when I told them I was going to ski in B.C. last year. It got a bit comical that nobody knows anywhere else to ski in Canada.
If you need a little stoke for your trip… (or at least thats what I hope to provide to people that stumble upon my YouTube videos)…here’s my highlight reel from Feb 2025….
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Us Kiwi's do as well, its a really straightforward trip, just hop on the plane at Auckland, have dinner , go to sleep, wake up and you're basically landing at YVR .... easy peasy.Seem to be quite a few Aussies who make the trek across the Pacific fairly regularly.
Travel Life - 2025/2026 - Canada plans
All the juicy details in here. Crystal clan off to Apex again for the month of Jan, a few side trips to other hills to see friends. Accom - Booked Flights - Booked Seasons pass - Booked Rental car - Booked Hurry up and wait now !!!www.ski.com.au
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I did used to love Whistler but from what I've read and seen online it would'nt be the destination it once was for us.
If we do manage to go again we'd head out to Revy as we have friends there but we also have friends at Red as well, then there's Whitewater .... aaaargh to many choices !!
If we do manage to go again we'd head out to Revy as we have friends there but we also have friends at Red as well, then there's Whitewater .... aaaargh to many choices !!
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Its around 13hrs to Vancouver but its a night flight so thats a bonus (I'm a good sleeper) and around 15-16 hrs to Calgary.
Not sure which we'd do as we could fly direct to YVR then connect to Kelowna and visit Silverstar (our son worked there so I'd like to check it out) then get picked up by friends and drive over to Revy ...... no harm in dreaming.
We havent been to Whistler since 2014 so its been a long time between drinks, DH is thinking of going to Japan again though so I might have to wait.
The Sea to Sky highway reminds of NZ but on steriods !!
I think you meant there are 3.4L in a gallon... 20L would be a big jug of milk!
For Revelstoke or Whitewater, more towards Feb or early March would be better. Revelstoke and Whitewater are lower and it's not uncommon to have rain in town. Also most of the resorts in the Columbia range have more normal winter temps vs some resorts in the Rockies (ie Lake Louise, where the average annual temp is 3C). If you switch back to Lake Louise, then later March is better timing.
I skied at both Banff (Sunshine) and Lake Louise this past February. I loved Lake Louise despite the cold weather. (minus 14F, with a real feel of minus 22). The terrain is varied with great runs, both for those looking for a challenge and those who prefer the cruisers. One unpleasant surprise: There is no X-ray machine either at the ski area or in the town of Lake Louise After a fall, I needed an X-ray and had to go by ambulance to Banff, which is about an hour away. The ride cost me $585. There was only one doctor on duty and I spent over 8 hours in the ER waiting for my turn.
There hasn't been baby-catching services at the Banff hospital in awhile, now need to go to Canmore. Yes our ER can have long wait times, esp if you need an x-ray... I just made use of them a few weeks ago and it still took me 4 hours when there were only 3 of us in the ER.
Christy
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oof, that sounds unpleasant, Zee. To be fair though, it's going to be that kind of situation at many ski areas. Here in Washington State nearly all of our ski areas, and certainly the busiest ones, aren't near a town or a hospital, any I suspect this will be the case with many of the areas we are talking about in BC too. My neighbor broke his leg snowboarding at the closest ski area to Seattle; an ambulance came and got him and for reasons out of his control took him to the hospital that serves as the regional trauma center, where he laid on a gurney in the hallway for over 11 hours before he was seen. Also $585 for an hour ride in an ambulance is very cheap compared to the US.
Just saw this so maybe too late but here’s some general input on Cdn options. My home mountains are Lake Louise (‘Louise’) and Panorama (‘Pano’). Both can be amazing, depending on conditions of course, and have pros and cons. Louise has incredible views on a sunny day and classic runs including some amazing ‘backside’ runs. Find a local to give you advice or you may end up funnelling through the intermediate crowds for too long. I am biased towards Pano—it is not crowded at all and has great terrain (great fall lines on the groomers, great back bowls and challenging double blacks)—it advertises as the most terrain per skier anywhere and I would believe that. If you get lucky to have a midweek powder day, you can ski fresh tracks all day. Sunshine is another local favourite of many with generally better snow (only natural) and some good steeps (but in my opinion, generally less ideal terrain, especially some wonky fall lines and shorter runs). Revelstoke (Revy) is amazing for its huge snow, great tree runs and fall lines but too far for those of us from Alberta to ski except long weekends. February and first week of march are generally our sweet spot for weather/snow. The only school breaks of note during that time for Alberta/BC is Feb 13, 14,15,16 which tends to be busy though not compared to many American resorts. Your dollar will make things generally seem a bargain especially accommodation. If you want to splurge, an incredible experience is heli skiing (nearby all of the above resorts) or cat skiing (at Revy) which you can do as a single day at what is probably a fairly affordable price for your USD. Whistler is a different price point and experience (large mountain, tons of mountain village ambiance) and loads of snow. Rocky mtn snowpack (Louise, Pano) is much less than central BC (Revy, Nelson, Red Mountain) but many sunny days and way less moisture-coastal (Whistler) is most wet but also tons of snow.
DH rode a couple of days at Whitewater. Stayed in the in the old haunted part of the main hotel in Nelson. Loved it all. Whitewater's cafeteria is amazing and even has a cookbook. They had powder and he found the off piste terrain a blast. Like jackson hole but with more drops spread out through the trees. He also enjoyed the hot springs nearby. He went through Nelson to cat ski at Retallack. By then the snow was not that great. This was late Feb.
Come ski Jay with us! They do on par.
Just finishing up my trip to Banff, and I didn’t use cash at all except to tip my instructor. Everywhere is tap to pay, it’s super convenient! I always get a data plan from Airalo, $9 for 7 days and 3GB is enough for me and I can top up if needed. I always make sure to call people through wifi calling (e.g. FaceTime) and I don’t pick up calls to avoid roaming charges.
Lake Louise and Sunshine were both great. I loved not having to drive especially traveling solo, locals use the shuttle too! It snowed steadily this week so the roads are dicey. I skied with the ski hosts at Sunshine and Ski Friends at LL and it was a great way to learn about the mountains and runs! They kept telling me how warm it was (it was around -10C). Didn’t get to see much of the iconic views this time, I would definitely come back.
Lake Louise and Sunshine were both great. I loved not having to drive especially traveling solo, locals use the shuttle too! It snowed steadily this week so the roads are dicey. I skied with the ski hosts at Sunshine and Ski Friends at LL and it was a great way to learn about the mountains and runs! They kept telling me how warm it was (it was around -10C). Didn’t get to see much of the iconic views this time, I would definitely come back.
Glad you had so much fun. Lots of snow falling now in the Rockies…not always reliable this time of year so we are getting lucky. Glad you found the Ramen restaurant—a bit of a well kept secret. Generally cafeteria food at both Lake Louise and Sunshine are horrible quality and service (and can be crazy busy on weekends) and that is one of the better options for sure. There is also a decent sit down restaurant midway down the mountain (white horn bistro) and one in temple lodge (sawyers nook) both of which are not well marked. Downside is all three are table service so take too long on a powder day.
