alison wong
Angel Diva
1st of all thanks everyone responded to my previous thread on LL ski trip from DC in Feb. (President's long weekend). There is a slight twist in my planning. It turns out my 14 year old nephew (from Hong Kong) would like to join me for the Feb. Ski trip. Now we are looking at the week before President's day weekend (i.e. Feb. 4th till Feb. 13th) because that's his school break for Chinese New Year. He would fly from HK to Canada. Reason we decided on Canada (instead of U.S.) is because Canada does not require visa for HK residents.
With that said, the 14-year-old will be traveling alone (parents don't ski) and it'd be better if he can get a direct flight (no transfers), so we thought about Vancouver, Whistler Blackcomb. Alternatively, we also thought about if my father can accompany him, we can consider Calgary (LL/Sunshine).
I consider myself as an adv. beginner at best (skied only in the east coast, VT, WV, and PA) and can manage easy blues at Killington, VT. For my 14 year-old nephew, he's skied in Zurich, Switzerland (school org. ski trip) twice past 2 years. He claimed he can do the intermediate runs in Switzerland (he can do the red runs in Swiss, which is equiv. of blues here per my nephew).
But realizing every resort has their own "definition" on the difficulty of terrains, I am a bit "skeptical" about his ability. After all, he's only skied twice in the same resort in Switzerland.
I read few reviews on both places and my main concern is the icy, rainy and unpredictable conditions in Whistler. Also it can get foggy there. Per a guy from a local ski club, the way Whistler is situated (in relations to the sun), it gets icy in lower half of the mtn. and good condition in the upper part. I can only speak for myself, with my ability, I am not sure if I can manage to go all the way to top and ski down.... If I stay in the lower part of the mtn., it is no fun to ski on icy conditions. So, it might be a waste to not able to experience the entire terrains?
As for LL/Sunshine, I thought it would be more reliable in terms of snow conditions and snow quality. However, I read few forums here and it seems not to be the case.
Here is my million $$ question:
Where do you recommend we shall go? If we go to LL/Banff, how many days do you recommend we shall ski? 2 days each for the tri area + kicking horse? Or only stick w/ LL and Sunshine because of our ability?
With our limited ability, can we take full adv. of what WB can offer if we go there?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!
With that said, the 14-year-old will be traveling alone (parents don't ski) and it'd be better if he can get a direct flight (no transfers), so we thought about Vancouver, Whistler Blackcomb. Alternatively, we also thought about if my father can accompany him, we can consider Calgary (LL/Sunshine).
I consider myself as an adv. beginner at best (skied only in the east coast, VT, WV, and PA) and can manage easy blues at Killington, VT. For my 14 year-old nephew, he's skied in Zurich, Switzerland (school org. ski trip) twice past 2 years. He claimed he can do the intermediate runs in Switzerland (he can do the red runs in Swiss, which is equiv. of blues here per my nephew).
But realizing every resort has their own "definition" on the difficulty of terrains, I am a bit "skeptical" about his ability. After all, he's only skied twice in the same resort in Switzerland.
I read few reviews on both places and my main concern is the icy, rainy and unpredictable conditions in Whistler. Also it can get foggy there. Per a guy from a local ski club, the way Whistler is situated (in relations to the sun), it gets icy in lower half of the mtn. and good condition in the upper part. I can only speak for myself, with my ability, I am not sure if I can manage to go all the way to top and ski down.... If I stay in the lower part of the mtn., it is no fun to ski on icy conditions. So, it might be a waste to not able to experience the entire terrains?
As for LL/Sunshine, I thought it would be more reliable in terms of snow conditions and snow quality. However, I read few forums here and it seems not to be the case.
Here is my million $$ question:
Where do you recommend we shall go? If we go to LL/Banff, how many days do you recommend we shall ski? 2 days each for the tri area + kicking horse? Or only stick w/ LL and Sunshine because of our ability?
With our limited ability, can we take full adv. of what WB can offer if we go there?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!