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Heyas,

 

I'm thinking of going skiing in Canada and am wondering if anyone can give me some advice on where to go. I've got loads of brochures and have done a lot of website reading but I'm having trouble finding any info beyond the usual travel agent garb.

 

Everyone I talk to raves on about Whistler but from what I gather it's Canada's version of Niseko. I'd prefer to go somewhere not too overidden with tourists but with lots of nice powder... I'd appreciate any advice!

 

Cheers,

Nic

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Canada's Niseko?? That is a very strange comparison. Whistler is 10 times the size of Niseko both on the mountain and off. It is very accessible from Vancouver, one of the largest cities in Canada, where Niseko is a flight and long bus ride from anywhere on Honshu. Maybe you have heard that comparison because they are both particularly good places to ski and snowboard. I love Whistler - or Blackcomb in particular - but it can get very crowded around holiday times. I have never been into the interior of BC, but you will probably want to look at places like the Big White region of the Okanagan or Fernie in the BC Rockies. Others here have been there I know.

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my best weekend of skiing ever was at Kicking Horse in BC. It may have been because it dumped more powder than I had ever seen before, or maybe because some locals that were training for the olympics showed me where to go off-piste... either way, it's an awesome mountain and I'd recommend it for sure.

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I've been to Fernie, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise. Fernie had awsome powder and nice steeps and was not too crowded when I went there. But again any place in the right conditions seems great I guess. Sunshine had some nice steeps as well but less powder (top is quite wind-swept) and icy. Lake louise had similar conditions as Sunshine. Both SV & LL have stunning views. Fernie is at a lower altitude than the others, so if you're unlucky and get a warm front coming in, you may get some rain...

Always wanted to go to Kicking Horse as it seems great on paper. From Kurisu's comments above it seems worth the trip for sure.

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I appreciate your advice guys \:\)

 

This Kicking Horse you speak of looks interesting... it was one that initially caught my eye but I dismissed it because I thought it might be too far out. How far is it from Calgary? I'm probably going to be travelling alone and I'm a bit unsure about doing the hire car thing by myself.

 

I'll check out Fernie since it seems slightly closer to the airport.

 

Fattwins, Castle Mountain is near Banff yeah?

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castle mountain in closer to fernie actually.

 

The resorts i put down are places where you get very few tourists. fernie has a ton of auzzies. Kicking horse isnt bad but its a kick azz mountain with a bit of hiking. Whitewater gets 450 plus inches of snowfall a year very cool place.

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Lake Louise is my home in the winter! I have been all over the Canadian Rockies and Louise is my favorite. You can always rely on the conditions to be decent (not great, not terrible, but always ATLEAST dedent). There's lots of variety in the terrain. Big White and Fernie are great too, EXPECIALLY after a dump.

Sunshine sucks! Also avoid Norquay, Fairmont and anything in the Kananaskis.

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Nads, I liked Sunshine! If you're from LL,maybe a bit of competition going on there between the resorts?

;\)

 

Do not know the ones FT mentionned but they sound interesting. I'll check them out on the net. In Rome do as the romans do! The ozies at Fernie did not bother me. A lot of good riders, skiers there with the right attitude. Probably different from the crowd you get in say Niseko...

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I've spent 3 months at blackcomb whistler and would recommend it to anyone. The 2 mountains rock with the number of runs and the variety of terrain. Also you can't beat the amount of vertical avaiable (approx 5,500ft). The lift lines are generally quite small as well. The village is outstanding and has some great restaurents, bars and nightclubs.

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I've only been to Whistler in Canada - just want to qualify my statement(s).

 

GO! \:D

 

What level of skier are you? Whistler, if you know where to look, is incredible. There is no way you can complain about the skiing/boarding or terrain there. Between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, you have almost every type of terrain in existence covered. Check out the backside off of the Peak Chair on Whistler and let me know if you believe in God or not \:D Some of the terrain off of the top of Blackcomb is pretty eek.gif itself!

 

I can understand not going to Whistler if you're looking for something quiet. From friend's experiences elsewhere in BC, I hear the skiing/boarding is fantastic. I look forward to sampling it myself. BC is the new Colorado.

 

Being an American, going to Whistler Village reminds me a bit of my time in Europe. Pedestrian Villages, fancy eateries, expensive shops, etc.... It's quite quaint but actually affordable for most of us.

 

Oh, and tons of eye candy and really cheap and good weed \:D 1/2 an 1/8th for 10 canadian???? Stoked!

 

Although my visit to the hospital did cost 450 Canadian mad.gif Nice looking nurse though! And she tellied!

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Plucky,

 

I have heard that Whistler is awesome, but yeah, looking for somewhere a little less packed in peak season.

 

I'm a decent skier but this will be my first ski trip after recovering from injury so I'll definitely be taking it easy!

 

By eye candy, do you mean lots of hot men? \:\)

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It depends on if you have a rent-a-car. Note that Canada/US rent-a-cars do not faciliate snow tires. If you have a rent-a-car at Nelson, you must enjoy various powder at WhiteWater, Red Mountain, and Fernie with a l'bt long drive. But if you do not want to have a rent-a-car, Whistler/Blackcomb or Banff/SV/LL would be the best. At Banff, you may buy one day bus excursion tour to Panorama. Panorama is a big ski resort, but no accomodation would be for short stay.

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the beauty of whistler is Mt Baker is super close(4hours) drive.

 

whistler kicks arse no matter what people say about the crowds (which can be gross) if its on then there aint no better.

 

baker is usually prety chill no lodging at the hill so its a really chill down home vibe... and when it's on OH My.

 

other than that you cant go wrong anywhere in BC if it's snowing.

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Ditto on Kicking Horse. Still trying to finagle a trip to KH in FEb with the boys, but the birth of my second son is making that a littel bit difficult logistically. Ive skied in several places on the west coast including Whistler ans this time chose KH becuase I hear that the powder and dependability is comparable to Niseko which is my stomping ground. Plus you have cat skiing helibaording and tons of offpiste so ive heard from people that swear by the mountain. Coming from Japan is also realtively easy if you fly via Vanc, transfer to Calg and then car it the 2.5 hours from there....

I think key is to get a guide for a day or two. Generally speakig the cost is negligible if you spread over a few guys/gals and they will show you all the good stuff right off the bat, so you dont waste half youre time there fishing around. Plus its safer. Defo get your helmet, beacon, shovel, snoshoes, probe, walkie/talkies polished before you go tho methinks.

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if you are recovering form an injury and want to be able to enjoy yourself and not ALWAYS ride heavy lines then kicking horse is not for you. it is a wicked area. i spent a season there and it is the best place i have ever skied. hands down and that includes whistler, banff, whitewater, japan, and the alps. but, as i said, if you are not in top form it is not worth your while. it is a little limited as far as mild terrian is concerned. they have been doing work to improve that in the past few years but they still have a lot of work to to.

i would suggest the banff area just for sheer variety. it has everything, and if you have a spare day you can always hop on the bus to golden. but if you are going there, wait until march. mid febuary at the earliest. that is when the chinooks start coming and the snow doesn't really start coming until then. before that it can be absolutely frigid. like -40C. that is not a joke! plus the night life is great in both banff and canmore. check out the rose and crown for live shows in both towns, and steak sandwich night at the barbary coast on sunday evening and thursday evening.

have fun, it is a great place

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I did 6 months in Whistler from March.

 

It has the full range of riding, from beginner to extreme, Trees, park, powder, awesome off piste.

 

The village is superfun.

 

The best thing about Whistler is that the fun goes on all year, take time to check out summer season, the mountain bike park is wicked! It also has one of the biggest skate parks in N. America. In fact there is more fun stuff on offer during the summer months, and the village is less crowded.

 

The down-side to winter, is it is getting very busy, especially with the olympic interest. Saying that....you can always find powder off piste even late in the day.

 

I did not ride anywhere else in Canada, but word on the street is Kicking horse, Golden, is the place to go.

 

Have fun!

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