Whitewater BC, worth the yomp?

A snowHead

Planning a trip to Revelstoke this coming season and piecing together likely road trips, I have been recommended Nelson on several occasions but not sure how much the "culture" there has coloured the opinion of the skiing. Anyone been recently?

A snowHead

Not recently but it is a nice little hill with some spectacular road laps to be skied if you have the gear and knowledge. Red is definitely also worth a visit if you are going to be down that way.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

OK, what sort of vert are you clocking per lap?

Never heard of Red but googling hard now.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Red: my mate used to be their marketing manager, he'll be gutted.

I'd wait and see where the best snow is, and head there. Revelstoke is a good place to start with. Early last season you'd have wanted to head a bit west or north for the snow: south wasn't the correct direction. This season.. who knows.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

http://backcountryskiingcanada.com/whitewater

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Dave of the Marmottes, Good link. The trouble with this sort of site is that they ALL sound completely compelling and I want to hit 'em all.
I'm guessing you are in Canada, bobbing around at the top of my bucket is Rogers Pass for few days, have you any good experiences with IFMGA guides?

I know guides have to be of a certain standard with interpersonal skills generally being a prerequisite but I have been with a few autocratic so and so's in the past, it's always good to cross reference.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

No I'm not unfortunately but Phil will probably know someone.

After all it is free

When I was a kid we called it UIAGM,

These guys I know, and I've ridden a lot of powder with Crosby: http://altusmountainguides.com/

The Canadian approach to guiding is a very good thing, in my view. There is considerable politics and history. The best guides in BC tend to be also fully qualified (L3 or better) ski instructors which works well with guided parties. I have not encountered autocracy, willy-waving, or incompetence in North America. That means if it's not safe you're not going to ride it, of course. The other thing to bear in mind is that this is BC, the land of customer service. They do their best to get you to tip, which is expected unless there's a problem.

It's a fairly small community but a fairly large area, so chances are I know someone in most places, but you'd need to tell me where you're looking and then I could ask around.

That said, it's Canada, so your guiding needs may not be what you think. Apologies if this is obvious, but if you want to ride off-piste alone, then any North American resort is good for that as anything in-bounds and open is patrolled and controlled. If you just want a "locals angle" on a place like Whistler then you can buy assistance for that without paying for the full IFMGA deal. In Whistler most of that stuff is owned by the resort (eg Extremely Canadian). That said, they are good and they employ good local skiers/ boarders including world class names.

Where you go on your road trips should depend on conditions. Revelstoke, Whitewater and Red Mtn are all great with new snow, and lousy without, due to limited cruising terrain and/or some slow lifts. If 'stoke is your base and its cruising conditions, make day trips to Sun Peaks, Big White or my favorite in that region, Silver Star. These are more family-oriented but don't let that deter you; if its time to go fast that's where you want to be. They are also a bit closer to 'stoke than Red/WW (Fernie is pretty good too, but further) and 'stoke is pretty limited unless it has dumped. I hope you get great conditions but I think 'stoke is overrated, frankly.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

As @Scooter says, Whitewater and Red are both excellent with new snow. Last time I was at both (which was a long time ago unfortunately) we had lots of fresh and both were great, but you'd soon tire of them if there wasn't. Fernie has a wider mix of terrain to keep you interested IMO if it's not snowed, and some good side country too. There is also some good touring off the Salmo Creston pass summit too from memory.

Finally, someone may come on here to defend Kimberley but I'd avoid, was distinctly underwhelmed compared to the resorts around it and felt like it got much less snow too.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

BTW if you go to Revelstoke, the Best Western was a great mid-price place to stay....new and has a nice outdoor hot tub.

snow reports

Kimberly: it's a strange little town, a while since I was there, but if I'm driving through then it's worth a day, like most of these places. Today would be good - 20cm fresh in the last day, and not a tourist in sight I'd expect.

As above, although like anywhere, you need to visit when the snow's good... but that's where BC actually works well as if there's no snow in one place then you can just drive, albeit possibly some considerable distance, and conditions are totally different.

I like Silver Star a lot too. It's not completely undeveloped (like some "secret" spots), so it's easy to get fancy lodgings, but at the same time you can generally just turn up and it's not crowded. Plus the tourists there aren't generally hard core. The "cool" crowd are all down in Fernie or over in Golden where they've been told to go. Downsides include lack of a range of restaurants etc; it's more "home style" than haute cuisine.

Revelstoke as stated needs snow, but it is in the right place for that.

Broadly: go south west and it gets wetter. Go north east and it gets drier.

Kimberley is all constant pitch fall line stuff. Some great trees if there's pow and a screaming groomer on the frontside that you can tear top to bottom if you are there early or late enough and don't mind being overtaken by paralympians going Mach Schnell on one leg or blind.

You know it makes sense.

Some interesting stuff - philwig, Thanks for the info on Kimberley, we're stopping off for a day there during our trip and wondered how it might compare. I have heard that its strange town before, but for a night and 1 days skiing it should be ok.

Also love Silver Star for its quietness and unique buildings wink

Last time we were there we had around 18" of fresh which made for fun times.

Loved Whitewater and planning some time there too along the way again. But can see that its not the best without good snow. So to answer the OP yes its worth the trip if the conditions are good - but if you're having good conditions anywhere is good Smile

Scooter in Seattle, the BW in Revelstoke is expensive in comparison to others, we use them when competitive. Theres cheaper and places that are just as good( with outdoor HT )or better, in Revelstoke.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Just stumbled on this thread, I'm in Silverstar for 3-19/1/17 staying with my brother and his wife who have an apartment there. Bro has suggested a day trip to Revelstoke already, any other suggestions nearby? The snow looks ok so far
http://www.skisilverstar.com/my-mountain-info/mountain-conditions/snow-report but this apparently isn't as good as it normally is.
Would be good to meet up with others.

A snowHead

A snowHead

You should be fine coverage-wise by the time you get there; SS doesn't get big dumps of cement that provide quick coverage, so it can take a while to get everything open....especially the often-groomed steep blacks off the Powder Gulch chair that really set SS apart from most areas in the west. Good you'll be in an apartment; philwig had it right above, the dining is pretty lame, although the lone on-hill restaurant is quite good and well-located. You can compare their cinnamon buns with those of BW and SP, apparently a regional specialty in the Okanagan! Yes, try Revelstoke on a pow day. Different than the other three, big time. I love SS, but it isn't huge, so you'll want to check the others out.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Whitewater BC, worth the yomp?

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