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6 Month ski holiday for family with small kids. Is Fernie right choice?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
We kids aged 4 and 2 and plan to put them in a crèche in the morning whilst we ski. Afternoons will be for family. Is Fernie the right choice, or are there better places with medium term rentals, kids activities and awesome skiing in North America...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
It's a long flight with kids that age
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
peanuthead wrote:
It's a long flight with kids that age


Probably not an issue given he is going for 6 months.

Rod_will welcome to Snowheads snowHead Can't really help with your resort choice but there are others who know Fernie. Good luck, sounds like a great plan.
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Welcome to SNowheads Rod_will, I've never been to Fernie so can't comment on the resort but what I do know is that it's not easy to find long term accommodation there.

Whistler is much easier if you fancy there, please let me know if you want any help finding your home!
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Rod_will, I would imagine you'd be based in Fernie town, not at all convenient if the creche is there and you are skiing 30 minute away on the hill, assuming you mean afternoons on the hill, Is there a creche in Fernie?
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Rod_will, check out www.ourfernie.com for accomodation and childcare in the 'classifieds' section.
There's a forum on there too for you to ask the Locals any questions, they are a friendly bunch.
If you do get accomodation in the main Town of Fernie, it's only about 10 to 15 minutes away from the skiing, there is a regular bus if you have no car.
Fernie's a great place, there are definitely worse places to spend 6 months of your life.
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sarah wrote:
peanuthead wrote:
It's a long flight with kids that age


Probably not an issue given he is going for 6 months.

Rod_will welcome to Snowheads snowHead Can't really help with your resort choice but there are others who know Fernie. Good luck, sounds like a great plan.


Whao! Didn't pay attention to title. How are you managing 6 month skiing holiday with 2 kids including creche (I am making assuption you couldn't possibly be retired if ur kids are that young)?
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I think you would have a great time.

I would look at your childcare options and try and use in town daycare (thats the term here) , that way the kid may make proper friends and get to go to parties etc.

Fernie is a really good hill for beginners I reckon and for progressing beginners and one of the best for 4 yr olds as they do group lessons for that age I think
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I can't comment on Fernie but I have organised a similar trip with my wife and kids back in 05/06. My kids were 4 and 18 months old. In the end we chose to take an au pair for childcare as it worked out more flexible for us to ski and, i believe, cheaper. Our au-pair worked 8.30 til 4pm for five days a week plus two nights babysitting. She could ski the other two days. We paid her £65 per week, bought a lift pass, provided a room, food and involved her in many of the family trips we did like trips down to Annecy etc. we became a family of five instead of four. We asked her to work for us for the two months prior to leaving the UK to ensure she was the right girl. Although only 19 she was a mature minded Swiss girl. The only aspect of her age that was a problem was we couldnt get her insured on our car for a decent price but we just worked around that. We posted on aupair-world.net which is a German website in English. We had over 200 replies to our post, lots of skiers and chose the best after vetting etc. hope that helps. One tip, keep a diary. I reread mine last week and there was so many "firsts" I was reminded of, both family and skiing related. We skied 111 days and it was the best thing I've ever done
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Cynic wrote:
There once for short time it was very very cold.
. . . I know a girl like that . . .
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Backcountryboarder wrote:
Rod_will, check out www.ourfernie.com for accomodation and childcare in the 'classifieds' section.
There's a forum on there too for you to ask the Locals any questions, they are a friendly bunch.
If you do get accomodation in the main Town of Fernie, it's only about 10 to 15 minutes away from the skiing, there is a regular bus if you have no car.
Fernie's a great place, there are definitely worse places to spend 6 months of your life.


there's some good advice, but 15 mins driving in the car with 2 small kids to dress for skiing, load/unload, get parked at the hill, get back to the lift adds a considerable length of time. The bus might be an option if the timings work, but the schedule shows Fernie to the hill only till 11:30, then the hill to Fernie in the afternoon - season price $280 per person (doesn't mention childrens rates), and depending where you start from takes up to 30 mins, and doesn't start till date December. http://www.skifernie.com/getting-here/town-shuttle.aspx

Much as I loved Fernie, I wouldn't choose somewhere so far from the skiing with small children (although according to the website you can get on-hill daycare whcih might be a solution http://www.skifernie.com/news-and-info/childcare.aspx
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Thank you all for the welcome and great advice. I did not think of an au-pair, that is a great suggestion. Looking at what the child are costs, it may well be an excellent alternative. I did have a look at the distances between Fernie town and the resort and was happy to see it was only about 10km away, so time wise should not be a problem.

I do like the look of Whistler, but am worried it may be too commercial/busy in the peak season. We went there in autumn, so did not get a feel of how it handles capacity. There would definitely be more entertainment for the family....

I love the idea of a diary! Something so simple....

So now decisions to be made concerning other resorts, but I am pretty much there with Fernie....
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

you can get on-hill daycare whcih might be a solution

the point made by gryphea about the importance of the children having "proper friends", being invited to parties etc is important though, especially for the 4 year old. Many customers of the "on-hill" day care might be short-termers and it's sad having to say goodbye to your new best friend every week and having no friends near home.

Making friends with the other parents in town will also improve your own social lives, I would think, and give you a chance to experience living in Canada, not just on a ski hill.
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That was definitely our intention. The childcare on the mountain is ridiculously expensive and we felt that they would not be getting the type of education they need at that age. It would just be a play group, for want of a better word. We identified a school in town and have mailed them already.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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Rod_will, sounds good! The children (and you) will probably not want to go skiing every afternoon, by any means, and the drive to the hill might be a useful time for the little one to have a sleep.
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How old exactly is your 2 year old?
There are different rules in Canada for the carer ratio for <2.5, <3>5 etc..
This has a big impact on cost and availibility. Daycare for less than 2.5 is tricky anywhere.

No idea about Fernie, but I believe in Whistler proper daycare spots are hard enough to find even if you live there permanently.
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Thanks for the heads up stuarth. Our daughter turns 2 in Aug, so she will be less than 2.5..... I will try to phone the schools I saw and see what they have to say. (I see it is etiquette to bold a persons name in the forum... I have no idea how to do it, apologies...)
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Rod_will, just click on the forum name of the person you wish to put in bold.
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Hells Bells, it works, thanks Very Happy
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Backcountryboarder, do you know the administrators of www.ourfernie.com? It appears this website has been banned.
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I have just got back from another season in Whistler. Yes it does get busy during peak periods but when you are there for 6 months you can afford to take a few days off around the peak times to rest and then you have the quiet and best days to ski as much as you want with barely any lift lines. Also during peak periods there is so much extra to do off snow as whistler really likes to portray the family resort vibe. In terms of terrain, If you are an adventurous skiier you could ski whistler every day for 6 months and still find a line you have never skiied before. Even after 2 seasons I know i definitely have not skiied all of whistler. Daycare isnt hard to find in whistler and babysitters are even easier to find for evenings. Canadian law requires a special visa for international seasonnaires to work with kids but people do it anyway because they need the work. This is usually cheaper than a 'trained' babysitter and in my experience I dont know anyone who has had a problem with them. Fernie is a lot smaller and is also a lot quieter but apart from that I dont know a great deal more about the resort itself. It sounds like this holiday is your trip of a lifetime so I would definitely advise you to go to whistler. Also I think whistler kids starts from age 4 so that could be a option for your 4 year old.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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pcurran871 wrote:
Daycare isnt hard to find in whistler and babysitters are even easier to find for evenings. Canadian law requires a special visa for international seasonnaires to work with kids but people do it anyway because they need the work. This is usually cheaper than a 'trained' babysitter and in my experience[snip]... Also I think whistler kids starts from age 4 so that could be a option for your 4 year old.


Are you sure?
I recall a while back it was quite a big thing for the Whistler locals that there is not adequate daycare in Whistler. Maybe things are better now, but as I said under 2.5 is a little tricky anywhere (hard to find a decent place in (North) Vancouver unless you register v. early), remember it being really hard when we looked in Calgary...
We have also used nannies in Whistler once. Worked quite well but that was only for a few days.

Whistler kids starts from 3. Its a good enough option, but perhaps a little tough on the kids puting them in everyday and certainly isn't a pre-school. LittleH_mk1 was in the weekend program and really didn't get on with it all that well, so we just free-skied this year.
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Rod_will,
Whether you end up in Whistler or Fernie, the following may help...

http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/parents.htm
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2009/Parents'_guide_child_care.pdf
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stuarth, thank you, this is great.

pcurran871, did you go for the entire season? Did you stay in the resort, and what sort of rental did you pay?
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Fernie is a great little town and imo far far better than Whistler for what you are intending. However and it's a big but

1 You will almost certainly need a car
2 Staying on hill isn't really an option as all amenities are in town
3 You already need to be pretty handy as adults to get the best out of the skiing. Groomer city it ain't.

The pool is good, hockey is fun, and there is a cosmopolitan enough mix of people to develop a mild social network which would be more challenging somewhere like Whistler. Probably pretty easy to find casual babysitters fron the non stop Brit contingent or long stay hostellers too.
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Rod_will, sorry, i don't know the administrators of www.ourfernie.com, the website is working fine for me.
My Brother and I have been regular visitors to Fernie for about a decade now and it's a website we were made aware of by a couple of Locals with regard to general info about Fernie. Can't see why it would be blocked or banned. Try www.fernie.com and www.tourismfernie.com as well, they may also be of help to you.

I'll keep my eye out for other sources of info for you. We're back out to Fernie ourselves the last weekend of January 2014 for 2 weeks.
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For a 6 month trip I would tour rather than stay in any single resort. You could easily take your pick of half a dozen or more great Canadian resorts in that time. For example you could start off in Whistler, head inland through BC and on into Alberta finishing up in Banff. Although travelling with young kids can be a challenge, 6 months is a long time to spend in one place when there are so many great places to explore.
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Quote:

6 months is a long time to spend in one place when there are so many great places to explore.

couldn't agree less! Little children are really not that keen on being constantly uprooted and left with a succession of different carers. It's also good to really get to know a place, make some friends, begin to feel part of the scenery. I travelled with young children - two small boys to Kenya and Barbados, then settling with 3 kids back into the UK. Finding suitable accommodation, nurseries/schools, making some friends for them (and us) to play with is all a challenge and takes time. That was work, not holiday, but the kids don't know the difference!
.
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uktrailmonster wrote:
For a 6 month trip I would tour rather than stay in any single resort. 6 months is a long time to spend in one place when there are so many great places to explore.

I used to think that way. Not any more. I've found there's much greater value in staying put...

There's a big difference between a visitor and a local, even if a temporary one. You get to know the place inside out, in different conditions. And you typically get to know some other locals and have skiing buddies.

And you can still change thing up by making occasional short trips to neighbouring mountains. But rather than changing hotels every week (or even 2 weeks), you get to be in the "comfort" of your season-long base.

If I only have a few weeks, which isn't long enough to become familiar with any one place anyway, I might as well keep on moving and sampling. But not for 6 months. That's a LOOOONG time on the road!
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Rod_will, Check with the child care people in resort as there are some strange rules to be found in BC one of the ski resorts has a rule that says the max number of hours that any child under 3 can be in their care is 40hrs in 30 days. Phone them up and find out! !!
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uktrailmonster wrote:
For a 6 month trip I would tour rather than stay in any single resort.


Assuming you've unlimited budget, psychic abilities re weather forecast and are unencumbered road warriors not shy of a six hour drive in a blizzard after skiing.

It works for a 2-3 week trip but the economics get really screwy over an extended period as you're paying short stay rates repeatedly for everything. Definitely not for a family.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
fatbob wrote:
uktrailmonster wrote:
For a 6 month trip I would tour rather than stay in any single resort.


Assuming you've unlimited budget, psychic abilities re weather forecast and are unencumbered road warriors not shy of a six hour drive in a blizzard after skiing.

It works for a 2-3 week trip but the economics get really screwy over an extended period as you're paying short stay rates repeatedly for everything. Definitely not for a family.


Indeed another vote for staying put (and I've done two seasons in Whistler staying put before kids!).
Living in a ski resort in Canada is not the same as living in Canada, and both are different to a 3 week holiday skiing or touring in Canada!
We have a lot of friends in Canada that we knew from our time in Whistler, we wouldn't have got that from moving around (and yes I've done the touring round BC thing a bit too snowHead )
As stated above, imho being in a resort for a season it is not like being on holiday, somethimes (it might be hard to believe!! Shocked ) you just want to not go skiing and chill out, catch up with friends for a beer, go for a walk, etc... and knowing the place and the people rather than rushing around the country is a nice thing to be able to do.
We now have two kids and relocate to Whistler most weekends in the Winter; it's definitely a first world problem, but this gets quite tiring even though we can double up on stuff at home and in Whistler (and I've got an F150 to try and make it easier!)

Oh and another bit of advice - leave before spring/summer or you will never want to leave wink
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I started planning our family season about 20 months before leaving for the alps, researching towns, accomodation, saving cash, renting my house, storing furniture, sorting work sabbatical and then driving down. When we got to the end of April I really wanted to see the other half of the year out, summer was coming and it was exciting. I'd made all these tricky arrangments and most of them set me up to stay. If I was doing this all again I'd stay for the summer. Many émigrés we met said winter brought them to the mountains but summer keeps them there. It was my one and only regret that we came home on the last day of April 2006.
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Quote:

Many émigrés we met said winter brought them to the mountains but summer keeps them there.

I can understand that, now that I've spent a lot of time out in the mountains in late spring, summer and indeed Autumn. If I was forced to restrict my visits to one season only, it would probably be summer!
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Thank you all for the awesome insight and recommendations.

Our primary objective for this holiday is to ski. We are from South Africa and never see snow, so we want to get as much in as possible. Unfortunately our visa allows a max stay of 6 months, so we will only stay for this season. We have been to Canada in autumn and it is stunning, but we are not yet ready to emigrate.

Child care seems to be a slight problem. I have phoned two schools and read the marketing material on the websites of the childcare facilities. It is hectically expensive, so an au pair is looking to be a cheaper and far better alternative. It looks like my child's teacher from earlier this year is available to au pair and she may do so for a very reasonable rate (we will pay airfares, ski hire etc etc). It all looks like it is coming together Smile.

Choices are now with regards to resort (Fernie is looking the best option at present) and finding a house to stay in.

We are getting very excited, I have to admit. It is so far away, I just wish it would hurry up now!!
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You may have to check you can employ an au pair legally, in Europe it's delightfully easy but possibly more restrictive from an employment law perspective in Canada. It may be easiest to employ a Canadian au pair but I'm sure others will advise on this
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Frosty, Agree

The au pair will need a work visa, ie a legal right to work in Canada. Fine if they have one; if not they could well get turned away at entry point. In order to have one she would have to come with her own work visa, ie a bunac type visa for U 30s. Even then I suspect they prevent you from working with children unless you have a medical (that is the case with all work visas, even open ones)

Canada is really tightening up on temporary workers following some scandals involving outsourcing etc. so I would be careful about this
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PS

You may want to explore 'dayhomes'. These are equivalent to childminders in the UK. Have you seen the Fernie Childcare society?
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