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

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
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.


Bearing in mind they will be in Canada for 6 months, the "touring" doesn't need to be anywhere near as manic as you and others above have suggested. I was only suggesting that it's a viable option to spend a month or two in one resort e.g. Whistler and then perhaps take an internal flight or leisurely drive inland and spend some time at a few of the other resorts. That is quite different from being constantly on the road and weather forecasting is not really necessary if you are spending a month or more in any one place!

I do agree though that it would be considerably more expensive to move around than stay put in one place. All depends on what you want to get out of the trip. Do you want to see a variety of skiing and resort types or become fully immersed in the lifestyle of one specific resort? I would say the latter is a tad risky if you don't really know what any of the resorts are like. Eggs in one basket comes to mind.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
uktrailmonster, It's not really a risk though is it - it's Canada, it's pretty chilled out, the natives speak English, the biggest risk is that the kids end up saying aboot eh. Or the adults pick up a bad timbits habit.

The region getting skunked for the season is the biggest risk but that's not where touring particularly helps you.
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fatbob, 6 months is a long time if you don't get on with the place. But yeah, it's not exactly high risk if you are sold on Canada. Fernie wouldn't be my choice for a 6 month stint with very young kids, but that's just me. I'm not sure any of the Canadian resorts would hold my (or perhaps more importantly my 3 year old's) interest for that length of time, hence my suggestion of splitting it. How about 3 months in Fernie and then 3 months in Whistler? That's still a long time in one place. Anyway, that's my 2p worth for the OP to consider. If they like skiing and Canada, it's hardly going to be a chore regardless. But remember that small kids get bored easily. Our 3 year old was starting to get bored and homesick after a month in the mountains.
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Rod_will, yes I was there the entire season and stayed in alpine which north of whistler is on the number 1 bus route. Bus pass is $65 per month or a 6 month season pass is also available (check BC Transit page I'm pretty sure kids go free). I lived with 5 other people in a 3 bedroom house and our rent cost $2400 a month which was only around $100 per week per person. Ours was a basement flat under a main house which had a lot more rooms and people living there and although it was very clean it was pretty basic too. Obviously with it being whistler there are more expensive and nicer options out there but for me living in alpine was perfect as it was only about a 30 minute journey on the bus to whistler and once you get to know the bus timetable it's really easy to work around the bus times which come every 30 minutes at least but more at busy times like in the mornings and evenings.

gryphea, you are correct about the U30 visa and working with kids. At the border/airport they will ask you if you are going to be working with kids as you need a different type of visa to do this legally in Canada. Most people just say no and do it anyway and I don't know of anyone being caught to be honest.
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pcurran871,

Since a major scandal around 6 weeks ago they have tightened up considerably on all things temporary worker.
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uktrailmonster wrote:
How about 3 months in Fernie and then 3 months in Whistler?

I would think that's the worst of both worlds. Puzzled

First of all, the first 3 month will be low snow time for most resorts. So finally when there's enough depth to go off piste, you've got to leave to some place unfamiliar!

Quote:
Our 3 year old was starting to get bored and homesick after a month in the mountains

Moving to another mountain isn't going to cure the home sick part.

Seems to me, most 3 year old I knew can't tell one mountain from another. Either they like the skiing, or they don't.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

But remember that small kids get bored easily. Our 3 year old was starting to get bored and homesick after a month in the mountains.

I don't agree that small children get bored easily. Rather the reverse - what some kids find most difficult is being taken away from familiar surroundings, familiar routines and friends. Top priority, on arriving in a new place with small kids is to find some friends for them and settle into a bit of a regular routine. A long family holiday provides the ideal opportunity to spend plenty of good quality time with them - though most of that will not be up a mountain, of course but doing the usual home stuff - cooking together, building Lego, counting stuff, playdough, learning to ride a bike.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
abc wrote:
uktrailmonster wrote:
How about 3 months in Fernie and then 3 months in Whistler?

I would think that's the worst of both worlds. Puzzled


Yeah, be horrific
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pam w wrote:
Quote:

But remember that small kids get bored easily. Our 3 year old was starting to get bored and homesick after a month in the mountains.

I don't agree that small children get bored easily.


Our 3 year old has an attention span of a gerbil. She loves skiing, but she'd had enough by day 30 this season. The key would be to find alternative entertainment, especially for a 6 month stint. Can't see that happening in Fernie to be honest.

I'm not saying it's wrong to stay in a single resort, but it's definitely not the only option (or best option for everyone). I'm sure the OP can make up their own mind.
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Quote:

She loves skiing, but she'd had enough by day 30 this season.

well of course she had! she'd be bored if you took her swimming for 30 days too. Or shopping, or anything else. I just meant that moving to another resort wouldn't be the cure - as somebody else said, a 3 year old is not likely to find skiing in resort X any different from skiing in resort Y. 3 year olds like playing with other 3 year olds and doing a variety of stuff. I'd be bored with skiing after 30 days on the trot, too. Confused
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Been a long time leecher of info here, figured I give some feedback on this topic since I spent February past in Fernie.

Before heading out to Canada this year I had skied 1 week for past 6 years in various spots around the alps. The likes of PDS, Dolomites, EK and Milky Way. Could get down most reds and occasional blacks. Wasn't particularly good on fresh snow though - never got enough days to practice!

Big change from them resorts to Fernie but I knew what I was getting in to. I like Fernie but after the month there I struggle to see why all the locals are so chuffed with themselves. The average run length is maybe 4 miles with the longest at 5 I think. And boy is that a flat run. The impressive looking runs along the spine (the "fingers") require a long traverse that is not really intermediate friendly or actually marked. I enjoyed it but my gf did not! A lot of the chat in the short lived apres revolves around who knows the most obscure unofficially named runs and how to find them!

Its not a resort for learning to ski in my opinion. The step up from the limited flat lower mountain to the alpine is huge. Runs are rarely groomed. By the time I left and went skiing up in Sunshine Village in March I had forgotten what corduroy was like! I am now a lot better on fresh snow it must be said.

The bus service to the hill is in a clapped out school bus auto-man would complain about and overpriced. It should be part of the overpriced lift ticket. Town wise, deceptively little actually goes on. A late evening ramble down main street will only be interrupted by the rolling freight trains. All 120 carriages. There will be more empty bars and restaurants than full ones.

For 6 months/3 months/or 2 weeks a car is essential. Interior BC is not an easy place to get about without one.

The plus points are its proximity to other resorts. 2 hours away, Whitefish is excellent. No tax in Montana and way better all around value. You will meet many Canadians in Whitefish. The mountain has much better glades than than Fernie. Fernie is probably the worst resort I visited in Canada for runs between the trees. It has the potential if they cut some but I got the impression RCR are struggling to turn a profit. It does get great snow, no arguments there.


To make a long post short, go to Whistler!
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DammitJack, thanks for your honest feedback. We are looking at Whistler too. My only concerns are the costs of renting within the proximity of the resort, the lack of other resorts nearby and the crowds. Fernie appears to have a couple of resorts close by, as you mentioned, which we can visit if we get bored. We not huge on the après as it would be difficult with the kids. I do like long groomed pistes, which we would find in Whistler.... I am in two minds I have to admit. It appears I am able to buy a car, which we are planning on doing anyway, so mobility will not be an issue.

I am currently waiting for accommodation options in both resorts, and costs will probably ultimately determine which resort....
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Rod_will,
Just for guidance, I've rented a place for quite a few seasons in Whistler (and still do in conjunction with a friend for a weekend place). For 6 months + you can rent a proper place which is cheaper (http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/), otherwise you are trying to convince daily rental owners to rent you a place (this is what we normally do) - you are looking at about $3000 to $3500 per month for a 2 bedroom place in the vicinity of the village/north village/blackcomb. Whistler has had a string of good seasons which makes convincing someone to trade the potential higher nightly rent for a secure 4 months somewhat harder.
If you do end up there, with a family, personally I'd go for blackcomb. It is still convenient, but a bit more peaceful than being in the village.
Everywhere else (apart from the village/north village/blackcomb) will result in you needing to pay for the bus or get a car.

You don't strictly need a car if you are in whistler, but nice to have one - insurance is pretty pricey. Used cars are also strangely expensive in bc and you still have to pay 12% tax - thought it would be reduced with the sad demise of hst, but it wasn't. Might be easier to rent one long term, that's what we did when we moved here, though hadn't planned to so it cost a lot. With better planning we would have just rented on a monthly basis which quite a lot of companies do here. Also in Whistler/Fernie make sure it has proper winter tires.
Parking is very expensive in Whister, so if you end up there and have a car, make sure your apartment has a reserved spot (also don't get a huge car as they are generally small spots - big problem for my truck!)

In the european sense you will not really find long groomed runs in Whistler either, but really that's not why you go skiing in Canada (my son is just 5 and rips in the trees!)

Whistler is generally very quiet in the week, and even the weekend is quiet compared to some Euro resorts.
Whistler is probably as big as most of the other places combined, so not really a big deal that you are not so close to other places; you are also closer to Vancouver which mightbe nice later in the year.
(not trying to sell you one or the other- I'm sure both would be great, just pointing out our experience snowHead )
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