 Poster: A snowHead
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This might sound like a strange question but what is the best way to do Canada or America?
trips booked and sorted for this season but im toying with the idea of doing a trip to Canada, most of the time in europe we just book an entire package (Chalet, food, liftpass, flights, transfers and gear hire/carriage) is it set up the same way in North America? can you book a full package deal or is there always going to be a certain amount of sorting stuff out yourself. i only ask as the 2 (yes only 2) places i just checked prices on offered flights/accom only.
also given 10 to 14 days in North America where would you spend your money going?
Thanks in advance guys.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Canada: we used Frontier Ski but Inghams, Crystal etc do packages. Resort wise it depends on your ability etc but Banff/Lake Louise are good as is Whistler. We ski Revelstoke and Kicking Horse but those are more for the ability to cat or heli ski. There are also great ski safaris eg multi resorts (think Frontier do one)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ewanmalone, I always DIY. There's no problem getting accommodation at odd times, so you can get good midweek flight deals if you book long enough in advance. Resorts are smaller in North America, so for that period, I'd recommend going somewhere where there is a cluster of resorts (e.g. lake Tahoe, Colorado, Salt Lake City area…) and hire a car (which is cheap in the US).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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It depends what you want. UK tour operators do offer "package" deals, although it's very easy to sort things out yourself. Personally I've never used a package, but obviously some people like them. Tour operators will likely go to the main "destination" resorts only, and I think that's a shame.
Many North American resorts are small by Alpine comparison, and often people drive to them for the day. That doesn't work with package operators, who want to bus you to one place and keep you there. So everyone I know just sorts their own stuff out, and hire a car. That way you can drive around and ride different places. So for example if you want dry snow you'd maybe go to Utah, but a tour operator would leave you without transport in Park City, which is a small "destination resort". Me, I'd stay in SLC with a car, and drive to the local hills (I've also done that using the local busses). So I get to ride where the snow's best, and I can switch hills when I like.
Nothing in North America matches the scale of europe, so personally I'd not want to be in one place for 14 days. If you have to do that in Canada, then Banff (three hills), or Whistler (arguably two) are your best bets, but neither is particularly typical. Banff has drier and colder snow; Whistler more "night life" and more snow, but it's wet.
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My thoughts, just to add to what's been said:
1) DIY is the way forward
2) Catered options are nigh-on impossible to find. Eating out is varied and not too expensive, but budget for it.
3) Getting hold of a pint on the slopes is much harder in Canada than in Europe. Much, much harder!
4) Considering public transport options is a European mindset. It *will* be hard work. Rent a car, that's what North Americans do.
5) The terrain tends to be smaller, they work it by acres rather than kms of run. 17 days in done place is a long time, even in Whistler.
6) There're loads of varied resorts in Québec, Tremblant being the most famous. However, they're not particularly high, so don't expect Alpine-type scenery - go west for that. Québec works for shorter flights (5hr), cheaper flights and skiing and easy access to the resorts - they're also much better at clearing the roads than BC. However, choose when you go carefully - it can be *extremely* cold. I used to live in Montréal and -20C in the city in Jan wasn't an event.
7) For western destinations (BC) book chains with the cars - Vancouver doesn't see snow often and they don't have winter tyres. Once you're up to Whistler/Pemberton, you'll notice...
 Ski-passes tend to be daily so moseying around different resorts is easy enough and with no cost penalty.
9) If you rent skis, consider taking your own. Many resorts are owned in entirety by one company - even though there are loads of shops, the prices are fixed (high) throughout the resort. Or, rent outside the resort (say Squamish for Whistler, Saint Jovite for Tremblant) and chuck them in the back of the (invariably massive) rental car.
10) Enjoy.
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Echo all the above, particularly about Whistler - I went for a 2 week trip, had three storms blow through during that time. In one memorable night, we had 18 inches fall in the town during the evening, and we went to sleep eagerly anticipating the powder day to come, only to wake up to it all washed away in the morning!
The whole resort was set up around you having a car, so go with the flow and drive up - I loved the drive out of Vancouver up to Whistler.
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I've done it both ways - to Banff with Inghams and Jackson Hole DIY - and I'd definitely DIY in the future and hire a car. The buses act as a good back-up but aren't nearly as regular as in Europe, plus it's often FAR colder while you're waiting!
My big tip would be (if you're going to the US) to buy your ski pass in advance online. We got ours nearly half the price it would have been on the hill. A quick google will give you some options (can't remember who we used - possibly these guys? http://www.skisafariextras.com/lift-passes.aspx).
I can only speak for the above resorts, but would agree with philwig about the relatively small size of the resorts. We were in Banff for 2 weeks, and that was just the right amount of time to ski all three hills to death plus a trip to Nakiska (and we should have gone to Kicking Horse too!).
It's a totally different experience, but it's great. Enjoy!
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The whole resort was set up around you having a car, so go with the flow and drive up - I loved the drive out of Vancouver up to Whistler.
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One of the advantages of Whistler is that you DON'T need a car to get around the village, and as for getting there... personally I find the idea of driving from YVR to Whistler (after all day travelling, culminating in a 9.5 hour flight which arrives just as it's getting dark) as something I'd much rather leave to a transfer company (especially since the time taken to get through central Vancouver is about as long as you spend on the Sea-to-Sky).
Yes, this is one of the most stunningly scenic highways in the world (but not at night!), but to my mind it's most enjoyable when I'm sitting comfortably in the bus on the way back down to YVR to catch the flight home. (*Another great bus-ride is the ski-bus from Banff to Lake Louise, as is the continuation from LL to Jasper, along the Icefields Parkway).
On topic: I've many years of experience travelling to Canada/USA to ski, and have both used TOs and DIY-ed it. TOs offer you (relatively) hassle-free travel and some good deals, but come with the usual TO-associated annoyances (under-occupancy supplements, reps trying to sell you add-ons you don't want, charter flights whose departure times can be subject to sudden revision are all personal bugbears, and among the reasons I don't use them any more).
Like Stumbler says, Euro-style catered chalets are rare as hens teeth (but do exist at some resorts where TOs send a lot of UK skiers). Typically, however, hotels and condos are the norm. Remember a North American hotel room usually has two double-beds, and so will be rated as 4-person occupancy by a TO, with the inevitable supplement if you don't like the idea of sharing with two other people! However, as a DIYer, you pay a flat rate for the room. In some places having a car is handy (Lake Tahoe area resorts, for example). In others local transport and ski buses are just fine. All airports that srevice major ski resorts are themselves serviced by resort and/or hotel-specific shuttles, easily booked online and not too expensive. Many of the resorts have networks of local buses (often free) that shuttle people between accommodation and the hills. I' very seldom rent a car when I ski.
Get your ski-pass online and well in advance to get the benefit of discounts. At some resorts it may even be cheaper to buy a season's pass (Last year it was cheaper for me to buy a season's pass online for Winter Park, than to buy a 5-day pass).
Don't go for less than 10 days. Jet-lag's a b*gger! Remember that in some ski areas, altitude can be a problem: In Colorado, most of the resorts are high and altitude + jet-lag can seriously disturb your sleep patterns. Altitude can also sometimes be embarrassing: last year in Colorado I decided to apply sunscreen from a tube that hadn't been opened since I'd bought it in Heathrow - the reduced atmospheric pressure at 10,000 feet resulted in a premature ejaculation event that rather surprised the people sitting next to me at lunch.
Go at the right time of the year: In Canada, January can be perishing (especially in Banff and Quebec). March is a good time, especially since the snow-pack has had time to build through the year. Generally I find Canada more congenial than the US (less relentlessly commercial).
If you like the idea of taking in different ski areas and also taking a few days off, then Quebec is certainly worth considering: I'd certainly recommend visiting Quebec City, but otherwise, West is Best for big mountain skiing.
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FAQ
getting 4 seats to yourself longhaul is great 
