 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Not been over the pond for a few years (last went to Colorado and skied Breck, Vail, Keystone which were great in terms of skiing) and we're looking at possibly going again.
I know we won't get the Great European type apres, but to be honest we're at the stage now where a good meal and a few beers are fine, followed swiftly by copious amounts of sleep!!
Two resorts I have read a bit about and which both offer ski in / ski out and reasonably good selection of shops, bars, restaurants etc are The Canyons in Utah, and Big White in Canada, does anyone have any recent experience of either resort, any advice would be welcome, ta.
PS we're a couple, pretty good piste skiers (20 years) and a little off piste...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@neilkav, big white is great skiing but very few shops a few restaurants and only 1 bar that I can recall. We went to sun peaks this year, much better choice of restaurants
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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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Hi
We went to Big White a couple of years back. Arranged our condo via owners direct and yes, most accommodation is ski in/out. Ski area is a decent size and scenery is like nothing else - 'snow ghosts' for example !! Only one word of caution, it's called 'big white' for a reason and the locals refer to it as 'big white-out', we were there in march expecting spring like blue skies every day but 3 days were total white-outs, which was a real shame as when it did clear the place was fantastic. We were there accidentally during what was the local region school holidays, and to be honest most of the slopes were empty and we never waited for a single lift or waited to eat anywhere. The village is small an compact but it has everything you need, few nice restaurants, couple of low-key bars and a supermarket.
We loved and would go back as part of a two-centre only because of the possibility if white-outs, most locals we spoke to (which are quite hard to find as EVERYONE there seems to be either Australian or a kiwi?) said that sun peaks is now of similar size and does not suffer so much from white-outs, you might wanna check that out, also ski in/out.....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Can't say re Canyons, but as above, Big White can be (in my experience) foggy (though the locals sweear it's not and the online weather guides must tell the truth).
There's not much in the way of apres ski (though that sounds OK for you).
It's also pretty easy skiing - there are one or two double diamond blacks which are blacks - steep, narrow, icy and littered with big boulders - but the rest are reds (IMO) and the single diamond (reds) are blues etc. You can ski the whole place, everything, in three days, probably two.
On the plus side:
When the weather is good it is stunning.
It's all in the trees so in everything but a whiteout you're fine.
If you are a decent intermediate level skier, or travelling with intermediates/beginners, it's perfect. And the scenery means you won't get bored on those runs - at least I didn't (in 14 days).
It's not far from Kelowna, so the transfer is a piece of cake.
It's all ski-in ski-out (and lots of very high quality condos).
The off piste is very good (and you can go cat skiing on the other side of the mountain).
It's traffic-free.
The tubing is fantastic fun, they do lots of fun stuff and giveaways like chocolate down at the ice rink.
The ski school is the best I've ever seen anywhere (whether dealing with first time kids, nervous adults or good skiers who want to get better).
There's lots of night skiing, and when we went it was pretty empty. It wasn't busy during the day, either - no queuing at all. I had one day when I had to take a work phone call in the middle of the piste and after I finsihed the call I sat there and enjoyed the silence for ages. Wife and kids were in lessons, not a soul there, can't be quiet like it anywhere outside Alaska or similar.
Long story short, we're going to go back en famille, but I wouldn't go with mates.
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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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@neilkav, You would be better to stay at Park City rather than the Canyons - not ski in/out but plenty of shops, bars and restaurants for you. Its easy to ski either Park City or The Canyons and Deer Valley too from there is you wish.
Canyons is a purpose built base area, limited shops and bars there, bit like Big White really, and the base area is up the mountain slightly rather than at valley floor level. From your level of skiing you would probably get bored quickly at Canyons too, if you based yourselves at Park City there are shuttles to the other local areas giving more scope and variety. If you have a vehicle you could hit the Cottonwoods which is far better skiing imho, though obviously lacking in the Apres dept.
We tend to stay downtown SLC and drive to wherever, giving much more variety - have skied all you mention over the years, and keep returning at the moment to Utah. When are you going and how long for ?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Wow all thank you so much for the quick replies, I can see the point re Big White and white outs, that would be a shame, but both resorts do sound great if we got the weather, that's the gamble I suppose. Always wanted to try big White, now looks like Sun peaks is on the list too....
@Bones, Hi, thanks for the info on Utah, again Ive read up about the option of staying in Park City or even SLC but we are dreadful when it comes to faffing about with carrying skis etc, and love places where we can just clip in and go. Might still opt for Park, tho, as you say some brilliant resorts to try all around and lots of variety.
We're thinking Late January for a week maybe 10 days? Any advice on dates...I know we have to avoid the sundance film festival so as we're flexible I would definitely book away from those dates.
Anyone any info on flights, it seems that SLC is only available from Heathrow, and Kelowna, well I cant find anything on skyscanner??
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Kelowna is an internal flight. Connect from vancouver
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If you're looking at Big White it's also worth considering doing a two-centre with neighbouring Silver Star - also all ski-in, ski-out, but a bit different in character. They're both only about an hour from Kelowna airport, so logistically it's quite easy to do without losing a day's skiing.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@neilkav, IF you can get accommodation sorted then Sundance festival would be ok, as the slopes will be empty  Just after the festival might be better than early Jan, but you takes your chances any time with the snow.
Flights to SLC - no direct flights in to SLC you have to go via another gateway airport, so you don't have to use Heathrow. Delta are one of the main airlines into SLC and I would think you could get a flight from Manchester, as you are at Warrington. I'd get as far west as you can on international flight as the internals aren't as good, so the shortest internal transfer 
Cheapest flights are usually weekdays rather than the weekend, and if DIYing and can get the time off, this wont be a problem - we usually fly out Thursdays return Mondays, what you save pays for the hotel there for the extra days and then some usually.
You would need an internal flight also to get to Kelowna, via Calgary or Vancouver. Its about an hour to Big White (nicknamed Big Whiteout ) from Kelowna, and if looking at Sun Peaks Kamloops is closer, if you can get a flight into there. BC in January will probably be cold and again you may or may not get lucky with snow. The year we were there they had a snow drought all through Jan. and the best powder that year in Feb. when we arrived 
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Totally different places - Canyons and Park City are effectively part of a fair sized US urban area albeit with lots of cutesy resort style amenities. As such they have stuff like a big Walmart, outlet mall just down the road (at the ski jumps). Plus you can drive for a day out at other places e.g. Snowbasin, Altabird.
Big Whiteout is an Aussie dominated destination resort. So once you're there you're there. No problem if you're used to the trad Euro resort model but less flexible especially if weather doesn't play ball. Still some concern that PNW which usually carries to interior BC may have a lower than average winter but forecasts are still a bit far out.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you do wind up in Utah, alta is a Mecca for powder hounds. We don't have off piste like in the alps, but a lot of the good stuff at alta is "through the gates" so take a lesson, get a guide to find the good stuff (and not wind up too far below a lift). Alta does not allow boarders, so beware, snowbird is for that. If you do go to alta do it early in your trip, in case u want to do it again, it is just so much better than PC in my view. Have not been to canyons in a long time (actually have only done alta in last 20 trips to utah), but hear good things about it. Last thing, Utah is super easy from the airport, a big + after a long flight?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Don't know anything about Big White. The Canyons is purpose built and the base is relatively quiet. Downtown Park City has lots of shops, lots of dining options, and lots of drinking options. I've really enjoyed downtown PC. Buses are reasonably efficient between Deer Valley, The Canyons, and Park City Mountain Resort.The Canyons is kind of quirky and spread out across several peaks. I've really enjoyed when I've skied there but it can take a little while finding your way around. They offer a free intermediate tour every day. The Canyons has very diverse terrain and there are pockets that almost no one ever skies. We've had locals take us into places that get virtually no traffic. It actually abuts PCMR and next year they will be merged into one resort. Late January should be fine. The resorts in the Cottonwoods Canyons (Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton) have higher base elevations and generally get the most snow. They are a bit under 1 hour from Park City if you have a car. Road up to Alta and Snowbird can be closed for avalanche control and heavy snow. While none of the individual resorts are large by European standards, there's a huge amount of skiing in the area.
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Thanks all for the great info, research continues, but probably sliding towards utah...
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