Canada 2017

A snowHead

Yay just booked up for 10 days in Banff next Feb with Ski Safari ; they have some good deals if you book before end of May on accommodation and lift passes - just in case anyone planning for next year 😊

A snowHead

I have accepted my brothers invitation to meet up with him for two weeks at his property in Silver Star, early January 2017, there are spare spaces if anyone wants to save me from having to spend the full two weeks with my brother?

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

YAY we booked up for Banff too!! We're going 4th of March for 2 weeks and planning on heli-boarding for a day.

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

Looking at flights to Calgary for next season, tangowaggon, would have loved to take you up on that offer for a couple of days, planning on being in Silver Star - but late Feb instead.

Have heard its going to be a great season for Canadian snow

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Hi, I'm thinking about 2 weeks in whistler next March, who are the best tour operators I should be looking at for a good deal?

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

Canadian Affair were good when I booked through them. When I travelled with them they did a 'package' which consisted of flight, transfer and accommodation, but you were left to your own devices on arrival. They didn't have reps to herd you about like sheep to get you to the right bus etc, absolutely no problem but not quite the 'traditional TO service'.

After all it is free

I wouldn't bother with a tour operator, flights then bus transfers to whistler or hire a car and drive up is easy enough. I hired a car from Vancouver and ventured across the interior ( 5hr drive ) to ski Sun Peaks last season. It was a great adventure....

@stoker, That's what you get with Canadian Affair, but they're agents for Air Transat who are the cheapest airline so we went with them. They also were cheaper for the same hotel than the hotel's own quotation, and didn't put a markup on the transfer. In other words they were cheaper than DIY. (Caveat: they were cheaper than DIY for two out of the four trips we have taken: other trips were more than DIY so we DIYed it)

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

As above, use DIY pricing as a benchmark and see if the TOs can beat it. Whistler is obviously bristling with TOs, so if they start discounting aggressively then they're going to be hard to beat. It's usually more marginal when you start going farther afield and often DIY then becomes cheaper. I remember when we first started going to Big White, the tour operators (I think Canadian Affair was one of them) were a lot more expensive than DIY. But that was a long time ago.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

We looked at DIY and Crystal for Banff but Ski Safari came in cheaper and got really good service from them last time so would highly recommend. Dealt with Rupert.

You can check out their offers on their website but you have to email for a specific quote as they make you your own package based on dates, preferred flight times etc.

snow reports

Thanks for all the great advice, will start doing a bit of research.

@rizzotherock, Agreed to above in checking DIY first but for 2 of us we always have found the TO cheaper. Used Ski Independence most but Virgin were cheaper one year. I think it is the discounted air fares they have negotiated, once these cheep ones have got then they put the holiday price up. We are no where near Gatwick so Canadian Affair have been no cheaper for us.

Also do look to book Whistler before mid Nov if you can as WhistlerBlackcomb (here after referred to as money grabbing mountain monopoly) put there prices up after that. Most of the ski hire, if you want it, is also owned by the mountain so works the same way.
March can be a busy time in Whistler if you hit the BC school hols (http://www.sd44.ca/District/DistrictCalendar/Pages/default.aspx) - so check. Easter on the other hand makes little difference. If you price up different weeks then the cheep ones are the "quiet" ones wink

DIY you need to look at http://www.alluradirect.com for rentals and they do discounts ski passes on there too.

Also as said above the TOs we have been with are very light touch. All the info and passes are in your hotel room along with their telephone number. Never met one in 10 years yet. The shared transport is the same one you will be on either DIY (Ridebooker) or TO as there only seems to be one option this year, which was a pain waiting for all the flights to get in and get through customs/passport control. If there is 4 of us next year we will go private transfer.

You know it makes sense.

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

Vancouver has good snow gear shopping too, an easy day out after your travels prior to heading up the mountain is a bus trip over to W broadway and W 4th Ave, heaps of variety....Easy bus ride across the bridge from the CBD. I walked the return leg to get the stiffness out of the body after a long flight...took about 40min.

A snowHead

Tour Operator (Crystal) to Jasper. 10 Days booked for January 2017.

We've research and booked this many times in the past. Previously used Crystal, Inghams and Canadian Affair

Tour operator is the cheapest option for us given:
a) We're in Scotland and can't fly direct.
b) Need a single room as part of the group and Canada/USA supplements are large.
c) It's a 5 hour transfer and the local shuttle service runs based on Internal flights and not transatlantic and we don't want to overnight in Calgary or drive.

A snowHead

Is there a "best time" to visit Canada? We always aim to misshalf term and major holidays in Europe is the same advisable in Canada? We are flexible on dates so which month would be the most desirable ref snow depth, lack of people, resort etc? Have received Frontier Skis latest email with various offers but have no working knowledge of them, any good? Whos a good TO? Always got the impression that cAnadian resorts are rather tame and best for families but would rather go somewhere where there is a bit of nightlife (but not the pissedup Benidorm on snow type). Also how much would you have to factor in for guide costs? Much the same as the Alpes or better/worse? Thanks.

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

I just did a season in Banff, Canada it has a very long ski season. I would recommend mid-March for the interior resort areas like Banff and Jasper and more towards the begining of March/late-February for Whistler or anywhere closer to the coast and with lower elevations. I worked part-time at a hotel called the Caribou and it was pretty nice. The bus for the resorts would pick you up right out front. The Fairmont is probably the nicest hotel I have ever seen though. Looks like a castle!

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

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

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

After all it is free

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Canadians can do adult nightlife too. It's just that many of them have a great reputation as family resorts, so it tends to get mentioned a lot. Whistler is probably your best bet for a lively nightlife and crowds in general.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Whistler is possibly too lively - you can certainly encounter queues for bars & restos at weekends. Banff there is no shortage. Smaller places like Fernie, on hill its dead, in town the action will tend to be in a particular bar depending on the night. Always action whenever the local hockey team is playing wherever you are or if in BC when the Canucks are playing.

If you've got a nose for things you can usually find something interesting - staying in Lake Louise we made the mistake of going up the Chateau - bar desolate and phenomenally expensive, but we sniffed round the back and blagged our way into the staff nightclub in some basement - cheap drinks & great craic plus a lift home in a blizzard in the back of a pick up truck.

snow reports

There's one way to find out of course: jump in and see. In Whistler you can (I do) avoid the drunks easily enough - it's a big place and they don't travel far. I really only notice them if I arrive at the bus loop late, they really do like to congregate there.

Guides... I don't know European prices and my Canuk guide mates all ride helis.. so they're included in the price less tips.
I know these people, who are good, and you can just ask them how it works: http://altusmountainguides.com/.

Or maybe talk to "Extremely canadian", who are Whistler based (probably owned by the resort now...), but employ people I know who are good/ washed up professionals etc. They seem to provide a good service.

Maybe you already know, but you may not need guides in quite the same way, as anything "in bounds" is accessible without guides and is avalanche controlled. Things work a bit differently versus Europe.

Help!!

Canada 2017

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste