 Poster: A snowHead
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This was our second attempt at a multi-venue ski trip to Canada. We had planned a Banff/Marmot Basin/Sun Peaks trip in March 2020 but only got as far as Banff before the Covid balloon went up and we had to return to the UK. As we had managed to do some decent skiing at Sunshine, Lake Louise and Mount Norquay in 2020 this time we organised our first week’s skiing to be in Panorama and then basically replicated the rest of our aborted 2020 trip. So we had a week each skiing in Panorama, Marmot Basin (staying in Jasper) and Sun Peaks (we are currently on our last day in Sun Peaks) then we have a couple of weeks on Vancouver Island and in downtown Vancouver. The trip was mostly just my wife and I but our adult daughter joined us for the first week.
We flew from Heathrow to Calgary with Air Canada arriving mid-afternoon. Our daughter was coming in on a later flight so we stayed a night at the Marriott at the airport before picking up our hire car the next morning.
We set off first thing and had breakfast in Canmore which is a pleasant small town about an hour west of Calgary. We had a bit of time to spare so had a stop in Banff and then went up to Lake Louise (the lake itself rather than the ski resort) for a walk on the frozen lake. We had been there on our last trip but the scenery is breathtaking however many times you see it. Banff and Lake Louise were noticeably colder and snowier than anywhere else we went to on our trip this time so it was perhaps a shame we weren’t skiing there! Note that if you are visiting Banff or Jasper or driving between the two you need to buy a Canadian national parks pass. You can buy a day at a time but once you get past six or seven days it becomes cheaper to buy an annual pass which given our itinerary was what we had to do, at a cost of about $150.
We then drove the final bit of the journey to Panorama, the first bit of which goes through Kootenay national park which is very scenic. You then get to Invermere which is a pretty scruffy place but did have a supermarket where we could buy some food for the week. It’s then about 30 minutes up to Panorama. Panorama is a purpose built resort which is quite attractively done although there isn’t really much there apart from a hotel, some apartment blocks, a few restaurants and a small grocery store. The village is on two levels connected by a sort of open air gondola. We were staying in a one bedroom condo in Ski Tip Lodge which is on the upper level and really well positioned a few steps from the main lift. The apartment was small but pretty well equipped for self catering with a huge bed (taking up 95% of the floor space) in the one bedroom and a sofa bed in the lounge which our daughter slept on. We generally had breakfast in the apartment and then alternated with eating out or staying in for our evening meal. There is a nice Italian restaurant called Alto which also does take away pizzas.
The next morning we were out bright and early for our first day’s skiing. Despite having some concerns about the amount of snow the conditions were actually pretty good both on the groomed runs and the non-groomed stuff. Given it hadn’t snowed much recently the non-groomed runs (if they were of any steepness) were all mogulled but weren’t at all icy and represented some of the best skiing in our view. There are basically two main longish chairlifts which are quite modern and fast and then a third chairlift (the Summit Quad) which is older and slower and which takes you up to the top of the resort. There’s then also a further chairlift in the Sun Bowl area which is also a bit on the old and slow side. All of the skiing is below the tree line and so most of the runs are through their own avenue of trees (often thinned out so you can dodge in and out of the trees easily) which makes it seem very peaceful and attractive. The best skiing is probably off the top of the Summit Quad dropping down into the Founders Ridge area. There are a number of single black runs from up there which you can link up to get all the way back to the bottom of the resort. You can also access the Taynton Bowl from up there which is a large unpisted bowl of double black runs which we at least found a significant step up in challenge to anything else in the resort. You can get to a few of the runs with a bit of walking from the top of the Summit Quad but to access them all you would (unless you were up for a serious hike) have to get a lift on a snowcat laid on by the resort which you pay extra for and which (I think) only runs on certain days of the week. We didn’t use that. For easier but still really fun fast and cruisy runs there are lots in the Sun Bowl although as mentioned the lift from the bottom there is slow.
There are a couple of small but very cosy mountain huts serving food. The one at the top of the Summit Quad is particularly nice.
So we had a very enjoyable six full days skiing in Panorama and then left to go to our next stop of Jasper. We had a brief diversion back to Banff to drop off our daughter who was catching a bus from there and then headed north towards Jasper. Most of this journey is up route 93 the so-called Icefields Highway, supposed to be one of the most scenic drives in Canada. We were lucky that we had a sunny day and the roads were clear (I understand that the drive can be more than a bit tricky after fresh snowfall). The scenery is indeed stunning pretty much in all directions and pretty much all of the way to Jasper. There are plenty of spots to pull off to go for short (or long as well if you want to) hikes to see glaciers, frozen waterfalls or other amazing vistas so it’s worth taking some time over. No petrol stations open when we did it and no mobile phone signal either so be prepared!
We arrived in Jasper which is a smaller (and perhaps slightly scruffier) version of Banff. Great views in all directions and lots of restaurants and outdoor shops. It was quiet when we were there but in peak winter and (particularly) summer season I understand it is completely rammed. We stayed in the Crimson Lodge which is a nice enough place in the centre with a pool and a gym. The rooms come with fridge and microwave so you can look after yourself a bit if (as we did) you get a bit sick of eating out and having the same kind of stuff over and over. We did have a decent meal out one night at the De’d Dog Bar and Grill where we thought the food was a cut above what we had elsewhere.
The local ski area to Jasper is at Marmot Basin, about 25 minutes drive. The ski area is in the national park so if you have managed to get to Jasper without having to buy a park pass you will need one to drive up to the ski area as they do check them on the drive up. As an alternative to driving up yourself there is a shuttle but unlike what I remember from Banff the shuttle here was not included in the lift pass and is $11 each way per person. Our deal with the hotel included vouchers for the shuttle but without those the cost of the shuttle for a week’s skiing would mount up. The ski area at Marmot Basin is smaller than Panorama and unlike Panorama a proportion of it is above the tree line in what they refer to as alpine bowls. The snow conditions were not fantastic to start with and deteriorated during our time there as it got ridiculously warm (mid-teens Celsius in the afternoon even at the top of the resort). It was still well below freezing overnight however so conditions in the morning were somewhat crispy even on the groomed runs and almost unskiable on the frozen crud of the ungroomed runs. What was quite difficult to understand was why the resort didn’t at least groom all the blue runs as quite a few were left ungroomed (I can understand if they thinks black runs should be left unpisted) and it restricted the available skiing quite considerably in what is already a small resort. Once things softened up and before they turned to slush there was more to go at. In terms of lifts, there is a mix of old and a bit newer. Most of the best skiing seemed to be off the Eagle Ridge chair and the improbably named Knob Quad although both lifts were painfully slow. So we didn’t see Marmot Basin at its best for most of our time there and I think with fresh snow a lot more terrain would become enjoyably skiable and the open bowls would be a lot of fun. We tried a couple of the double black runs off the top of the Eagle Ridge chair and they were tricky and seemed to consist of picking your way down through some quite dense forest. Maybe we just got lost! They were quite fun though. There was one place to eat on the mountain which was a large cafeteria type place and more of the same at the bottom lift. Lots of people seemed to bring their own lunch and left bags and rucksacks in lockers or hung up on pegs and seemingly none of the restaurants had any problem with people eating their own stuff.
Given the slightly scratchy ski conditions we took a couple of days off to do some exploring round Jasper with the help of the very friendly people in the tourist office. We went up to Maligne Canyon and then onto Maligne Lake, had a walk around Lake Annette (not a long walk, very close to Jasper with fantastic views) and then on another day walked up to Pyramid Lake which was also very pleasant. You can rent micro spikes and bear spray from outdoor shops in Jasper. We definitely needed the former, not thankfully the latter although we did see quite a bit of other wildlife.
So my view on Marmot Basin is that I wouldn’t necessarily make the trip here (it’s s bit out on a limb) simply for the skiing but Jasper is a nice enough town and the surrounding area is stunningly beautiful with lots to do and see in both summer and winter and the drive up here from Banff is an experience in itself.
Our final skiing stop was Sun Peaks, about a 5 hour drive (including a time change between Alberta and BC) away. The first part of the drive is pretty scenic but in the second half the there is a feeling of leaving the mountains behind. We arrived in Sun Peaks to a definite end of season feel (there are only a couple of weeks until the lifts close) and not a great deal of snow. It's quite a big ski area (second behind Whistler in Canada I believe). Although we were told that all the runs were open I would say that only about 60% of then have anything like proper snow cover and, like Marmot Basin, only about 50% of those are groomed. It’s hard to understand why. Maybe it’s a resources thing or maybe the resort thinks that there isn’t enough snow to groom on some slopes (but I don’t think it can be that as on some days a particular run would be groomed and on some days it would not be). In half decent snow conditions I think it’s a great idea to leave some runs ungroomed as it makes skiing a bit more interesting but when the result of the non-grooming is rock hard frozen crud I’m not sure who appreciates that – certainly we saw virtually no one skiing on any ungroomed run all week. So it’s hard to give a fair assessment of the ski area based on what we saw this week. There are some nice runs off the Morrissey chair (north facing so slopes were in better condition) and we did a few nice runs off the top of the Crystal chair which goes up to the top of the resort. Some of the lifts (Elevation, Crystal and Burfield)were again very slow. I would imagine it’s a very good resort for families when the snow is good as there are plenty of easy but fun blue runs. There’s a decent on mountain café at the top of the Sunburst Express which does very good cinnamon buns! In the resort (which is quite attractive but with a slightly Disneyfied look to my eye) there’s a decent number of (mainly high end) shops and restaurants. Our best meal was probably in the Japanese restaurant. We stayed at the Sun Peaks Grand which is probably smarter than we really needed (it has a ski valet to hand your skis to you at the start of the day and to take them back off you when you stop which I have certainly never experienced before). Most of the accommodation here looks pretty smart though so maybe that’s just how it is. Parking is something of a scam at $25 a day - as far as we can make out there is no free or even cheap parking anywhere in the resort.
So all in all it’s been a good trip but not the stellar conditions we were hoping for. Everybody we met on chairlifts etc said it had been a poor year for snow and that’s just unlucky for us I guess. Other than our previous false start in 2020 this is our first (and could well be the last) north American ski trip. I think I come away from it overall preferring (for reasons I find hard to pinpoint) the ski experience in Europe although there’s no doubt particularly with the ski in-ski-out experiences at Panorama and Sun Peaks pretty much all of the hassle is taken away away from a day’s skiing. The one great benefit of skiing here (and I believe the same is true everywhere in north America) to my mind is the fact that you are able to (and indeed the resort intends you to) ski everywhere within the bounds of the resort. That allows you safely to be adventurous (if that makes sense) even in resorts you don’t know all that well. Sadly the snow conditions in Marmot Basin and Sun Peaks did not allow us to take full advantage of this, although we had some great skiing in Panorama.
Sorry this has turned out so long and well done to anyone making it this far! Hopefully it will have some useful information in it for anyone contemplating a similar trip.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It has been a poor year, and you are a bit unlucky as March is usually better, but those warm temps killed the good skiing
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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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I wonder if it was the locations or the recent snowfall? We’re in Banff at the moment and like you said it’s pretty snowy and the resorts are in great shape. Most runs open - including the free ride terrain (which isn’t for me!)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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You were probably just unlucky with the condition.
I went to Panorama last spring, about this time of the year. Although it hadn’t snowed much before I arrived, the glades (i.e. between trees IN the forest) were still soft, especially in Tayton Bowl.
I think Panorama does suffer from relatively low snow fall record. On the other hand, the lack of skier traffic means most lines in the forest are unskied, i.e. uncompacted. So it’s not too mogully. OF course I got lucky it started snowing the 2nd day I was there, and it just kept on snowing even after I was gone. So the skiing got better and better. I was sad to leave.
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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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Useful, informative, honest report. Very many thanks.
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Good trip report, thanks.
I think you were very unlucky. It is a very different experience to Europe though.
We've only been to Canada twice and we never had any fresh snow  but overall the conditions were great because of the low temperatures...piggin' low temps at times...-30°C and lower!
Part of the attraction of Canada is if it's not a powder day, you practically have the whole mountian to yourself, and also that not much of it is groomed.
In fact my mate is trying right now to persuade me to go again next January and Mrs G is chiming in saying she needs more Levis...oooo the pressure!
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whollymoley, Nice report, thanks for taking the time to write.
As mentioned its not been a great year in Canada - we were there earlier, skiing all those areas and more. We did get lucky arriving along with some of the big storms though. Marmot and the Lake deffinitely needed more snow cover. 
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Thanks for the various replies. As people have said we were just unlucky with the snow conditions this year, particularly in Marmot Basin and Sun Peaks. The skiing in Panorama was actually pretty good in the week we were there. Ironically we left Sun Peaks this morning in blue sky conditions after it had snowed overnight! Only 3 or 4cm but that would have made a bit of a difference.
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