 Poster: A snowHead
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The Canuck aficionados amongst us may recall me n me pals jaunting off to British Columbia in the 2020 season. We did a mini-tour of Whitewater and Red having a few days fun on the Cats while we were there. Sadly Ullr didn't smile on the trip and weather wasn't the best. In fact we were rained off one day on the Cats and were given vouchers for our return visit.
As we never got anywhere this season, and even rose tinted plans to visit Argentina (we know a bloke) now seem over optimistic, we're consoling ourselves with planning another trip to use up the vouchers - well we're from Yorkshire after all.
So a two week (ish) trip back to the Pacific North West beckons; we're thinking flights to Calgary or Vancouver, mahoosive 4x4 or two and Bobs yer Uncle. But, has done a similar trip and care to suggest an itinerary?
We have to go back to Red to use the voucher, but other than that we ain't too fussed.
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Red isn't ideal for roadtrips imo as it's a bit out the way, but I'm not a fan of long drives. If you can somehow sell the vouchers it might make things easier.
Castlegar is the closest airport but don't even consider flying into there as too many flights get cancelled ("cancelgar"). Spokane is the closest reasonable airport - but again maybe not best for a road trip as you would have to come back on yourself. From Calgary you have the powder highway, which you can make some nice loops from. Vancouver is just way too far with nothing worthwhile to ski on the way to red.
I'm of the opinion that trying to ski lots of different places and doing 1 or 2 days in each is not optimal for good skiing. The first day at any new place is kind of wasted working out the lay of the land. So I would favour 3, or at a push 4 resorts over 2 weeks.
In your position I'd probably do Calgary - fernie - red - revelstoke and/or kicking horse - Calgary. But my interests may be very different to yours. Banff resorts (sunshine and lake Louise), Kimberley, panorama, whitewater are all other options.
If you tour you should definitely do a day at Rogers pass (between kicking horse and revelstoke) which is arguably the top touring area in BC. If you don't tour but fancy it you can get a guide and rent gear at either golden or revelstoke.
You can't go too far wrong nowhere is terrible. Depending on what you are looking for some places are definitely better than others though.
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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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For the sake of variety I completely disagree. Love driving in the winter and looking at the scenery.
I'd fly to Kelowna and do a loop through big white, possibly silver star, revelstoke, whitewater and red.
Stop in Halcyon hot springs is mandatory.
If you want to hit more sites take the next valley over, from revelstoke go to kicking horse to panorama Kimberly then red. The mandatory hot springs are in Radium with this route.
An alternative would be Spokane Schweitzer, Kimberly Fernie Red Spokane. Schweitzer is awesome and takes CAD on the hill at parity, in cash, maximum 20 dollar bills. Maybe better on the way back!
On any of these loops you can drop a couple of stops out each easily. I've not skiied the Kelowna resorts and didn't really rate kicking horse, but the snow was bad.
PM me if you're back to Whitewater and I could tell you some spots / catch a days skiing.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
Red isn't ideal for roadtrips imo as it's a bit out the way, but I'm not a fan of long drives. If you can somehow sell the vouchers it might make things easier.
Castlegar is the closest airport but don't even consider flying into there as too many flights get cancelled ("cancelgar"). Spokane is the closest reasonable airport - but again maybe not best for a road trip as you would have to come back on yourself. From Calgary you have the powder highway, which you can make some nice loops from. Vancouver is just way too far with nothing worthwhile to ski on the way to red.
I'm of the opinion that trying to ski lots of different places and doing 1 or 2 days in each is not optimal for good skiing. The first day at any new place is kind of wasted working out the lay of the land. So I would favour 3, or at a push 4 resorts over 2 weeks.
In your position I'd probably do Calgary - fernie - red - revelstoke and/or kicking horse - Calgary. But my interests may be very different to yours. Banff resorts (sunshine and lake Louise), Kimberley, panorama, whitewater are all other options.
If you tour you should definitely do a day at Rogers pass (between kicking horse and revelstoke) which is arguably the top touring area in BC. If you don't tour but fancy it you can get a guide and rent gear at either golden or revelstoke.
You can't go too far wrong nowhere is terrible. Depending on what you are looking for some places are definitely better than others though. |
Trail airport is even closer, but even smaller and likely suffers from the same restrictions.
If you do manage to fly into Castlegar (and I have amazingly done so in winter!), then you will marvel at how you can land at an airport with a mountain at each end of the runway  , and understand why you need good vis, which is a bit of a problem as its in the columbia river valley!
Think I'd go with motdoc's suggestion and fly into Kelowna and pick up the cars there, though I'd skip Silver Star and Big White, head to Revelstoke, then drive down to Nelson, a day or 2 at Whitewater - driving between Red and Revelstoke is not too bad as it's all pretty low/flat/straight, though a ferry in between for added variety! Driving from Vancouver to Rossland or Nelson is however a bit different! Then to Rossland for Red with your Cat skiing fitted around that depending on which operator. Drive back to Kelowna from Rossland could be a little sketchy in parts, but at least its not as far as back to Vancouver.
Also agree with boarder2020 that a lot of driving and getting used to a new place on a 2 week trip is a bit hard-work, so I'd probably skip the extra Kicking Horse/Panorama leg as it's quite a long loop.
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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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Yeah I flew into castlegar eventually, took a few days. It's a nice adventure if you have time, but with only 2 weeks it's too risky.
The Kelowna - revy - whitewater - red - Kelowna is a pretty good option. I definitely think less is more when it comes to resorts, but know a lot of people like to fit in as many as possible. I kind of forget about Kelowna as I just think of it for silver star and big white neither of which people I know visited had much good to say about.
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didn't really rate kicking horse
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It's actually my favourite, but I can understand why it's not for everyone. This is why OP could really do with providing a bit more info what they are looking for. What works for one person doesn't work as well for another.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| I kind of forget about Kelowna as I just think of it for silver star and big white neither of which people I know visited had much good to say about. |
We've been to Silver Star a couple of times (for a day) and really enjoyed it. The snow was excellent, there's a decent variety of runs (with some great blacks/bumps), it wasn't busy at all and the night skiing was very good.
We'd definitely go back if we were in the area. 
We also skied Crystal Mountain, near Kelowna on our departure day. It was a great way to fill a morning. Small, friendly and fun - with great snow.
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Yes perhaps I was being a little harsh, they didn't hate those places, it was more just an "Ok for a day or two if you're passing through but not worth travelling to". Still they'd be near the bottom of my list of places in BC to snowboard, more because there are other places that are really excellent as opposed to ok/good.
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We've done 4 similar roadtrips similar to this around AB/BC all starting from Calgary. 2020 was our last one - Lake louise, Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, Silver Star, Apex, Red, Whitewater and Panorama - 18 days.
As mentioned Red isnt the easiest to get to as you know, but worth it. You just have to decide where else you want to visit along the way. We tend to go anticlockwise in loop from Calgary, usually drives last around 2 - 3 hrs but there are a couple of longer ones later on.
motdoc, Has some sensible suggestions,and a decent fellow too, take him up on the offer of a ski day  if we get the chance to get back, Schweitzer will be on the cards at some point. Flying into Kelowna will shorten some drive time. Its around 4- 4.5 hrs to Rossland, roads are fairly good with a couple of passes to negotiate. Best place for food en route is The station Pub in Grand Forks.
Silver Star can be fun if they have good snow, we've been lucky every time there, either snowing all day or blue skies just after a storm. Its a bit different - from the arcitecture on the hill and the village area isnt at the base. It does have plenty of tree skiing. Big White has always been socked in with cloud and winds, hence its nickname of Big Whiteout We gave it a miss this time and hit Apex instead, recommended by a party of ladies we met at Red the last time we were there.
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Thanks guys.
I'll be chatting with the others, but will copy all this to them to help. Hopefully we can do it over beers and a BBQ in the not too distant future.
As for skier type - we're nothing special. We enjoy a bit of touring (to get to nice snow) and the nice deep snow itself, but aren't that fussed about "Death Tech". We also have an occasional "culture" day if the conditions aren't great, so we get to enjoy the country we're visiting; especially their breweries.
I'll be suggesting we swing through WH2O just to meet up with motdoc 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I like Silver Star; sometimes it gets way better snow than the rest of the Okanagan, for whatever reason.
Big White has a different character but also is well worth a trip. Sun Peaks is good too and in an interesting snow
zone. These aren't marketed to hard core types, a major plus if you want fresh lines 
Kelowna takes some interesting flights (or used to) and is an easy airport to use, as is Kamloops.
Vehicle rentals are generally better specified by default and cheaper than YVR/ YYC, but as you
have to switch planes to get there you take other risks. Both those places get socked in
more than the main international airports, if you care. If you have a vehicle, then I'd not bother with
internal flights as the distances aren't that large. You can do "open jaw" stuff of course but that adds cost
to the flights and the vehicle rental and going around in a circle probably works better.
My own take on this is to go where the best snow is and fit the other stuff fits in around that. Early season I'd
use Vancouver; late season Calgary, but if it turns out that the conditions are best somewhere else, then
just drive there. In BC at least driving's straight forward and I've never struggled finding accommodation.
--
Cats: Getting a voucher for a trip they cancel is harsh. My mates in Whistler will not bill you until the trip actually happens.
One day I rode a cat to the top of the mountain and we jumped out into about 70cm of fresh. It had unfortunately
been rained on at altitude. That's leg breaker stuff. We got back in the cat and rode home.
No one paid or "got vouchered" for that, as you'd expect.
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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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Calgary is a generally better airport to loop out of - clockwise Castle, Fernie, Whitewater, Red, Revy, KH, LL/Sunshine all in reach
Alternately you could consider the alternative NW out of YVR or SEA - Alpental, 49North, Red, WH20, Revy, Sun Peaks/SS/BW back via Mt Baker for a SEA start or stretch to Lookout, Whitefish, Fernie then back WH20, Red, Apex/BW, Baker.
Assuming you don't want to factor in WB of course.
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I’d be very interested to know how you are planning to get to Canada from Yorkshire. We’ve flown to Calgary with BA many times and are hoping to ski there next year. Being from Lancs we did Man - LHR - YYC. BA no longer do Calgary. More and more airlines seem to be stopping MAn routes across the Atlantic. KLM via Amsterdam is an option but have you found anything better?
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You know it makes sense.
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@JohnDory, same as last time; out of Heathrow. Motor down the day before and stay at a Hotel with car parking included in the price.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Mosha Marc, We always go via Schipol, regional airport hop over, then direct to YYC. Works out cheaper than the Heathrow run and less driving when arriving home ( around 20 minutes or so ) - Quicker too getting through the UK airports. I would think LBA will do a similar route.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Mosha Marc, Why not go Otley International to Schipol?
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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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| mountainaddict wrote: |
Not an operation that I would recommend. |
Yet the previous guests were no doubt delighted with their extra day.
I think outfits can be a bit clearer about the terms under which they operate. I remember my first trip to the US with the then Rocky Mountain Snowboard Tours. The owner was very upfront with anyone booking that while they picked you up and shuttled you from/to Denver airport this was a snowy place in winter and there may be occasions on which the shuttle just couldn't get through (because I70 closes). In those circumstances extra cost of accomodation in Denver would be on the customer to claim on their insurance and they weren't liable for refunds for days missed. Seemed fair to me although probably against TO regs now.
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| JohnDory wrote: |
| I’d be very interested to know how you are planning to get to Canada from Yorkshire. We’ve flown to Calgary with BA many times and are hoping to ski there next year. Being from Lancs we did Man - LHR - YYC. BA no longer do Calgary. More and more airlines seem to be stopping MAn routes across the Atlantic. KLM via Amsterdam is an option but have you found anything better? |
Last time I went to Calgary from Lisbon (2-3 years ago) it was also via KLM, even though I'm a big BA fan. I don't remember now why we chose them, doubtless a lot cheaper.... be aware they have auto-weighing bag machines, so even 0.1kg over you'll get a warning it's too heavy and you have to take it out and re-pack it! Never seen them before, a real pain.
I had very low expectations of KLM for historical reasons but it wasn't that bad. And it was quite pleasant walking round Amsterdam canals with the children for a couple of hours the night before.
I really hate East Coast stopovers, partly the risk of arguing with grumpy US customs officers, partly as it breaks up a decent night's sleep coming back.
When I couldn't work out why LIS-LHR-YYC was almost cheaper than LHR-YYC, someone told me it was cross-subsidising, they'd discount the LIS ticket to steal business from the direct flights. So perhaps your UK-AMS-YYC will be notably cheaper. I don't know but I put it in the mix.
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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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| mountainaddict wrote: |
Massive snowfall so we were stuck in Golden for our first day of the 3 day catskiing trip as the helicopter couldn't fly into the remote lodge...They spoke of possibly organising transfers by snowmobile - but in the end they clearly just couldn't be @r$ed with sorting that out.
The result? A whole day & night missed and the extra cost of another night in Golden |
It seems you are incredibly unlucky when it comes to powder days. From long period of no snow, to repeatedly getting stuck on transfer during storm and missing out on the powder.
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Dave makes a good point about Calgary, it's a good one flight destination. We always fly WestJet because we are cheap, Calgary is their home airport, and they fly to Gatwick.
Further from the coast = less snow, but it lasts longer!
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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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He makes a very good point about Man-Schiphol-Calgary too.
And and an even BETTER point about trying to sell those vouchers. If we do that we can stay at the "other" side of the highway.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Quote: |
Or even go fishing
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You mean ice fishing?
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@DrLawn, That's a nice itinerary! Although one of my worst ever ski sessions was at Norquay - Sunshine on Australia Day le lendemain got my pecker up again though I am hoping to hit Revelstoke for the first time this January, so good to read about the Dew Drop Inn (reminds me of Oxford days..) also doing Big White, Sun Peaks and WB - apparently another la Nina winter in prospect which would be nice...
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You know it makes sense.
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@DrLawn, sounds terrible, don't know why you're bothering to go...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Last Drop shirley?
Hmm - wonder whether I should speculate on a flight to Canuckistan given I've laid down on a Epic pass as a cheer myself up punt - Whistler, Ferndog, KH on the pass, grab a day at Red and Revy/SS on the drive betweens?
Car hire likely to be the biggest cost mind given rates.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Dave of the Marmottes, easycar has some very competitive prices
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Dave of the Marmottes, cars-scanner.com has two weeks in January from YYC Dodge Durano large SUV from Thrifty for £860 which is pretty good.
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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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Look into Rent-a-Wreck too.
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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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@abc, not sure if that was facetious or not? If not, rentawreck do not operate in Canuck-land.
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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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Care hire - a contentious issue, but my $0.02... - Anything with 4wd or which looks like it may have it can be expensive. The smallest / cheapest they have is generally fine in my experience and significantly cheaper.
- You don't need winter tyres or any other desk-sold extras. All cars rented from YVR and YYC have at least tyres which are legal to drive away and to Whistler/ Banff, in my direct recent experience.
- In about 60 weeks rental I have a total damage bill of just over $200 for a windscreen on the Coq. Other roads are much less busy to drive and have less risk of that type of damage.
- There's an airport premium for rentals, and an open-jaw premium too.
- Cars in Calgary are more likely to have winter tyres as standard than Vancouver. I've also found winters common in Kamloops.
- Rentals seem better, price cheaper, and people nicer when renting in Kamloops/ Kelowna versus major international airports.
There is a "wreck" rental company in Vancouver I think, I'm sure I've seen that advertised. Beware that in Whistler and Vancouver you'll be charged to park your car. If you're a cheapskate you can always park it somewhere free if you can be bothered (been there, done that). In Vancouver you'll be advised not to leave a car with visible gear (eg snowboards) in most parking areas, although hotel places are more secure. I've had no hassle, but I have been buzzed several times by the local police who advised me not to park wherever I was about to park. It seems like a very safe place (well I lived in Toxteth and Brixton and Blackburn...) but it's hard to tell which bits are which if you're not local.
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| Snowsartre wrote: |
| @abc, not sure if that was facetious or not? If not, rentawreck do not operate in Canuck-land. |
A bit facetious. But there're several different ones in various places I've been. I would think Canuck-land would have theirs too?
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| philwig wrote: |
| Care hire - a contentious issue, but my $0.02... |
Not sure why it's contentious.
For Whistler, the simple advice is NOT to hire a car. It's a big enough mountain to stay put and spend a week (or two). There're no other mountains nearby that needs driving to anyway. There're efficient ground transfer bus/shuttle/limo to get from Vancouver to Whistler and back, for less money than hiring a car.
For those doing a powder highway kind of trip, I would get an SUV. More room for the gear/people. Better ground clearance in iffy parking spots right after a storm. If you start from Calgary, your chance of getting a properly winterized hire is better than from Vancouver.
I wouldn't drive right in the middle of the storm though. That's a completely different topic.
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There is some really useful info in here. Thinking of a big trip from West to East Canada in early 2022.
How confident do you feel about being allowed in and resorts being open then? I’m a little hesitant to commit to planning just yet!
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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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@Tomguin, please tell me you are going to drive!
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@Tomguin, on a more serious note, after a tectonically slow start to vaccination, Canada has now overtaken the UK in terms of double jabbed populace so, (new) variants depending, should be business as normal. Certainly my work events have moved from virtual last winter to face-to-face in January 2022.
Sounds like you have an epic trip in mind!
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FAQ
... For example i've never skied Canadian scale pillow lines (sadly... 
)
