 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi ....
Do Canadian ski resorts suffer from our Feb Half term in term of the usual downsides..... busy resorts, packed pistes and more importantly high prices?
I suppose the next question would be about Canadian holidays?
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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Kinda - check when family week and reading week holidays are by province before committing in February. Though not necessarily as mad as France when Paris + UK + Belgium is all on hol.
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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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No. Nothing like Europe as Canadian kids don't have half terms!
I live in BC and the holidays are Christmas then Easter for the kiddies, and a couple of long weekends.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@motdoc, @Dave of the Marmottes,
Then I suppose its this side hicking the air fares up for us at HT. Looking at about 550 for a Heathrow to Calgary flight in Feb HT.
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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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That's not bad for a flight - reckon £500-600 with luggage is pretty much a good deal for Western N America
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Gaz_H[/b], you have to consider US holidays as well. You mentioned Feb; we have President's Day and Canada knows this and up go the prices. Also true in Jan (MLK Day). We also have mid-winter and spring breaks, both of which also impact resort population levels and pricing. The effect varies by location, however, as some CDN resorts are more kid-focused (and closer to population centers) than others. For example, Sun Peaks and Whistler will see a bunch more Yanks during these holidays; Red and Kicking Horse would not. I don't think the extra Yanks would be too numerous to keep you away during our holidays, it would just be the pricing which you've cited as most important.
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| Quote: |
Red and Kicking Horse would not
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Actually Red is pretty affected by the us holidays - probably due to its proximity to the border. I'd agree with the general sentiment though, interior resorts tend to be less affected. Although even the rcr resorts will probably see an uptick with epic pass holders taking advantage of the free days.
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| motdoc wrote: |
No. Nothing like Europe as Canadian kids don't have half terms!
I live in BC and the holidays are Christmas then Easter for the kiddies, and a couple of long weekends. |
I also live in BC, except my local ski hill is Whistler not Whitewater, so perhaps a slightly different perspective.
School doesnt have half term, but it does have spring break (2 weeks in March which differ slightly by province, but fortunately not aligning with UK half term) which most definitely is a busy time.
For Whistler the US holidays are busy times, especially US presidents day which coincides with BC family day (and possibly UK half term)
Major difference is that there is no Saturday to Saturday constraints so can be just busy for a long weekend rather than all week, and no day any worse than any other for travel - weekends at Whistler do have a _lot_ of local traffic from the city, but this is as much weather as date dependent.
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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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Thanks for the advice above.
Sometimes, too much reading can put someone off. I was about to book tonight for Banff. Me the the 2 teenagers; 1 good on Reds and the other ok on Blacks. I then started to read a thread
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=142407&start=200&sid=43278252fdc3b317b5e668dd0dd59246 - sorry cant seem to find the HTML
about the differences between the European piste colours and the NA ones - wish I hadn't. I get the inbounds bit and that everything is skiable; its the bit about pistes not really being marked or used very little that took me by surprise. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for trying a bit of 'off-piste'........not sure my 15 yr old who can just cope with steep reds is ready from in the tree powder!!!
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@Gaz_H,
Don’t stress about it. Skiing North America is simple. Point and shoot. There’s no concern about skiing uncontrolled areas because they will be clearly marked as closed. You can ski anywhere else. Book it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Gaz_H wrote: |
| its the bit about pistes not really being marked or used very little that took me by surprise. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for trying a bit of 'off-piste'........not sure my 15 yr old who can just cope with steep reds is ready from in the tree powder!!! |
That's not true. Piste are ALWAYS marked.
It's just that some "piste" isn't really a linear one. It may actually be a wide bowl that you can ski all over the place!
As for the "used very little", it is something to get used to. When there's no piste marker (meaning you can ski anywhere), and no other skiers around, it can get kind of spooky!
To get the best out of a new area, I suggest to take a private lesson on day 1 or 2. Put it up front one of your objective is to identify places that are good for your skill level. Once the instructor had seen you ski, he/she can direct you to the appropriate area. For those who hadn't done any off-piste at all, that's also the chance to get your feet wet on going off-piste with an instructor.
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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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Pistes in the Euro sense are groomers and always clear. The issue is that a lot of marked blacks on the lift map will not be pistes and may be e.g. chutes or lines down a bowl or a tree area.
The other point is that all groomers are not necessarily groomed religiously every day. So pays to monitor the grooming report if you're not comfortable with the idea of running into moguls.
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Relax. You can easily ski any of the Banff places, treat them like European hills, and you'll not notice any problems what so ever. It's obvious where the pistes are, they have maps, all the same stuff.
You can also ride anywhere you like, because it's controlled and patrolled, and the resort boundary is very clearly marked. Typically it's a rope with a "resort boundary" sign hung on it every few meters. A blind person could not miss it. If you don't want to do this, you don't have to. When there's fresh snow, most people will first ride the pistes. Once they're tracked out, they'll ride the stuff between the pistes... until that too is tracked out.
The instructor idea sounds good for the nervous; it'll take about 30 minutes for you to figure it out, maximum.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm with Dave and phil.
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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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Seconding others. It's not like you will get off a lift and just have no clue where to go. Plenty of groomed pistes around. Nothing to worry about. I suspect if anything you'll be off searching for powder and exploring away from the groomers quicker than you expect
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Poster: A snowHead
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I should caveat the point about groomers not groomed every day. This will not happen when it is the only groomed run down from a lift but usually when there are alternates and is more likely on blue/blacks & above in places like Whistler which are big than main obvious pistes at somewhere like Lake Louise. The point is if you set your heart on skiing something specific based on the piste map then be prepared it might not be in your ideal state. Likewise as Phil says don't expect morning grooming after an overnight snowfall - the locals would riot, but the piste surface will be smooth underneath whatever has fallen since 9/10pm.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Done it guys.... too'd and fro'd and then watched some YouTube clips..... and thought..... we'll looks OK!
HT in Banff. 3 of us in the Ptarmigan, 6 day lift passes x3 , ski n boot hire x 2, return transfers. Just over £5k. Dont think that bad when compared to HT in euro and much less hassle
Cheers for the encouragement! 
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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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@Gaz_H, They have (or at least had?) local volunteers eg, Ski Friends of Lake Louise who will show you around the place. Different guided groups who ski at a suitable pace for their guests. Worth checking out this free service.
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@GeorgeVII, cheers
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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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Yep, the "Friends of the Mountain" operate as a free guiding service, in all teh resorts I know ...
but they may not start till the afternoon.
something you would pay a fortune for in Europe.
If you go to Banff, most people miss out on Norquay, but its a great warm up for an afternoon.
I know though that you will be itching to go at 4am the day after you arrive.
It may well be worth taking your kit with you to Canada, renting it for a 10 trip is very expensive.
I think its worth renting a car so you can please yourself what time you get up.
You'll do Sunshine and Lake Louise for sure...
The Candian hotels are quite happy to let you stay for just one night,
So rather than stay in Banff for the whole time, move around ...
its an hour and a half up to Lake Lousie
then another couple of hours to kicking horse
then a further 2 hours to Revelstoke.
That's my hints.
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Family day weekend can be quite busy in any resorts within a 4 hr drive of alberta.
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@GeorgeVII, I just love it when someone else is in charge of the group.
So I make every attempt to go with the "Friends" guided tours.
At the Lake they run twice a day.
At Kicking Horse I think they only do it from 1pm
Same for Revelstoke and Norquay
Sunshine does 2 tours a day, 10am & 1:15,
So if your itching to get going when you wake at 4am get to Sunshine for 10am and have a great start to your
holiday.
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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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Oops its only 1 I believe at Sunshine .. departs at noon
its Lake Louise that goes at 10am & 1:15,
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