 Poster: A snowHead
|
Alright, here's the goods on Kimberley, BC:
Simply put - a great resort to maximize your ski/snowboard vacation.
snow conditions: excellent, always consistent and can usually find fresh turns in the Easter Bowl - on any given day.
weather: stable, lots of blue skies and no rain. When clouds move in all they bring is more snow.
lift lines: virtually none. We only have 6 lifts (which I understand is very few by European standards) but only get a few thousand skier/snowboarders even on our busiest days. Other than one week in Mid February I have never waited in line for more than a gruelling five minutes. One can get enough runs in a day to tire out even the most avid riders.
Accommodation: we have plenty of ski in ski out accommodation for all price ranges. Visit www.kimberleycondos.com for a great example of what the area has to offer. Most places will offer discounted rates for stays of 7 nights or more.
Value: Incredible, especially with the Sterling pound.
Access: Four hour (beautiful) drive from Calgary AB. The drive takes one through several national parks and is a must see on it's own.
I'm trying to get these points out as guests of ours from the UK are blown away by the skiing here - maybe they are trying to keep it to themselves?
Kieran
[/url]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I take it from this post that you work at Kimberley then.
Just wondering what time of year the resort is at its best. I've done a lot of skiing in the last few years at Sunshine & Kicking horse. They seem to be at their peak late feb - april. Kimberley is more of a dark horse & never hear much about their seasons. Am I right in thinking its slightly lower altitude - is the season much shorter.
Anyways, my reason for asking is that I passed through kimberley a few summers ago & fancy returning when theres some snow around. Recommendations on optimum snow time - weather gods dependent!!
It does strike me as a fantastic "skiers" town. Remember staying in the hostel their right above the dance floor on a friday night - don't go there for the sleep!!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Yes, I work and live in Kimberley. Kimberley is also at it's peak from Mid Feb to the end of March. Actually the town of Kimberley is at about 3700 feet, base of ski hill elevation is 4035 feet, and top elevation of the ski hill is 6500 feet with a 2100 foot vertical rise. It's not rare that when it's raining in Fernie, we get great dumps of snow.
Just to reiterate from my original message - the lack of crowds is amazing. One can ski off the Easter Chair and not see a single person for the whole run. This also makes for great powder skiing as you can ski fresh tracks two to three days after a good dump.
Kimberley really is a fantastic skier town - great back country ski community too.
No need to stay in town - there is an abundance of on hill accommodation with a variety of rates.
Hope you make it here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
khickey, I'm staying in Fernie next January but I heard that there was a bus service that takes you from Fernie to Kimberley, is this true? If it is, I might just check Kimberley out for a day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Hi Richard,
Yes, there is a shuttle bus that runs. For information on this check out the Fernie webpage at: www.skifernie.com If it's not on their site, send them an email and they will get back to you with the pertinent information.
No disrespect to Fernie, but we have had several occasions where buses of UK skier/boarders have been sent to Kimberley from Fernie because the conditions at Fernie were - shall we say - less than desirable. Don't get me wrong, if one can hit Fernie on a -12 degree C, 10 inches of powder, bluebird day, it would likely be the best ski experience of one's life. The only problem is that they only get about 4 or five days like that a year. Even after big dumps, most of the best skiing/boarding is closed for a day or so for avy control.
Kimberley is consistent. Hope this helps and that you make it here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
I'd dispute kevin's point that Fernie will get back to you - we went to Fernie this year and they never did get back to us with inbformation about the bus - the website says it runs every thursday, but not what time or where from or how much it will cost.
we didn;t bother going.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
nbt,
Thanks for your input. That's pretty bad to hear given that the same company owns both ski hills. I'll look into this because we really would like to see some Fernie traffic here.
Regards,
Kieran
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ