 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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tomski01, glad to hear you had a great time here in Whistler!  Looking forward to your report from Banff (never been there)
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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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oooooh ..... i can not wait
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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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hi folks
well, here i am back in Vancouver airport ready for my return journey!
All in all i have had a brilliant holiday, i absolutely love Canada, the skiing here is overall excellent, the people wonderful and well its just great and i am a total convert  
Ill start with the negatives:
1. I have got a stinking cold/flu which seems to have taken all of the hostels in Alberta hostage, very nasty. Luckily it didnt affect my skiing as it didnt hit me until the last day, but kind of scuppered my plans for other more sedate sightseeing activities planned for the last couple of days. 
2. why do they not include taxes in the advertsied costs for things here  , very annoying and the 1 cent coins are very annoying too.
3. still too many trendies for my liking...maybe its me!
As you can see, nothing too bad. I have another mini-gripe which ill talk about later, as now Ill now give an overview of my experiences of each of the resorts i visited (please note i am a skiier, so can only offer speculation on how it would be for boarders):
1. Whistler - see above. Simply awesome.
2. Lake Louise - Smashing lodge, really good food and quick friendly service (as itis everywhere tho to be fair!). Bit of a drive from Banff but definitely worth it. The skiing is varied and extensive. The powder here was AWESOME, i got lucky and took the little t-bar to the top over the back and the weather cleared promptly and i managed to cut (badly) some fresh tracks, hip deep i swear. I did that 3 times and that was enough for the afternoon as its a very long and lovely run back down the valley. Suitable for all levels and i am sure not too many flat bits for boarders.
Skiing - 8/10
Ambience - 7/10
Staff - 10/10 (this goes for all resorts, everyone is do damn helpful!)
3. Kicking Horse - Man this place is STEEP! Got lucky again and hit a powder day and was amazed how good it was. But the locals knew better than me and the main areas under the upper chairlift were soon tracked out. There was a cloud inversion so the views were stunning at the top. The variety was good and had a really good time here, no people or queues anywhere. However, not good for beginners.
Skiing - 8/10 (steep)
Ambience / views - 9/10
Queues - 10/10
4. Fernie - great place. Fab varierty of runs for all abilities and nicely groomed. There are some really nice greens here for the improving beginners / shaky intermediates. The Cedar Bowl had some great skiing. Unfortunately it hadnt snowed for 4 days or so by the time we got here so it was getting a little scraped in places, but nothing i would call 'icy'. After lunch on the saturday there was a lift queue of about 5 minutes which was weird (!). The very top and bottom areas might be a bit of a pain for boarders?
Skiing - 9/10 (simply for variety)
Ambience / queues - 7/10
Banff was a great town, i will definitely come back here in the summer to hike and do some white water rafting and ski for many winters to come, apart from this stupid cold.
My main gripe with all of the resorts (perhaps excepting whistler) was the a lot of the lifts were very sloooow. There are very few express lifts, and even the gondola at the Horse seemed to be running about half speed. But, maybe i am being picky now! 
well, thats enough for now. I am really glad i chose to come here, the whole experience has been amazing (even my groggy stagger around Vancouver today was great...fab city). Ill be back here soon, keep some Kookanee Gold in the fridge for me!
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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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tomski01, i must get out there one day...
Sounds like you had a great time!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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tomski01, Great report.
What were the lift queues like at Whistler? I've heard they can be very long. Iv'e also been told that the trails can get very busy.
I'm going out there on March 3rd and the crowds are the only thing that are concerning me at the moment.
I loved Banff too; the snow conditions, the terrain, the great town, the people, the wildlife, the great exchange rate but like you my trip was almost spoilt by those pesky 1 cent coins. 
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| Quote: |
What were the lift queues like at Whistler? I've heard they can be very long. Iv'e also been told that the trails can get very busy.
I'm going out there on March 3rd and the crowds are the only thing that are concerning me at the moment.
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Not sure about Whistler, but when we went to sunshine last feb there were no queues of more than 6 people, and the slopes were pretty empty. Check the webcam of sunshine the place is so big it looks empty
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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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I've been to Sunshine and thought it was superb. Like you say, very uncrowded.
I'm trying to work out just how busy the lifts and trails are at Whistler because it seems to be one of the few complaints people have about the place (along with rain).
I'm hoping that "busy" in Canadian resorts has a different meaning to "busy" in major European resorts.
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I've never yet had to stand in a lift line at Whistler for longer than 4 mins
And you can tell when the European skiers come over here. They try and barge and push their way into the lift lines. We have to educate them on the etiquette of alternating.
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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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didnt seem too busy too me, but it was a quiet week. Nothing compared to europe anyway! People seem to queue so well there that its not half as frustrating either (e.g. actually feels like 5 mins as opposed to a lifetime of argy-bargy!).
the other big downer...jet lag...feeling it now. just need to last...3 or 4 mooore hours... 
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You know it makes sense.
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| stuarth wrote: |
| I'm slightly mystified as to why whistler gets singled out when pretty much every other big resort has similar problems. A busy trail in Whistler is empty compared to a busy trail in France |
That's what I suspected.
I've planned my Whistler trip in a way that should mean I'm not waiting in line so much anyway. Such as; Doing the ski school thing for 5 of my 10 days which I believe gives us lift line priority. The one day I'm not skiing (enforced by wife) will be a Saturday and I think/hope that 3rd - 13th March is before the school break in BC.
Can't wait.
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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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dumping down here
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Poster: A snowHead
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what are the pistes like? Are they beeing trashed by presidents week, or is the recent snowfall enough?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Tons of new snow. Conditions are good - wind;s been filling in areas a lot more then reported
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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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still snowing here
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FAQ
. The signsage and trail maps are also AWFUL....but you soon learn to not need them and there are mountain hosts everywhere to show you the way if you get lost!
)
) chair, but last weekend the warm weather meant the snow there wasn't so good.
