 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey guys -
Just looking for some input - me and a mate are gonna be bumming next season in Canada. Question is, somewhere huge (Whistler, basically), or a smaller town? I think the decision is gonna be based around price, terrain and apres (shocker  ). The idea of the "posh crowds" (couldnt think of a better way to put that!) might be annoying in Whistler - though I've been to Fernie this year and really enjoyed it, but bit concerened it might get a bit clastrophobic after six months.
So - basically, my questions are:
How expensive is Whistler compared to a smaller town resort? Cost of living, cost of a pint?
Anyone got any recommendations for a resort for a season in Canada?
Slightly unrelated, but how difficult and pricey will getting a car out there be?
Cheers all -
Dave
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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toiletduckuk, whistler can be expensive, but does offer a lot of convience and ski able area. we have been twice and now would like to try other canadian resorts forth similar reasons to yourself.
we tried to keep cost down by not eatting out each day and since there are a couple of super markets where you can grab stuff it's not too much of a problem
there are plenty of bars, but if you miss time it , say coincide with a US holiday as we did this year it is really, really busy and hard to get into the bars
Costs of food varies depending on the style of plae you go for. Since there we loads of college kids this year we treatedour selves to one of the better places in whislter and the price we about the same as UK (£40 a head including starters, main and bottle of wine)
"posh Crowd" - not sure what you mean as we haven't seen that in whistler (have in Lech in Austria). Do you mean the ski groups wearing latest fashions ? Not seen this much
One thing to bear in mind is the pound is very strong so anywhere state side is cheaper at present
hope this helps
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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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toiletduckuk, I was in Whistler in March, and from memory drinks are a bit on the pricey side.
It's a bit difficult to judge exactly how much a pint is as all the bars are waitress/waiter service and they set up a tab for you - but I reckon you're talking UK prices for booze.
As for eating out, rob and sharon, are probably right in saying that meals were getting close to UK costs - but the quality and quantity was certainly better/bigger.
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Smaller town definitely, leave Whistler for the tourists 
There are lots of choices, do you have to stay in 1 place the whole time?
I'd look at the Okanagan region (Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks etc)
But it's all personal preference in the end. Some people like the bustle of big resorts, others prefer peace and quiet. There's no best place.
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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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| rob and sharon wrote: |
"posh Crowd" - not sure what you mean as we haven't seen that in whistler (have in Lech in Austria). Do you mean the ski groups wearing latest fashions ? Not seen this much
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Basically, don't want to have to put up with park rats with all their expensive stuff sitting in the park being hostile, or people swanning round like they own the place ala corcheval/merbiel. Not the biggest problem, but it's just something that a small town won't have.
We won't be eating out or anything, just living on the minimum without scrimping and scraping. is £10 ($24 cad) a day too low a budget to cover food, drink, wax, petrol? Don't mind if the resteraunts are super expensive, but if the bars are as expensive as Europe in Whistler that's a real bummer (we paid $2 a pint in Fernie and 5e a pint in Morzine!) Are whistlers supermarkets more expensive than elsewhere?
[quote=uktrailmonster]
There are lots of choices, do you have to stay in 1 place the whole time?
I'd look at the Okanagan region (Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks etc) [/quote]
Well, we don't have to stay put but I think it'd help - for having a season pass and getting to know the locals at least. But we're planning on getting a car - are there any places that're similar to the alps in that you can stay in one place and be an hours drive from a bunch of other resorts?
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Having been to Whistler, Sun Peaks and Big White a couple of times, I would say that out of those three as an example I would definitely prefer a season in Whistler. Big White is a one street village with only a couple of bars/restaurants and as far as terrain goes, it's a pretty small place and you can hit one side of the mountain to the other in a morning without rushing, nice off-piste though if snow is good! Same goes for Sun Peaks... after a few days we were ready to move on as it's just too small for my personal preference, but a cool place. As you say, after a couple of months you will definitely get claustrophobic, as some of the seasonnaires verified to me in Big White this year! At least in Whistler you will have more choice for everything, terrain, socialising, facilities etc and you will not be paying tourist prices anyway as you will have a season pass....pay the extra dollar for your sanity over the season!
I'm sure there will be plenty of disagreements to this post (There are always some), but having worked a season, I would definitely pick the bigger place to avoid the cabin fever of a tiny resort - you can always do some road trips to other places whilst there anyway..
Good Luck!
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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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toiletduckuk, closer to £3 than £2 I'm afraid. And don't forget the tip!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Be careful what you're looking for and compare like with like. Big White, Sun Peaks, Silver Star and Panorama aren't towns. They are purpose built ski resorts with towns a moderate to longish distance away. Fernie, Golden, Rossland and Nelson are however towns of varying size with reasonable sized ski bum populations as well as regular residents if you're looking for that community feel (local ice hockey games etc). Banff is a big town like Whistler without the ski resort on the doorstep. Whistler will be the most expensive place to rent, live and go out drinking but then there will also be something to do every night, you've a relatively huge inbounds area, proper world class parks if you like that sort of thing (unlike the above towns/resorts) and you can escape to Vancouver when you get cabin fever.
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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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fatbob Good advice, it's good to have options available..
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toiletduckuk, you don't need transport in Whistler, eerything is walkable
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You know it makes sense.
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| rob and sharon wrote: |
| toiletduckuk, you don't need transport in Whistler, eerything is walkable |
or accessible via the cheap/free regular buses (free within the village and small change if you want to go somewhere outside the village in the vicinity).
The Perimeter Express which is a timetabled bus service from Vancouver to Whistler is pretty handy too.
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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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Accommodation might be a bit pricey in Whistler: if you have transport you might do better living down the road in Squamish and commuting up each day - works for a lot of the folks who actually work in Whistler.
Never encountered anyone posh in Whistler. Apart from myself of course.
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Poster: A snowHead
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toiletduckuk, So you've already done Fernie, but did you hit the surrounding areas Castle 45 min and one hardcore Mtn. Kimberly the intermediate skiers dream 45min, Big Mtn 1 hr drive, Schweitzer 2.5 hr, another sleeper close to Fernie Turner Mtn outside of Libby 2 hr 2000' vert open Fri- Sun great Friday Powder days especially since you no longer have to ride the 1.25 mile T-bar. Course there are all the resorts to the North, too. Sorry I'm a small ski area lover, at least the ones that have some good black diamonds, fewer crowds, shorter lines, and there is usually plenty of skiing once you learn the secrets, especially if you hike.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Acacia wrote: |
| Accommodation might be a bit pricey in Whistler: if you have transport you might do better living down the road in Squamish and commuting up each day - works for a lot of the folks who actually work in Whistler. |
Second that.
6 month without a transport WILL get clastophobic. By trading the expense of the truck to the lower cost of off-resort housing, you might even come out ahead. Plus the wheels to get away from time to time.
The truck: try to find a used one in the 3-6 year range in decent condition, sell it after 6 month when you're done.
The cheapest way is of course live away from the resort and take the bus everyday. I'll let the locals to chime in as to frequency and hours of the bus. It may cram your style of apre if the bus stop running after 7pm.
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