 Poster: A snowHead
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PhotoTim, We are looking at possibly staying at Timberline Lodges next February. What is it like in terms of proximity to any bars, restaurants and shops? How far is it to downtown Fernie, is there a regular bus or cab service?
Thanks in advance for any information you can give regarding the skiing and lodging.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Sharkymark, Thanks for the reply.
So Inghams claim that Timberline is 8 minutes walk from the centre of Fernie is being a bit economical with the truth - no surprise there then 
Do you know if there are any local car hire facilities?
More importantly is there a bar near Timberline where we could get a beer after skiing?
Cheers
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CP, can always get a taxi to town, for the odd trip will not be too much. We hired a car but ended up going back to calgary airport to get one. There was a local car hire company, i think it was "rent-a-wreck" but they were out of cars. Found the bus service between town and hill a little slow and rubbish.
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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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CP,
We've managed 2 trips to Fernie without a car. Having one would have been a bonus but not a necessity.
There is a small supermarket at the resort base that sells basics (inc wine and beer). There's a larger one in town (Overwaiteas) with a liquor store next to it. Liquor store shuts at 6pm.
There are only 2 bars at the ski area. The Griz and Kelseys. The Griz has live music at weekends but dies after about 7pm. No kids allowed in there if you are taking any.
Kelseys is more a pub - reasonable food and drink and kids allowed in.
You can also get drinks at Lizard Creek Lodge if you are feeling affluent, and they have a very nice restaraunt there.
Timberline appartments are pretty smart - the French could learn alot! We had a 2 bed appt. Proper kitchen with microwave, dishwasher, oven etc. Decent sized lounge with fire, balcony satelite TV, 2 bathrooms. There are hot tubs, communal BBQ area and swimming pool.
You can ski most of the way back to them by heading (skiers)right at the bottom of Timber Bowl quad, head for the tunnel under the road, about half way along the track stop and climb up the bank to Timberline lodges.
Like Waynos says, the bus service is tempermental. We went in Jan and the whole resort was very quiet. Bus driver gave us his phone number and said if we wanted picking up he'd come and collect us. Tipping him was well worth it 
There's a few other eating places at the resort base. Gabriellas - an Italian above the supermarket, Woods (I think??), posh steak place.
The Griz bar does Nachos, burgers , pizza slices and that's about it.
There is a Pizza place in down town Fernie that will deliver to your appartment door as well.
When we went for first 2 weeks of Jan the snow was so epic that we really could not be bothered to do much after skiing except eat drink and watch the snow fall for the next day. We really didn't miss the sybaritic delights of down town Fernie! I guess that if the snow is not so good you may think otherwise.
Either way you'll enjoy it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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That's it - I'm packed, expect to arrive in Fernie saturday evening 
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Enjoy your trip holidayloverxx, I hope you enjoy skiing on your birthday too We'll raise a glass to you from Wengen.
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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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FenlandSkier, cheers m'dear. Have a whale of a time in Wengen
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The clouds came in so we didn't attempt Polar Peak again today. It was fairly mild again but less so than yesterday. The lower runs were still very soft by the afternoon though. We spent most of the day ripping through Lizard Bowl; hitting one or two of the many kickers that have suddenly cropped up. Not really any great amounts of snow predicted for the next 5 days so it looks like I may have seen the last dump of my season. However, it does mean all runs and the backcountry can be opened up 
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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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Came back from Fernie last Thursday after 10/11 days. The transfer from Calgary was rather tedious, 3 + 1/4 hrs, with not much to look at. However, arrived at a reasonable time early evening in time for a bite to eat and a few beers (been many times across the pond and generally arrive late and everything is closed, unlike Europe).
Checked into a very nice two bed condo in the Cornerstone Lodge (we were two couples). We had a big balcony overlooking the Mighty Moose button lift / Elk chair, great views and ideally located ski - in / out accommodation. On the hill is a small ski shop and a grocery store. As been mentioned before, not much at all going on in the evening on the hill. From what we tried, Kelseys was under our lodge, and was fine for a drink, burgers and ribs etc, and Gabriellas the Italian restuarant we thought was nice also. The bus service into Fernie town was rather erratic, but functional, and a few bars and restuarants are scattered along the non - atmospheric main street. We liked the Brickhouse and The Royal, and found the Corner Pocket (next to the Central bar) served good food. We heard good reviews of The Curry Bowl but couldn't get in (it's the size of your front room!) they don't take bookings and sometimes you had to queue outside, so we didn't bother. Oh yeah, we also had a great meal at the Old Elevator. I can recommend the Elk steak and 1 /2 Lobster!
It was rather warm, and the bottom slopes were becoming slushy, but then the temperature dropped slightly, and finally on our second Saturday we had a few cms of snowfall, and Sunday night / Monday it didn't stop, and we got about 9 - 10 inches ( a bit more up in the bowls), this made our final two days ski - ing very enjoyable. There has been a lot of talk about the slow lifts at Fernie, but this only really applies to the Elk / Deer chairs at the base (and boy, they are slow). As soon as you move away from this area we found them to be fine.
Beginners will soon get bored at Fernie as the terrain is rather limited for them, but for everyone else there is some great sport to be had as long as the snow levels are good.
All in all we had a good time in Fernie, we could have had a bit more snow but hey, you pay your moey and take your chance don't you!! 
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 12-03-08 10:01; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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DaveC, I skied one of your usual spots and found no one had been down it...for good reason. I totalled it on about my 4th turn and it was very slabby. I strapped on a snowboard for the first time tonight and am feeling very pleased with myself after hitting a kicker in PhotoTim's backyard on the 5th attempt 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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OF LORDY LORD...forecast: "a few overnight flurries", reality: absolutely PUKING IT DOWN. I found it fairly hard to contain my excitement this morning when we awoke to steady snow and about an inch in the town. On the hill, this translated into about 4-5 ins when I got up at first lift. I went straight to Cedar Bowl, where it settles thicker, and found that no one at all had been beyond Cedar Ridge. In other words, pretty much the entire bowl was fresh Although I could still feel the crust underneath, there was about 8 ins of snow which provided plenty of flotation for high-speed turns. KC Chutes were sick; each turn released tons of slough and I raced it down the top parts of the chute. I met up with PhotoTim, who was a bit slow out of bed  and we ripped down Cedar Ridge with only about half a dozen other tracks. It was deeper here and less crusty. We accessed Boom chair via the trees next to Linda's Run, where there were only 2 other tracks (one set was mine from earlier ) and then hiked up Snake Ridge. As per usual, most hikers were going into Fish Bowl so we got yet more freshies on the top half of Snake Main in the ever-deepening snow
We then met up with a few more people and headed over to the new side. Following our excursion down the Saddle last week, we knew that there would be deeper snow with few tracks. The drop in was far less sketchy and although there were plenty of rocks at the top, it was possible to turn around/through/over them. We traversed towards Easter Bowl and looked down at a completely untouched steep powder field. I swear it was over knee deep with no crust underneath...best turns of my stay The trees at the bottom were more tracked (at least 3, maybe 4 people had been before us ). We lapped this run again after persuading some others that the blind drop in, 45 deg pitch and rocks were nowt to worry about  and they all thought it was worth it with yet another run of freshies through a different gully.
We ascended White Pass again and skied through Surprise Trees. Although it was deep, we could still feel the crust beneath. Instead of hitting the groomer at the bottom of the run, we skied into some tight trees above the Timber Chair. Again, there were only 2 other tracks and slough was gushing all over the place. We then skied Siberia Ridge and Morning Glory, before PhotoTim had to go to work I went back up and skied the Saddle again before a couple of Bear laps and that was it for 2008.
WHAT
A
SEASON
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sharkymark, we got home at noon today. we got to check in at around 4.00pm then hit Taco Time and Tim Hortons - Mr HL rrrolled the rim to win.....a doughnut
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That's hilarious: PhotoTim's roomie's bought 11 cups of Tim Horton's coffee and hasn't won anything - despite a claimed win probability of 1/9!
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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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Sharkymark, Sounds like you had a great time in Fernie. The conditions over in Big White were very similar last week. A fair bit more snow than predicted and loads of quality fresh track skiing. It was hard to leave on Sunday morning with blue skies, cool temps and at least another 10 cm of fresh powder overnight. But there's always next season 
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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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Snowing on and off for a few days now. The sun often makes an appearance too which is nice. We have also now broken 10m of snow for the season which is pretty good. The annual average is 8.75m.
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24cm last night, overslept a bit and got to the hill at 9:30 - prompty got to the back of the overflow carpark and carried on driving straight back home. Busier than Xmas up there, public holidays suck!
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You know it makes sense.
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Dave, you missed a killer day. Was busy but not too bad, never had to wait ages for a lift. Did laps of the Saddles and was rewarded with amazing runs in easter bowl each time! First run of the day was fresh all the way through cedar bowl. Phone me when you are next up...
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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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Will do. Might be a while - have become an alchoholic. Royal was banging tonight... messy one on the cards tomorrow!
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Poster: A snowHead
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RCR might think the season is nearly over, but the Griz strongly disagrees. 2 inches on the street already, puking snow, supposed to continue all night - April blower tomorrow morning!
Oh, and anyone in Fernie want to buy a car?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sweet
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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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comfortably over 11m of snow this season now and a base of up to around 3.8m. To put it into perspective, we have more base than lake louise has had snowfall! Hill closes in a few days so going to make the most of it. After that I'm going to try some cross country skiing and then to head up to lake louise for a couple of days followed by a visit to the new resort at revelstoke...can't wait!
Oh, and did I mention that I will then be traveling around Vancouver Island before spending the summer mountain biking in Whistler?
Livin the dream...
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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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Tony - when are you out this week? Where's your housemate? xx
(i have no credit either)
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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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PhotoTim, I haven't managed to sell your 2006/7 Spesh Enduro Med Frame perfect nick bike yet for the £1100 it's worth but I'll keep trying!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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DaveC, Tony Hawks and Timmy Hortons will both be making a guest appearances probably on saturday evening in some form of drinking establishment. They will also be hitting the hill tomorrow, sunday and probably monday.
Someone buy my bike please....
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Sweet, think I'm taking a night off (purely because noone else wants to go out...) - will see you round town tomorrow.
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So an amazing season comes to a close. I'm sitting on my bare bed having packed most of my gear. I leave for lake louise in an hour
Bye bye fernie, I will miss you but I'll be back...
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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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PhotoTim, Thanks to you and the rest of the Fernie gang for givign such excellent reports throughout the season. They certainly kept up my anticipation. Like you I'll be back
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Likewise, I would like to congratulate everyone who posted on this thread over the season. Give yourselves all a pat on the back!!!
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FAQ
However, today was phenomenal: it was bluebird the whole day, the temps had dropped and the snow was awesome. I started the day by myself and did a couple of Timber and Bear laps before nailing the Saddle again. Unfortunately, more snow had been scraped off the drop in leaving a loose rock band stretching across the whole of it. This made the top 15 feet bloody sketchy; there was no way I could turn without risking blowing out on a rock so it was back to 
. We were gutted to be leaving. anyone out there this weekend will have a brilliant time.
