 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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Go to Red Mountan, no lift ques, and you'll either die or come back a skiing Jedi!
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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.
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That Harmony photo is taken at a very specific time of day too - maybe 1/2- 3/4 hour after the lift has opened on a powder day I'd guess - lots of people still arriving from the main mountain while those that have knocked a couple of laps off still piling in from the right. Note a lot of people binning it off who've had their fun to go to Emerald (bad idea) or the always empty chair if they've sense.
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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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haha i think i would more than likely die at red mountain that come back a jedi from what ive read about it. big white does sound great, strangely though why isnt it in any of the uk ski brochures? isnt that a bit odd? i know that picture from whistler is probably just on a certain day at a certain time of the year but my god its big. lake louise pics look good too, stuarth, are you trin to say lake louise looks as empty as it does because it wasnt exactly a powder day whereas whistler was just white everywhere?
cheers guys for your help been great
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fatbob, it may have been a powder day but with no access to the bowl until later in the day due to winds or bad visibility, which seemed to happen quite often, every one heads down there when the lifts open, has a few runs and then there is a mad rush to get one last run before the lift shuts at 3.30. It should be noted thatn the Harmony bowl is a huge off piste style area with everyone heading for the last lift back up the mountain at the end of the day
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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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whistler as I remembered it
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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that pic of whistler is bloody awesome, im like a kid at christmas want to be there right now
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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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stuarth, that is what I thought regarding Harmony, lots of peeps waiting to head that way, hence the bottlenecks. Over the couse of a normal day the queues were not like the ones in the picture
I think it well might have been Symphony, off to the right a bit after the wide open space. Harmony was not open much when I was there due to the fact that it dumped pow every day !! The bowls were great for me as a fairly new boarder getting used to safe 'off-piste' type conditions 
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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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haha just as i seem to like the idea of whistler someone else says it aint that good. dont think i have ever seen or heard of a resort that divides people so much. seems to be you either love it or hate it and its a lot of money to find out which side your on isnt it really
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Poster: A snowHead
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colors, like everything, you don't know until you've tried it and your opinion will probably vary greatly from the next person's. And if you don't go to Whistler you'll always be wondering if you should go. We've never been, but then we've just never particularly fancied it. Whatever it's like, you would have a great time skiing there I'm sure 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whistler IS a ski area designed for skiers. There's no denying it. And a nice base area with vibrant apres.
The one thing the "designer" can't do anything about is the snow QUALITY. It's got plenty of snow alright, just moisture laden heavy stuff. I doubt it's any worse than the Alps. But definitely not the fluffy kind in the Rockies. Though if you're a on-piste skier, you probably won't notice the difference.
Crowds (and expensive). Crowds is something that could happen in ANY resort, if you're unlucky. If you stop and think for a moment. Why do you think the crowds are there when there're other resorts around? 
It boils down to what do you care MORE: the crowd? Or what draw the crowd there in the first place.
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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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colors, you seem more cofused now than when you started this thread 
I think for a first time to Canada, it's a two-way match between Whistler and Banff/Lake Louise, I plumped for the latter because Whistler seemed too much like something you could find cheaper in Europe (purpose-built mega-resort) whereas the Banff area seemed more quintessentially Canadian with the awesome scenery, rocky mountain powder, national park status, non-skiing activities and the possibility of visiting different ski areas.
Though if it's all about the convenient skiing and the vertical, I can see the attraction of Whistler.
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well thats the thing, there seems to be more to do in the way of off slope activities in whistler than banff. seems to have everything banff has plus ziptrekking. i am confused about whistler as ive never heard so many good/bad contrasting reports on one resort
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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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colors,
Whistler = Mega resort, mass of foriegn and local workers and visitors with huge ski terrain good snow record and a busier weekend than other resorts in canada due to its proximity to Vancover ( A much bigger city than calgary). Amazing skiing great convinience modern lifts, great rental shops and everything your little heart could desire. 1 option to fly inot Vancover. Snow garuntee but weather can be bad alot (Low visibility,rain in the village(sometimes) but mostly snow & if you have the right kit wont be a problem and a great choice of places to stay, shop and eat
Banff: Very Canadian resort set in the most stunning scenery in the world with plenty to do on/off piste and on and off the snow. Very local not as much vertical as whistleer & no where near the convineince but amazing locals much more sceninc with more wildlife and local flavour. Modern lifts great and efficent ski bus and rental shops. 2 options to fly to Edmenton/Calgary, shorter transfer and smaller weekend crowds but same great snow. Not as great a variety of hotels and shops but no shortage of good food stops Better weather in general more chance of sun!
Happy choosing
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Yep, Big White would suit your needs very well i.e. tons of intermediate terrain, ski in/out, zero queues (and I mean zero) if you avoid major holidays. You could combine it with a trip to Silver Star if you're there for a couple of weeks. Snow will be great throughout Jan/Feb and not too cold. Let me know if you need further info.
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uktrailmonster, We are thinking about Big White for March - will check out your website. I assume it's your place?
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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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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| uktrailmonster, We are thinking about Big White for March - will check out your website. I assume it's your place? |
Yes indeed. Snowhead discount available of course. We'll be going ourselves sometime in March, but not sure when yet.
We've found it to be a less stressful resort than the mega resorts like Whistler. Skiing is pretty laid back, with lots of dry powder and great tree lined runs. Lots of fun inbounds off-piste too for the slightly more adventurous. A great place to learn powder skiing without any worries. The village is pretty quiet too, but there are a couple of lively bars and some very nice casual restaurants. Best described as a quiet family oriented resort with superb snow conditions and tree lined runs. Not ideal for the hardcore, but there is some pretty challenging terrain off the cliff chair and over in the GemLake area. but if you like cruising knee deep powder on long rolling terrain, it doesn't get much better.
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i do love the sound of big white but the cost of booking it all seperately would be really expensive due to flight costs and none of the main tour operators seem to do package holidays which means im struggling to book it which is why whistler is looking so much easier
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| colors wrote: |
| i do love the sound of big white but the cost of booking it all seperately would be really expensive due to flight costs and none of the main tour operators seem to do package holidays which means im struggling to book it which is why whistler is looking so much easier |
Yep, cost could be an issue. Lots of flight alternatives though if you shop around. There was a thread about extremely cheap flights into Seattle, which is only a short hop away. It's hard to compete on price with the package hols to Whistler, but that's the difference between the hustle and bustle of a major international resort and a more local one. You can't have it both ways unfortunately.
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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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just think bearing in mind the cost and the snow conditions to be similar then whistler is the wimmer. would love to go to big white but at the moment its not viable for myself unfortunately
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For four people, it was much cheaper to book everything ourselves when we went to Whistler, but we did get a good deal on the flights.we got decently priced accommodation through www.alluradirect.com . I think they may do Big White too Banff was a package, but we hired a car to avoid the transfer bus.
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You know it makes sense.
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| colors wrote: |
| just think bearing in mind the cost and the snow conditions to be similar then whistler is the wimmer. would love to go to big white but at the moment its not viable for myself unfortunately |
For an intermediate level skier, you might find Whistler a bit of an anti-climax. It's great for experts, but for intermediates the runs don't have much variety and you often need to head higher up the mountain to get the better snow conditions. If you're going down the package route, you'd be better off heading to Banff / Lake Louise. Less crowded and beautiful scenery.
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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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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| For four people, it was much cheaper to book everything ourselves when we went to Whistler, but we did get a good deal on the flights.we got decently priced accommodation through www.alluradirect.com . I think they may do Big White too Banff was a package, but we hired a car to avoid the transfer bus. |
We advertise our apartment on alluradirect
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
| For an intermediate level skier, you might find Whistler a bit of an anti-climax. |
Exactly my feelings about the place. For me, it was a big anti-climax, and I enjoyed Banff far more despite the drive to the slopes.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was an intermediate when I first went to Whistler, and had a blast. It's a great place still - I get about 10 days a year in there and rarely encounter any of the nasty stuff people allude to here. You just have to be sensible, and be willing to get on the hill before the crowds, and move ahead of the masses, eat lunch at 11.30, etc. it ain't exactly difficult.
Advise to go in January is spot on - best snow and lowest crowds.
There's plenty of reports/pics on my blog (see below) on Whistler. here's one of the sets of pics from Feb this year.
http://gortonator.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!AF2DD3CC35CC7ADF!1574/
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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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| gortonator wrote: |
| I was an intermediate when I first went to Whistler, and had a blast. It's a great place still |
Sure, I can think of many worse places to go and we had a great time there too. But of the places I've personally been in Canada (Whistler, Lake Louise, Big White) Whistler comes last for me. All depends on your personal preferences I guess. But for me crowds are a non-starter at any time of day and by Canadian standards Whistler is a very busy resort.
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ive booked whistler nw, dont think the crowds will be too bad mid jan, from what ive heard and seen its feb it starts to really build up and ive seen plenty of pics with no one on slopes so think people may be over exaggerating with the crowds sometimes. anyway im thinking i might be able to get another ski trip in around late feb and it wil prob be banff but i havent given up the idea of big white. one prob im having with big white is i cant find any accomodation whatsoever on any website not even the independant travel agents online. where do people book accomodation for big white? im just findng it impossible at the moment
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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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| Quote: |
| one prob im having with big white is i cant find any accomodation whatsoever on any website not even the independant travel agents online. where do people book accomodation for big white? im just findng it impossible at the moment |
colors, have you tried the travel agents I linked to above? I've used Ski Independence twice when going to Big White and they've been fine. Staying in the same accommodation it has worked out cheaper than booking accommodation & flights myself direct. Or you can book direct through the Big White Central Reservations http://www.bigwhite.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.showSection&ID=445 or try alluradirect
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colors, What sort of accomodation are you looking for in Big White? We have an apartment there, but if not suitable I can help you find somewhere that is, no problem at all.
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how much does big white tend to come out at for ski in/ski out accom (doesnt have to be luxury but around 3*) flights and transfers say late feb? also is how is the skiing/snow usually in late feb?
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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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colors, just looking at a quote I got from Ski Independence at the end of March, for 10 days from either 31 Jan or 7 Feb 09.
Staying at the White Crystal Inn, probably the best hotel location right in the centre of the resort with the piste going right to the back door. Price including transatlantic flight and then internal flight and transfer:
31 Jan - £1,036
7 Feb - £1,183
No doubt if you asked now the price might be different. Don't forget hotels in Canada tend to be room only, but you can eat pretty cheaply in Big White and the lift pass isn't expensive as say Banff. You can probably do it cheaper if you book an apartment in not such a convenient location.
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i think we are pretty much settled on Big White - looking at the Woodcutter Cabins - anyone know them?
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FAQ
true for the workers there for sure! But most of the people we met when skiing were American or Canadian 
and the lift hadnt just opened. Before the masses every got into Symphony Bowl 