 Poster: A snowHead
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i want to go for my first trip to canada and was wondering if anyone can give me some information on the differences and pros and cons of whistler, fernie, lake louise, banff and jasper?
im a good intermmidiate level but not up to the standard of black runs yet, any info on these would be great though
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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're not getting the best out of Whistler & Fernie at that level so I'd consider the others. Jasper smaller, more isolated than Banff/LL.
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I haven't been to Whistler or Fernie, so can only comment on the others.
Jasper is a much smaller ski area than you will get from the others, and is probably only worth a trip from the UK as part of a multi-centre trip IMO. It is enjoyable to ski, but only for 3-5 days.
If you stay in either Lake Louise of Banff, you can geta tri-area pass that covers the ski areas of Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Norquay. All three are a bus ride away from any of the hotels except the Sunshine Village hotel that is on the slopes there (The bus is included if you get a tri-area pass, and stops at or close to most of the hotels).
From Lake Louise hotels, the Lake louise ski are is about 10 minutes on the bus, Sunshine is about half an hour, while Norquay would be about 40 minutes.
From Banff, Norquay is about 10 minutes, Sunshine around half an hour, Lake Louise about 40-45 minutes.
Lake Louise is only a small village, with a few hotels and nothing much else, while Banff is a real town, with reaosnable shopping and quite a good choice of eatery & bars.
So far as the ski areas are concerned, Lake Louise is the largest, Norquay is the smallest. All will almost certainly be much quieter than you would experience in Europe at the same time.
Runs at Sunshine are generally over-graded IMO - that is one which would be a blue at Lake Louise will often be a single black at Sunshine, and some of the Blues there would be greens at LL.
If you are used to European skiing, you might be surprised at how often runs other than greens may be left ungroomed, particularly the morning after a fresh dump.
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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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so if i stay a the sunshine village hotel i will have ski in /ski out to all the ski area or just the sunshine ski area?
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colors, If you stay in the Sunshine Village, you will only have direct access to Sunshine. All the other areas are a bus ride away. However, I think I am right in saying that there is no town at Sunshine (it's been 10 years since I went there - and stayed in Banff)
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| colors wrote: |
| so if i stay a the sunshine village hotel i will have ski in /ski out to all the ski area or just the sunshine ski area? |
Just the Sunshine area.
The three areas are each a bus ride away from each other, and nt only are not, but could not be lift linked.
And if you stay in that hotel, it will be a gondola ride down first before you get the bus.
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I'd stay in Banff-staying at Sunshine would be nearly pointless unless you only wanted to ski sunshine and have no nightlife. Generally after a good dump they leave everything un-groomed except most of the greens which I thinks awesome. A couple dumps even left the greens un-groomed this year which makes for nice skiing!
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When are you planning on going...an issue which may be of great relevance as it can get very seriously cold in Banff/Lake Louise in say January. Jasper too may be affected that way. Whistler is not usually overly cold as it is much nearer the coast (dont know about Fernie). However it was -30 when we were last in Whistler (it was a lot colder, according to the TV, in Banff). In my times in Whistler that was a one off for cold. Conversely the last time we were in Banff, last Easter it was gloriously sunny most days and a pleasant -5 or so.
Do a search and you will find a variety of opinions on the various resorts. For a first trip it may be Banff/Lake Louise against Whistler (these being the biggest two and certainly the two most on offer through the usual brochures). As between them , if you read the reviews you will see the varying opinions. The main gripe about Whistler is often the resort level weather (rain) as the resort level is pretty low (1800 ft). Where you tend to ski is a lot higher so it tends to be snow up there and rain in the resort. As an intermediate you can go right to the top and get back down. There is always a green/blue way down. In Banff the gripe is you have to get a bus to ski any of the 3 areas so there is a travel component to factor in (Whistler you walk from most places to the lifts).
As for skiing itself you would likely love either of these resorts -there is a lot of intermediate terrain on Whistler and a lot of stuff that you can (safely) stretch yourself on particularly with ski school if you want to test out some blacks. There are not many groomed blacks at Whistler, most of the black terrain is ungroomed. As someone said above Sunshine is a bit overgraded.........as suggested if you go to Banff stay in Banff. Personally I wouldnt stay at Lake Louise or Sunshine for the reasons set out above.
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hi malcom thanks for the info thats great, i can go any time jan,feb apart from the half term week so pretty flexible. how much busier are the slopes on whistler compared to banff, if say i went to whistler mid jan and banff late feb?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Dont know about Banff in late Feb. We were there over Easter last year and it wasnt that busy, certainly nothing to get unduly worried about.
In Jan you want to avoid the Martin Luther King holiday which is a Monday in mid Jan as that can be busy . That is like a Bank Holiday Monday for the USA so you will get an influx for the long weekend. That apart late Jan early Feb is usually fine. Enough people to give a buzz but not crowded, midweek certainly. At weekends you do get an influx from the Vancouver conurbation (both day trippers and people with holiday homes who come up Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon). Also, if the exchange rate is ok there is an influx from the US...Seattle and its conurbation. On those days it pays to be in ski school to get the lift line privileges ie queue jumping
Banff at Easter was probably busier than Whistler in late Jan......but neither was a problem.
In Feb you want to avoid the Presidents Day weekend (mid Feb) which may coincide with our half term or may not. That is probably the busiest time of the year in most resorts in the US and Canada (along with Xmas/New Year)
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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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In 2009 Martin Luther King day is 19 January and Presidents Day is 16 February
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colors, You don't generally queue in Banff at all. Feb tends to be a bit warmer so i'd go for then, towards the end of January you can expect a week of -30 to -40 so unless you've a fetish for cold avoid it. Jasper is generally a bit colder. Feb can be a mixed bag but i'd suggest a comfortable -10 which I promise you is not as cold as it sounds in the Rockies.
Also Banff is a great night out.
Never been to Whistler so no grounds for comparison.
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You know it makes sense.
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colors, check out my recent trip report for Banff. Go sometime between Feb half-term and Easter for good package prices, milder weather and best snow.
Bus travel to ski areas is a disadvantage but also a good way to see a bit more of that beautiful country and they are extremely efficient. Definitely stay in Banff and commute, you'll go stir crazy up at Sunshine, "village" is a misnomer.
Weekends are the busiest when weekenders, Calgaryites and locals hit the hill but the only real queue we had was loading the Sunshine gondola first thing, using the singles line got you on almost immediately. Midweek, there were people about but no queuing.
Sorry can't comment on other resorts you mention, but daytrips are doable to Kicking Horse and Panorama, in addition to Lake Louise, from Banff for added variety.
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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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I'm not sure the MLK holiday being busy applies to Banff. The Canadians have a different holiday schedule. I don't think Banff gets too much American vacationers. Certainly not to the degree US resorts do. And even there, MLK is just an extra Monday. It generally doesn't get too busy even for most US resorts.
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Poster: A snowHead
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so should i avoid the MLK day in whistler?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| colors wrote: |
| so should i avoid the MLK day in whistler? |
If its a straight choice then yes - lots of Seppos do go to Whistler and therefore that weekend will be busier than usual but probably not something to worry about too much as Whsitler is always pretty busy in season
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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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hmmm how busy is busy for whistler? never been so dont know what to expect, i thought canada was supposed to be quieter than european resorts, is this not the case for whistler then?
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colors, There have been numerous threads around on busyness in Whistler - think of it as an international rather than Canadian - at one point or another there will be hordes of Japanese/Mexicans/South Americans/Australian families etc. 10-20 mins line for upload at ski school time, lines long enough to fill the mazes etc. at certain lifts at certain times
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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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sounds like alton towers, not my cup of tea me thinks
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| colors wrote: |
| sounds like alton towers, not my cup of tea me thinks |
but with much better rides & free tissues (though probably the same standard of greasy burgers) . A full maze takes I'd guess 8-10 mins to get through & you can avoid the busy lifts with a bit of sense.
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I see it hasn't changed since we were there in 2000(ish). On that occasion we got get up with choosing lifts according to the length of the queues. They even have traffic lights warning of the waiting time!
I would have thought that will all the customers they've got, Whistler could at least afford a few new lifts.
Nowadays we head a day's drive inland. Few queues, drier snow. Okay not as much vertical, but more skiing due to the lack of queuing.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Harmony does get crowded, no point in denying that, but I think that it would be wrong to see these photos as representative of every lift in the ski area at that time of day(not sure what time that is,but maybe mid/late morning on a weekend?). That chair and Emerald are probably the worst.....there are others where you could see, at that same time, significantly lower volumes of skiers. Midweek you wont see those lines either, even there.
It also helps if you know when to go to different bits of the mountain eg not there on a weekend in the late morning or go into ski school and get to jump the line or use the single line which is invariably quicker in my view
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| malcolm1 wrote: |
| use the single line which is invariably quicker in my view |
From my observation (and I suspect this is level of geekiness too far) there is a critical queue size at which the singles line starts to go slower. I speculate that this is because people in the main line start to notice how long they are waiting and therefore become more efficient e.g. 2 pairs will form a 4 rather than one of them standing around daydreaming.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
and I suspect this is level of geekiness too far
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Yup, I would agree with that !!
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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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oh my god that queue is ridiculous, i have always wanted to go to canada and especially whistler but that really is silly ive never seen anything like that in europe even busy resorts. at the moment whistler is throwing up exoense, fighting and big daddy queues haha. can anyone tell recommend me some resorts that are slightly quieter but still have a decent size piste? apart from banff that is dont fancy waiting for a bus in -30 have to be a marine for that lol
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| colors wrote: |
| oh my god that queue is ridiculous, i have always wanted to go to canada and especially whistler but that really is silly ive never seen anything like that in europe even busy resorts. at the moment whistler is throwing up exoense, fighting and big daddy queues haha. can anyone tell recommend me some resorts that are slightly quieter but still have a decent size piste? apart from banff that is dont fancy waiting for a bus in -30 have to be a marine for that lol |
Most places in Canada are likely to be as cold. But that is part of what makes the snow so good.
And there aren't many resorts in Canada with plenty of piste and accommodation near by.
BTW, at most hotels, you won't be waiting in -30, you will be able to wait indoors until it arrives.
But you may have to wait outside for the return trip, although the buses tend to wait around for 10 minutes or more with you able to sit in them.
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You know it makes sense.
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colors, depending on when you go you may never wait in a queue longer than 2 minutes, you might even find yourself waiting for 5 so you don't have to ride alone/
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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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the busses run on time like you wouldn't believe as well.
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Poster: A snowHead
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just dont fancy being in a resort that is immensley busy, prefer to be able to ski with a bit more freedom. apart from banff is there anywhere else in canada or usa thats a bit quieter and decent piste?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You've just asked a question with hundreds of answers. Castle Mountain is quiet.
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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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well ok haha reosrts that i can book through a brochure, i mean in crystal there are only about 25 for canada and usa combined so not that much choice  just something with enough intermidiate runs to keep me busy 10 days and somewhere that doesnt look like the pictures above . im not expecting the hill to be dead but just not look like i said above 'alton towers'
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
apart from banff is there anywhere else in canada or usa thats a bit quieter and decent piste?
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To try to narrow it down a bit.........are you prepared to hire a car when you are there? If you are prepared to drive then you have more options. There are, for example numerous resorts in the Lake Tahoe area that would suit your standard but a car is pretty essential if you want to go there. You would not want to rely on public transport (if it existed at all) and you wouldnt want to ski the same area every day, so you need to be able to get about. The same could probably be said for some of the Utah resorts and some of the Colorado resorts. Steamboat Springs in Colorado may be an option (without a car) as it (reputedly as I havent been there) has a lot of piste skiing and is not said to be overly busy as it is far enough away from Denver not to get a lot of day visitors.. Even there a car may make it a better trip but somebody who has actually been there will be better placed to assist there.
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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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hmmm never really drove in the snow knowing my luck i would drive off a cliff lol so preferably somewhere i dont need a car for. my list so far is
whistler - everything tells me not to go there but something about it that says i should
fernie - reads well in brochures
copper mountain - reads well in brochures not sure if its a bit small though
banff - sounds nice and looks beautiful but 20-30min bus ride putting the rest of my part off
squaw - gets a good write up on ifyouski.com dont know anything about it though
ive read through every brochure a million times and struggling to find anywhere else. everything you ready is always going to put the resorts in the best light possible but its never the truth. so gome on guys whats the bad points on this lot, what done the brochures tell me?
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colors, about the bus service in Banff to Sunshine and Lake Louise, it's not nearly as bad as you might imagine. They are regular & punctual, if a bus looks like it will be filled they radio for another and it's there almost immediately. It drops you off right next to the lift, so if your hotel is located near a stop(most are), then it's almost a door-to-door service. For the pick-up, the bus will be there before time, you can get on and if it fills up, it'll leave a few minutes early and another will take it's place at the stop to mop up the rest.. You the have the advantage of being in a proper lively town (ie. not a small, purpose-built resort) with a good choice of bars, restaurants, shops, a large Safeway supermarket for in-room nibbles, nightclubs, etc.
Get a hotel at the town end of Banff Ave (the Ptarmigan looked nice as we walked past) and go when the weather is likely to be milder- late Feb/Mar.
Obviously I can't compare it to the others, as I haven't been, but you will enjoy Banff. There's a lot of variety with the 3 nearby areas and the daytrips to Kicking Horse and Panorama.
You can sometimes get a deal (free days or discounts) on liftpasses from the tour op by booking early, although if you get one for the entire duration it might mess you up for Kicking Horse and Panorama as these are completely separate lift companies.
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And that's kind of what the Harmony chair at Whistler would probably be like on a non-powder sunday (without the lodge and the rocky mountains ).
Look at the pictures closely to see why there is a difference!
Whistler does get busy, particularly on powder days at the weekend, as this picture probably is (I think I recall seeing this same picture last year, so that means I could actually have been in it!), but generally this is rare in the week - you can have 8-packs everywhere but it just means the slopes are super busy (have you been to espace killy?). It also gets busy around american holidays. You can totally avoid this line-up by being in a lesson of which there are many good ones. Having said that my last trip there was preceded by a trip to red mountain, so after that Whistler felt like the whole world was there!
Personally I think Whistler is worth the effort as an intermediate, especially if you are of the adventurous sort, because a) it has a very good ski school b) it has very good terrain to progresively ski harder stuff (Symphony is a good example) and just dabble.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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you also have to remember that queues at Whistler are nowhere near as dense as your average lift queue in Europe. people don't squeeze into every gap - they just line up in an orderly manner and give everyone space to breathe. i reckon you would not wait much more than 5 or 10 mins in that queue and, as stuarth says, those lifts give access to massive amounts of terrain so the slopes won't be busy once you get to the top
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FAQ
at Lake Louise base area, Sunday Feb 24th, 2008 (taken during my holiday):
. They have night skiing every night. Some nice glade skiing through the trees. It doesn't have great apres ski but a few nice bars and restaurants. And for your level of intermediate skiing I'd say it would suit you down to the ground. Although they are extending the local runway at Kelowna to take transatlantic flights I don't think this will be in time for this season so you will need to fly into Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton and then take an internal hop over to Kelowna. Big White is then about 45 mins away. I know uktrailmonster (snbowhead here) has an apartment for rent. There are a few others apart from me who are fans of Big White.
