 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello!!
Im off to Canada in March and not sure which resort to pick! I have never been to Canada before so all the slopes will be a big improvement but wondering which is the livest nightlife.
Ive heard Whister is but i will be flying from Manchester and so want to go via London so I think its down to;
Banff
Fernie
Panorama
Jasper
Many Thanks!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
I have never been to Canada before so all the slopes will be a big improvement
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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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kevinmiller1982, You will not get the kind of livley Apres you are used to in Europe and most of the night life tends to kick in after people have gone home and gotten showered and changed.
Banff: Livley town with plenty of options at night for Food and Drink. Good atmosphere and lots of live bands, DJ'S etc to choose from. Buses finish up early so you cant really hang around at the bottom of the slopes after, But Lake Louise do a Fri night apres session with a later bus and its a sectret so sssssshhhh but all the resorts have a staff bus that leaves about an hour after the last punter bus which you can normally blag on to. Slopes are incredible in the surrounding resorts.
Fernie : Much quieter with less choice especially if you are staying up at the resort. The town about 15-20 min form the resort has much more night life but no where near as busy as Banff: Slopes are EPIC though
Panorama: Isolated and very purpose built resort. Personally not a big fan, not a whole to to do at night.
Jasper: No idea
Kicking Horse: Similar to Panorama but better skiing and the town of Golden is only down the road although not the greatest town in the world plenty of options in it. Slopes are Jaw Dropping Ski Hard or go home not a place for the meak and tame
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pam w,
No lift lines,
Wide open empty slopes
bottomless powder!
Fresh tracks well into the day and somtimes days after the last snowfall
Resort Guides
Champagne Powder
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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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kevinmiller1982, The nightlife in Fernie is in the town, which is a bus ride away from the hill. On the hill it's basically a few restaurants and it's very quiet
Don't know Panorama or Jasper, but I would go for Banff every time for nightlife (3 trips so far) - loads of bars, restaurants, live music . Downside to that is it's a 45 min bus ride to Sunshine, and similar to Lake Louise (can't remember exactly) - there is no skiing in Banff or Fernie itself.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Ordhan wrote: |
No lift lines,
Wide open empty slopes
bottomless powder!
Fresh tracks well into the day and somtimes days after the last snowfall
Resort Guides
Champagne Powder |
Shhhhhh.............
Jasper, "older" & "Canadian", but entertaining enough for me. "Atha B" and "Pete's" bit livelier.
Fernie town as stated, but the "Griz Bar" on the hill is good Sats or when a band is on. Hill/town shuttle this year was cr@p.
Golden town (KH) pretty quite, apart from the "Roadhouse", don't know about the hill.
If you're under 50, or are single, go to Whistler, if apres is important. You know it makes sense. There's just nothing quite like it in Ca.
John.
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not a lot of bottomless pow inbounds at Panorama, Jasper or Banff area, as they really don't get a huge amount of snow. Plenty at KH if you hike, and plenty at fernie if you get up early on a powder day.
Whistler is pretty much the only place with euro-style apres in BC. Other you mention are pretty quiet, especially during the week.
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I worked a season in Panorama a few years back and thought the skiing was great, not huge km's of piste but great quality runs plus Tanyton Bowl at the back which is superb, and RK Heliski which is one of the most exhilerating experiences ever! As for nightlife it was pretty quiet with only two bars and a couple of restaurants, but I was there for around 3 months and thoroughly enjoyed it - spent many an evening relaxing in the giant hot tub!
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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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| gortonator wrote: |
| not a lot of bottomless pow inbounds at Panorama, Jasper or Banff area, as they really don't get a huge amount of snow. |
Where on earth do you get that impression from?
They may not get quite as much as the most snowy Canadian resorts, but they still average far more than any European resort.
Jasper (160"), Lake Louise (179"), Panorama (178") and Sunshine (360") all have higher average snowfall than KH (142"). OK, Norquay is less (126"), but that is the smallest area to ski anyhow.
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kevinmiller1982,
Ive heard Whister is but i will be flying from Manchester and so want to go via London so I think its down to
You can get to Whistler via London
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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gortonator, really? You're wrong. Last time I was in Banff we had 40cm of fresh stuff every day.
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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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gortonator, Only someone who works in Whistler or is paid by the hill could come up with
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not a lot of bottomless pow inbounds at Panorama, Jasper or Banff area, as they really don't get a huge amount of snow. Plenty at KH if you hike, and plenty at fernie if you get up early on a powder day
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Had endless snow everytime I have been in Banff (Skied Min knee deep pow in the back bowls every day that I have been there except for this year when snow wasnt great but there was still pow days) or Kicking Horse (Twice I got fresh dumps of 40 + in 5 day stay) Plus KH has 2 lifts and all the pow is easily accesible from them
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You know it makes sense.
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folks - I just go by facts and experience:
Compare average snowfalls fs for Banff/LL/Panorama with Whistler/Fernie/Revelstoke and of many US resorts - it's all here:
http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/
I've skied superb knee deep (hardly bottomless) at LL twice in about 30 ski days there (its one of my fave mountains). I've done similar a lot more times at Whistler, and in the US, and at Red Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie ....
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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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| gortonator wrote: |
folks - I just go by facts and experience:
Compare average snowfalls fs for Banff/LL/Panorama with Whistler/Fernie/Revelstoke and of many US resorts - it's all here:
http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/
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Which comes nowhere near supporting your claim that "not a lot of bottomless pow inbounds at Panorama, Jasper or Banff area, as they really don't get a huge amount of snow."
They all get a huge amount of snow compared to anywhere in Europe, or compared to quite a lot of places in NA.
There are places which get more, certainly, but thye get an extra-huge amount of snow 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Apologies, I meant I have to go via london for Whister as they dont seem to fly direct from Manchester. It bumps the cost up quite a bit so looks like its Banff for me!!
Thanks for all your replies!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| BCjohnny wrote: |
| If you're under 50, or are single, go to Whistler, if apres is important. You know it makes sense. There's just nothing quite like it in Ca. John. |
So where do the over 50's go to . . . bed with Ibuprofen and a hot water bottle? You're not makin' friends here numbnuts 
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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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Ordhan, I have no affiliation with Whistler whatsoever beyond being an Edge card holder.
You're right about KH, but inbound pow tracks out quickly (less quickly during the week, more quickly at weekends), which necessitates hiking into adjacent bowls. They also get a fair bit less snow than many hills in BC. I'm glad you had some great pow there, but its not as regular at at other nearby hills - compare eg with Revelstoke and Fernie. For the record, i've skied 7 days at KH, had one pow day, rest were just darn good fun! It's a great ski hill.
A lot of the snow in the Banff area arrives Feb-April, and I've had some great powder days there, but the reality is they also get a fair bit less snow than many places further west, and it really doesn't snow much Jan-Feb as it is so cold. I am a great fan of LL and Sunshine but I don't expect epic bottomless pow there as often as I do at other places, and the snowfalls stats bear out this. Same for Panorama ...
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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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| kevinmiller1982 wrote: |
| Im off to Canada in March... wondering which is the livest nightlife. |
I can't begin to imagine why you'd travel to Canada for the nightlife. Whatever you find, it'll be very disappointing compared with Manchester.
Go to Canada for the skiing and you won't be disappointed. When you get there, stock the fridge up with beers and entertain yourself at home. The skiing's so tough that you won't have any energy to go out in the night. Apres ski is for wimps who don't have the guts to push the envelope on the slopes.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
So where do the over 50's go to . . . bed with Ibuprofen and a hot water bottle?
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Ibuprofen and an ice-pack in my case 
FWIW the deepest powder I've encountered in Canada was at Nakiska, followed by Fernie, Whistler and Banff (Mt Norquay) in that order. - Like gortonator says, the Nakiska and Banff days were following big dumps in March.
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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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Oh, man. You really crack me up.
No, really. You do.................. 
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BCjohnny, Ya need a better embalmer 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Edit.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Fri 4-09-09 21:49; edited 1 time in total
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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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| alex_heney wrote: |
| gortonator wrote: |
| not a lot of bottomless pow inbounds at Panorama, Jasper or Banff area, as they really don't get a huge amount of snow. |
Where on earth do you get that impression from?
They may not get quite as much as the most snowy Canadian resorts, but they still average far more than any European resort.
Jasper (160"), Lake Louise (179"), Panorama (178") and Sunshine (360") all have higher average snowfall than KH (142"). OK, Norquay is less (126"), but that is the smallest area to ski anyhow. |
I'll let facts speak for themselves. From http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/
Big White, B.C. 6,200 274
Silver Star, B.C. 5,200 223
Tod Mt. (Sun Peaks), B.C. 6,100 206
Fernie Snow Valley, B.C. 5,400 367
Whitewater, B.C. 5,500 390
Red Mt. 1, B.C. 3,800 262
Red Mt. 2, B.C. 6,650 279
Lake Louise, Alb. 7,000 161
Sunshine Village, Alb. 7,028 248
Mt. Norquay, Alb. 5,350 107
Whistler Roundhouse, B.C. 6,000 405
Blackcomb, B.C. 5,002 355
Whistler Base, B.C. 2,200 190
Sunshine gets far less than you suggest, and the KH value you quote is for the base. It's a lot more up high.
There are many places in Europe that substantially more snow than places like Panorama/Banff/Jasper. Check out snowfall figures for Lech/Zuers and environs for example, and some places in Eastern Switzerland. These are in the same snowfall regions as your 'snowy' Canadian resorts.
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gortonator, Where do those facts come from?
There is no indication on the ewebsite of how they arrive at those figures.
I was going by what the various resorts claim.
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You know it makes sense.
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BCjohnny, PM sent.
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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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| alex_heney wrote: |
gortonator, Where do those facts come from?
There is no indication on the ewebsite of how they arrive at those figures.
I was going by what the various resorts claim. |
not surprisingly, from the web site:
http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/
Tony Crocker is a skier at heart, but a numbers guy all the way. Employed as an actuary (the mathematics of insurance and pensions) at Transamerica in Los Angeles, he was born and raised in the Golden State. He went to college at Princeton, earning a degree in--what else--statistics. While there, he also became a fiend at bridge, a card game where you have to keep track of a lot of things at once and in which statistics and probabilities figure heavily. After college, bridge became an obsession, and in 1977 Crocker spent 99 days at bridge tournaments, winning 329 master points.
From 1978 onwards, skiing has replaced bridge as his favorite avocation. Although he had torn up his knee as a beginner in 1976, he was hooked on the sport. Pining for some kind of numerical bent on his new-found passion, snowfall amounts became a hobby; Tony was fascinated with the monthly snowfall history posted on a Main Lodge wall at Mammoth Mountain, his most frequent ski destination. In 1991 he started calling other ski areas for comparable monthly figures. Pretty soon he found his way to Knox Williams at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, and had data for 40 ski areas "dumped" in his lap. That spurred him on to gathering data for an equal number of areas on his own and led to the extensive analysis presented here.
Crocker also keeps track of every place he has ever skied (142 areas), how many days he skied there (914 ski days as of June 2009), how many vertical feet he skied (17.6 million), and what the snow conditions and weather were like. Tony has two sons, one on UC San Diego's ski team, and he met his ex-wife on a ski trip to Mammoth in 1982. She was then a skier, but had only the vaguest notion (until October 1995 Powder was published) of the meticulous records Tony keeps on skiing, and no idea of the scope of his surreptitious snowfall calculations, many of which were done during frantic sessions at the home computer in the wee hours of the morning. This may all seem very strange to the average skier who has never counted anything but the occasional sequence of lift towers, but then, one man's obsession often becomes another man's fortune; in this case yours.
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FAQ
but they were friendly and well orgainised 
