 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Jawdropping.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
I think we need a 'big green-eyed monster' smiley
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Fabulous.
Love the night skiing at Silver Star shot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Wow. Looks amazing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
That looks like a great trip. Thanks for sharing
The only one of those I have skied is Crystal, which I thought was great. Will have to tick a few more off...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
| The only one of those I have skied is Crystal, which I thought was great |
Despite the tiny vertical (200m!), we loved Crystal - a perfect little area for a morning's ski before we flew home. It was virtually deserted with fresh snow conditions. Cheap lift ticket too and only about 25 mins from Kelowna.
Residents of western Canada are definitely spoilt - a local that we spoke to on the catskiing expressed complete shock that we were even considering a visit to Crystal and said "Credit to ya but as long as you don't mind skiing $hi! snow you won't be disappointed.' Similarly, after an epic day (fantastic snow) at Norquay some years ago, locals skiing at Kicking Horse told us that they would never consider skiing at Norquay because of its shocking snow.
Having seen their signs warning of 'Marginal conditions' - which typically means an odd twig popping up through the snow, they obviously have no comprehension of the meaning of hardpack, ice, dryslopes, indoor fridges.....or a 600 mile round trip to ski strips of snow and heather hop in Scotland! Mind we'd probably be the same if great snow was all we knew. C'est la vie eh?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
mountainaddict,
Norquay does get really bad snow conditions; icy and hardpack are pretty well known. I guess the point is if Norquay has good conditions then the other resorts, Sunshine and LL, will have really epic powder and much more terrain. On a big powder weekend day you can still be skiing fresh tracks well into the afternoon at Sunshine; that wouldn't be the case at norquay when the race club skiers will have skied it all out before 10:30.
Your trip sounds fab!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
mountainaddict, Great pics thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great trip part of which I hope to replicate at the end of March. How was getting around from resort to resort road/travel wise?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh so very very envious of that trip! Great photos & looks AMAZING 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Just amazing!
It will be be great if you could share a few words regarding travel/accommodation/ski passes and general costs arrangements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
mountainaddict, different Crystal - I was thinking of the one near Seattle. will have to check out the one you went to
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fantastic pictures, I'm drooling!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
mountainaddict, Great trip, brings back memories - Big White and Silver Star just as I remember. Never made it to sun Peaks - maybe next roadtrip 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Tom W (et al): More than happy to share some further info, as requested:
Travel: We flew with BA/Air Canada from Newcastle>Heathrow>Calgary>Kelowna. It was just about 24 hours from leaving home in Stockton On Tees to our first hotel in Vernon, which was about 25 mins drive from Kelowna airport. A long haul but worth it.
Car hire from Kelowna was arranged by Bergmeister. Despite telephone and e mail requests to the booking agent (Holiday Autos I think) and hire company (Avis) we arrived to find no record of the request and a car without snow tyres. We explained/complained and were upgraded (free of charge) to a bigger car, with snow tyres - although we still had to pay extra for the tyres. Just as well that we got the snow tyres. We covered about 1100km on the road trip and some parts would have been impassable without the said tyres - we had the lot in terms of road conditions, from fresh snow, drifting snow, hardpack, sheet ice and black ice. Most of our driving was done in the dark, either before or after skiing. So, in general - and only to be expected given the scale of the Canadian wilderness - the roads were very dark and at times a bit hairy - there are no cats' eyes and hardly any streetlights; the road surface is so dirty that the white lines in the centre and edges are invisible; sharp bends can be unmarked; dual carriageways suddenly became single carriageway without warning (arrows are marked on the road but you couldn't see them) and vice-versa; and (of course) you are driving for hundreds of km passing nothing but wilderness and the odd hamlet/petrol station. All very different to the UK. Petol was about $1.23 (80p) a litre.
In summary, we found eating out costs to be very reasonable, petrol cheap and lift tickets very expensive. Here are the details:
Accommodation: Given the expensive cat skiing element of the trip, the difficulty of getting New Year week accommodation in ski resorts for an odd night or two and the expensive lift passes (see below), we stayed in (mainly) chain motels (eg Super8) in valley towns. We stayed at Vernon (2 nights), Kelowna, Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke, plus 3 nights in Mustang Powder's catskiing lodge. The hotels were all basic (but clean and comfortable) and good value at around $100/room/night (£64) - plus 10% cashback at Hotels.com via the Quidco website  . All of the hotels we booked included breakfast, which was usually cereal, toast, bagels etc.
Food/nights out: Some of the hotels were in locations where there wasn't much there in terms of nights out. However, we were just after food and a couple of drinks so still managed a fair range of eating places (eg Mexican,Thai, Italian plus the usual North American stuff) and prices were very reasonable - pizzas/burgers/most main courses at around $12 -$14 (£7.75-£9) .
Cheapest draft beer came in at around $4.50 (under £3 a pint and bottles were $4-5. Wine was about $5 a glass and $25-plus for a bottle.Takeway stuff (from the liquor store) was really expensive - wine from about $18 a bottle and cans at $2-3 each. Supermarkets were also really expensive (they must be on big wages over there) - with the stuff we were after (chocolate, biscuits, snacks) at more than double the UK cost. They have local versions of Cadbury's chocolate - and at Silver Star we saw a Flake for the equivalent of £3  ....
On the mountain, we were having stuff like soup at $4-6 a time (£2.60 - £3.90), chilli at $8 (£5.50) and nachos (single serving but enough for 4 people) at $17 (£11).
Lift Passes: Very expensive. As we were road tripping, we were buying day tickets. Our cheapest was for Crystal Mountain, which is Kelowna's local (ie tiny) ski hill at about $50 (£32) a day. Otherwise we were paying about $85 (£55) a day - with the dearest ticket being a whopping $90 (£57) (if I recall correctly) for day and night skiing at Big White. In terms of snow quality, it was well worth the money and we had an absolutely brilliant time - but it does make you wonder how it is so expensive when the ski areas generally have only 3 or 4 lifts. I suppose it's what the local market will support - they must be raking in zillions in profits though.
I hope that helps  .
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
I suppose it's what the local market will support
|
I suspect very few locals pay these prices. They would either be season pass holders, discount card holders or buy tickets from Costco.
Anyway sounds like a FAB (and exhausting) trip.
Echo what you say about driving for anyone plannng a trip like this, be prepared for bad conditions and drving in the middle of nowhere
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Great report, and nice photos! Cat skiing looked incredible. I've heard it called "poor mans heliskiing" but I suspect it's more than enough skiing for me in a day, and I doubt it's for poor people.
Agree with gryphea, no locals pay full price for a lift ticket. Locals have deals, but visitors can often get a discount either by pre-booking or buying via the accommodation provider. I once ended up at Whistler for a couple of days without any means of getting a cheap ticket (forgot to drop by the 7-11 in Squamish on the way up) and the person at the ticket office was amazed I was paying full price, she kept asking things like "are you sure your hotel can't get you this" (nope, I sleeping on a friends floor).
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
mountainaddict, Many thanks. Great info. I guess I could only cope with those driving conditions in daylight
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
look amazing, great pics, we are heading out to big white in march and can't wait, we were really shocked at the price of ski hire and lift passes, but are we are happy to stomach it for our first ever trip to canada to see what the fuss is all about! its been a dream of ours since my husband learnt to ski 5 years ago..........
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| mountainaddict wrote: |
Car hire from Kelowna was arranged by Bergmeister. Despite telephone and e mail requests to the booking agent (Holiday Autos I think) and hire company (Avis) we arrived to find no record of the request and a car without snow tyres. We explained/complained and were upgraded (free of charge) to a bigger car, with snow tyres - although we still had to pay extra for the tyres. Just as well that we got the snow tyres. We covered about 1100km on the road trip and some parts would have been impassable without the said tyres - we had the lot in terms of road conditions, from fresh snow, drifting snow, hardpack, sheet ice and black ice. Most of our driving was done in the dark, either before or after skiing. So, in general - and only to be expected given the scale of the Canadian wilderness - the roads were very dark and at times a bit hairy - there are no cats' eyes and hardly any streetlights; the road surface is so dirty that the white lines in the centre and edges are invisible; sharp bends can be unmarked; dual carriageways suddenly became single carriageway without warning (arrows are marked on the road but you couldn't see them) and vice-versa; and (of course) you are driving for hundreds of km passing nothing but wilderness and the odd hamlet/petrol station. All very different to the UK. Petol was about $1.23 (80p) a litre. On the mountain, we were having stuff like soup at $4-6 a time (£2.60 - £3.90), chilli at $8 (£5.50) and nachos (single serving but enough for 4 people) at $17 (£11) . |
The same thing happened to me at Kelowna airport when I rented a car with snow tires (Enterprise). They claimed to know nothing about the booking of a 4x4 with snow tires despite me making it and having the bit of paper with me. Had to hang around for a while until one turned up, which as for you, I was glad I did.
Also did the same-ish route (up to Revelstoke at least), and was also enjoying how little you can see of the road with token N.American headlights and the bits on the trans-canada highway where it suddenly goes to one lane each way over a bridge and a giant logging truck comes the other way!
My F150 has a 136litre tank with (allegedly!) a 1200km range - you need this to get between petrol stations!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most locals buy a season ticket in June it that time its the same price as 8.5 days of day ticket . If you take that with you to another resort and show the pass at the ticket office you 25% off the price of a day ticket at other BC (not Whistler)/ Washington state ski resorts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
stuarth,
I thought you lived in BC and you're going all alberdan on us!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Quote: |
| I thought you lived in BC and you're going all alberdan on us! |
Please explain! I'm intrigued  .....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
mountainaddict,
F150 is a pick up truck. They are all over Calgary but whenever I go to Vancouver I notice the cars size down a little, not quite to European standards , but still they aren't generally the huge thigs all over calgary.
Albertans think of those in BC as joint smoking hippies. BCers I think think of those in Alberta as right wing, pick up driving oil guxxling rednecks. Of course the truth is somewhere in between.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
stuarth, Cool. Always thought that if I ended up in Kanadia or Merika long term I'd have a double cab F150 or Tundra as my redneckmobile. Getting a camper topper?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| fatbob wrote: |
| Getting a camper topper? |
Probably not 
I was checking out the accessory brochure the other day though to find all the things you had never imagined you could get for a truck and I can get a made to measure airbed for the box. Haven't quite managed to find one of those top-gear style tailgate bbqs yet though
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
mountainaddict,
Yuo
we were in near whiteout a fernie at the weekend and certain smell drifted over from 3 boarders we couldn't even see.
stuarth,
See if you were alberdan you would have got the accessory cowboy hat rack
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
mountainaddict, good report and great photo's
For my own benefit, what sort of budget would I be looking at for two people to do that trip please?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Mosha Marc: It was one of our once-every-few-years 'big holidays' - as opposed to our usual easyjet/DIY Alpine afffairs. In fact it's ended up (by some way) as our most expensive hol ever. Now we're back, and have just received the credit card bill for lift passes etc, it has come in more or less in accordance with our pre-holiday calculation of just under £3k per person, all in, for 10 days away (ie flights, car hire, hotels, 6 days 'normal' skiing, 3 days catskiing, food and drink).
Must admit, we booked it all piecemeal and the cost just sort of added up (much to Mrs MA's delight  ). So it ended up expensive but was worth every penny for the trip of a lifetime. It was also well worth the sacrifice of a week's UK camping/mountain biking in the summer (we had a great time - the weather was dry:) ) and cutting down on stuff like weekends away and meals out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
that looks great - can't wait for my trip to BC in March
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
| Can't wait for my trip to BC in March |
Where are you off to Arno?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| mountainaddict wrote: |
| Tom W (et al): I suppose it's what the local market will support - they must be raking in zillions in profits though . |
- When i was in Silver Star last season I was speaking to an instructor on the lift and he said that just over half of the price of a lift ticket is for insurance purposes! They prob arent making as much as we think. Thats what happens in country with a crazy legal system!!
Great pics - I LOVE skiing in Canada, by far the best country I have skied in. Best snow, consistant temps and great terrain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Can see why , heard really good things about this location , enjoy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
When i was in Silver Star last season I was speaking to an instructor on the lift and he said that just over half of the price of a lift ticket is for insurance purposes! They prob arent making as much as we think. Thats what happens in country with a crazy legal system!!
|
I'm really surprised about this as Canada certainly doesn't have a crazy legal system. its much more like UK than US. Also given that there is an NHS style health care there is nowhere near the driver to sue like there is in US
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
.....
