What's New In.... CANADA'S WINTER RESORTS
BY JULIE BAXTER Forget about this year’s urgent efforts to chase the sun for your clients, it’s time to think snow! The 2012/13 wintersports season is fast approaching and Canada's popular ski resorts expect another season of powder-filled perfection. The winter sports brochures are
already out and sales are picking up for a season which generally starts in mid- November and runs through to May. But what's new in the resorts of British Columbia, Alberta and Québec?
British Columbia BC has launched the 'Powder Pass' for 2012-13, featuring three of the its best ski resorts – Fernie, Kicking Horse and Kimberley – all on one lift ticket. Fernie, renowned for its ‘epic terrain',
last year opened the ‘Polar Peak’ lift, to celebrate its 50th ski season, and follows this with the opening of another lift above the treeline, ideal for advanced-level skiers and boarders. The total number of marked runs in the resort now stands at 140 including the biggest vertical in the Canadian Rockies. In BC’s leading ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb, the sales thrust is focused on an impressive track record for snow. Last winter the resort claimed the most snowfall of any major resort in North America. Average snowfall of 11.9 metres (39.1 feet) has been recorded each season for the past 10 years and extensive snowmaking infrastructure, including a 220-strong fleet of snow guns, ensures the quality and coverage of snow through a long snowy season.
Whistler Blackcomb was the official alpine skiing venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and is just over 75 miles from Vancouver. Two side-by-side mountains with over 200 marked runs, 16 alpine bowls and three glaciers, Whistler and Blackcomb receive 469 inches of snow annually (
www.whistlerblackcomb.com). This season there are six new ways to explore the skiable terrain thanks to
Above left: Snowshoeing in Alberta; Above right: Hitting the powder in British Columbia. Below: Admiring the view - Québec (left) and Kicking Horse, BC. Facing page: Apex Mountain, BC
40 September 2012 •
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a network of tours, trails, waypoints and stops designed by local devotees to help guests discover (or re-discover) Whistler. Entitled ‘The Wonder Routes’ they include the ‘Top of the World’ route to explore the four highest points of Whistler and Blackcomb, ‘The Steeps Sampler’ which links together the resort’s steepest terrain and the ‘Powder Stashes’ route which explores Whistler Blackcomb’sbest powder snow area. Families have been the key focus for winter developments with the Family Zone on Whistler Mountain being updated and some new developments added for kids. An additional Wonder Route is the ‘Family Certified’ recommendation, which allows children to lead the way from Peak2Peak to the most family-friendly areas. For the more experienced, Whistler’s Steep Skiing Clinic is expanding its programme into the backcountry, offering skiers the chance to share techniques and tactics with professional coaches as they heighten their awareness of big mountain terrain. Clinic dates will run from December 8 to April 28, 2013. (More details of
these are available form jill@extremely
canadian.com). At Big White, BC’s second biggest
resort, a ‘VIP Programme’ will run from February to March offering exclusive use of the ‘Bullet or Black Forest Chair’ for one hour, first thing in the morning, including a private lesson on the empty slopes. In addition, Silver Star is offering a ladies-only heli-skiing experience on the Monashee Mountains including breakfast, a day of heli-skiing, a fun après ski bragging session and photo slide show, concluding with a massage at the Ousia Day Spa. For something completely different a
‘Ski to Tee’ package to the Okanagan Valley allows clients to ski in the morning and then tee off at one of Vernon’s golf courses in the afternoon!
Alberta Ski resorts in Alberta are also predicting a long season. Last year, Nakiska was the first ski area in Canada to open – in late October – with Marmot Basin in Jasper, Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Mount Norquay, in Banff National Park, and Fortress Mountain in the Kananaskis region all hoping to welcome skiers into May 2013. Mt. Norquay, The Lake Louise Ski Area
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