As on my first time in the Okanagan in 1999, day one had 60mph winds forecast at Big White, which would surely mean several lift closures. So like then I chose Apex. In 1999 even Apex had its main lift closed, limiting skiing to 1,000 vertical and about 1/4 of the acreage. This time the Quick Draw lift of 1,900 vertical did operate, and the wind was only strong along the top ridge. Unfortunately Apex' snowfall is modest and there has been very little in the past month. The snow report was candid.
The Canada Post reference is to the recent postal strike from Nov. 15 - Dec. 17.
The weather was typical midwinter overcast with occasional snow flurries. Temps were in the 20's but chair rides had some wind chill.
The unloading area was windswept and hardpacked, an early sign that the conditions were not what my previous 4 visits had been. There are 3 blue groomers from the top; we started with Juniper, snow not as firm as the unloading area and just a couple of thin spots to be avoided. Juniper led to the top of the T-bar which mainly serves local racers.
Liz is on the public groomer at left, there are slalom poles in the middle and a prepared mogul course at right.
Skier's right from Quick Draw, the south facing Wildside area was roped off, and the blue Ridge Run had a warning sign. This pitch was the reason why.
I asked Liz if ski was getting Northeast nostalgia and after a few more runs she said the whole day reminded her of Vermont.
Halfway down we reached to top of the Stocks chair, a 1,000 vertical slow triple which was all I could ski in 1999. Below treeline and the stronger winds, Stocks' groomers were mostly packed powder with fun rolling fall lines. However the chair rides were cold and Liz requested a break after 3 runs there.
Tseeb and flyover will recall the tasty and excellent value Edge cafe at Apex. We had a hearty breakfast at the B&B and so just shared a soup.
At the end of the day we picked up a couple of homemade blueberry and caramel bars for the 1+ hour drive back to West Kelowna.
Like many old school ski areas, wall decor was entertaining.
We have all seen lots of antique skis in ski lodges but I've never seen a kiddie version before.
We returned to Quick Draw. Chute is the steepest groomer and it had the best conditions with some blown in snow.
We next skied the mellow Grandfather's Trail so Liz could get an idea of that side of the mountain. I was very suspicious of those mogul runs with current snow cover. From the bottom Dirty Harry looked manageable, but when we returned the top entry looked inadvisable. We had seen a skier exit Buckshot so we tried that. I was pleasantly surprised that the moguls were nearly all packed powder.
There were bits and pieces of shrubbery to avoid but not many rocks.
I took one more lap on Chute and called it a day with 17,300 vertical.
I inquired at the office since I saw zero snowmaking equipment. They only have it around the base area and it has been too warm in recent days before the upcoming cold spell. One of the reasons I asked is that there was zero slick subsurface which I would expect in this situation. This, like the decent snow in bumps, is a function of Apex' very low skier density, which is why it's still on my list of best uncrowded ski areas in North America. Liz could see why the 2016 powder day I scored with tseeb, flyover and John in 2016 was so good.
Sign on Apex' access road:
The Canada Post reference is to the recent postal strike from Nov. 15 - Dec. 17.
The weather was typical midwinter overcast with occasional snow flurries. Temps were in the 20's but chair rides had some wind chill.
The unloading area was windswept and hardpacked, an early sign that the conditions were not what my previous 4 visits had been. There are 3 blue groomers from the top; we started with Juniper, snow not as firm as the unloading area and just a couple of thin spots to be avoided. Juniper led to the top of the T-bar which mainly serves local racers.
Liz is on the public groomer at left, there are slalom poles in the middle and a prepared mogul course at right.
Skier's right from Quick Draw, the south facing Wildside area was roped off, and the blue Ridge Run had a warning sign. This pitch was the reason why.
I asked Liz if ski was getting Northeast nostalgia and after a few more runs she said the whole day reminded her of Vermont.
Halfway down we reached to top of the Stocks chair, a 1,000 vertical slow triple which was all I could ski in 1999. Below treeline and the stronger winds, Stocks' groomers were mostly packed powder with fun rolling fall lines. However the chair rides were cold and Liz requested a break after 3 runs there.
Tseeb and flyover will recall the tasty and excellent value Edge cafe at Apex. We had a hearty breakfast at the B&B and so just shared a soup.
At the end of the day we picked up a couple of homemade blueberry and caramel bars for the 1+ hour drive back to West Kelowna.
Like many old school ski areas, wall decor was entertaining.
We have all seen lots of antique skis in ski lodges but I've never seen a kiddie version before.
We returned to Quick Draw. Chute is the steepest groomer and it had the best conditions with some blown in snow.
We next skied the mellow Grandfather's Trail so Liz could get an idea of that side of the mountain. I was very suspicious of those mogul runs with current snow cover. From the bottom Dirty Harry looked manageable, but when we returned the top entry looked inadvisable. We had seen a skier exit Buckshot so we tried that. I was pleasantly surprised that the moguls were nearly all packed powder.
There were bits and pieces of shrubbery to avoid but not many rocks.
I took one more lap on Chute and called it a day with 17,300 vertical.
I inquired at the office since I saw zero snowmaking equipment. They only have it around the base area and it has been too warm in recent days before the upcoming cold spell. One of the reasons I asked is that there was zero slick subsurface which I would expect in this situation. This, like the decent snow in bumps, is a function of Apex' very low skier density, which is why it's still on my list of best uncrowded ski areas in North America. Liz could see why the 2016 powder day I scored with tseeb, flyover and John in 2016 was so good.
Sign on Apex' access road: