Best bet for early April: Banff, Whistler, Marmot Basin?

B

BernardP

New member
Hi,

I am planning a trip out West for the first week of April. I have been to Whistler and Banff in the past, but never later than mid-March. I have never been to Marmot Basin in Jasper, and this area intrigues me because it is located farther to the North. I do not know the general exposure of this mountain, and would like to find out how much of the terrain faces North. Altitude at Marmot is also respectable ( above 8000 ' ) for a Canadian destination.

I am wondering if Marmot Basin could be a good place for late-season skiing, considering that I want to maximize my chances of finding winter conditions.

So what could be my best bet between these 3 destinations for winter conditions in early April?

Any comments of people having visited Marmot Basin will also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
BernardP":3ggqnanc said:
Hi,

I am planning a trip out West for the first week of April. I have been to Whistler and Banff in the past, but never later than mid-March. I have never been to Marmot Basin in Jasper, and this area intrigues me because it is located farther to the North.
(...)
I am wondering if Marmot Basin could be a good place for late-season skiing, considering that I want to maximize my chances of finding winter conditions.

So what could be my best bet between these 3 destinations for winter conditions in early April?

Any comments of people having visited Marmot Basin will also be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Here is a quick summary of my trip in these areas:

Whistler - April 1-6, 1996 (mixte conditions, some winter on top, mostly spring)

Lake Louise - April 13, 1996 (most mountain still in Winter condtions)

Banff (Sunshine-Louise) - April 15-22, 1999 (Winter conditions and -15c and fresh snow)

Banff (SV-LL) - April 19-26, 2000 (Early week winter on top and backside at Louise, spring everywhere at the end of the week).

Jasper-Banff-Fortress - March 19-26, 2002

Extremely usual cold spell for the first part of our trip. It was -31 for the first two days at Marmot (definately winter), it got maybe to -15c on the third day.

Cold when we left Jasper and warm front was coming: maybe -5c at Louise and Sunshine the following days. Norquay the next day: +10c. Cold and snow back for our days at Fortress. -10c and snowing hard.

I think that the odds that you get winter conditions would be pretty good. It's doing snow much at Marmot, but the skiing is great and it's still relatively unknown. Views are spectacular, better than Louise in my opinion. The areas has also opened up a few areas later. Eagle Ridge had just opened up in 2002 and was great and had some nice drops.
 
I've never been to Marmot, but from what I hear that's a pretty small area to spend a whole week. Whistler and Banff are both good choices for early April. The difference vs. mid-March will not be dramatic, maybe 25% more terrain with spring conditioins on average.

You want to try someplace new, I'd suggest Mammoth, Mt. Bachelor or Utah's Cottonwood Canyons. Bend and Salt Lake City are very reasonably priced, should be no more than Banff. Mammoth is probably similar to Whistler. Several of the Colorado resorts will also have mostly winter conditions, but they are generally more expensive.
 
Tony Crocker":hkq3q7v3 said:
I've never been to Marmot, but from what I hear that's a pretty small area to spend a whole week.
Click to expand...
True, it's not as big as Sunshine and Louise, but it's a fun place. It's bigger than Ste.Anne. I did 3 days at it's was fine. 7 days might be long if you like moving around and exploring like me.

Tony, I'm pretty sure that Jasper is definately much cheaper than the areas you mentioned for a Canadian flying out of Quebec City. Peak season in Jasper (probably more than in Banff) is Summer. You can find good deal with SKICAN.
 
Personal experience:

Whistler March 31 - April 4, 1998 40-70% winter conditions
Banff March 31 - April 3, 1999 30-70% winter conditions

Both of these trips were generally 60-70% but each had one warm day where about 1/3 of the mountain softened up.

Banff March 14-17, 2002 like Patrick the next week, all winter conditions and very cold.

Whistler March 21-24, 2005 60-70% winter conditions, 33 inches new snow right before we arrived. The other 3 trips had just a few inches new snow.

Mammoth averages 58% winter conditions on April 1 by my extensive records. However, the parts that have spring conditions usually have much better skiing surfaces than at Banff or Whistler.
 
Thanks guys, very useful coments.

I went to SLC, Utah in early April two years ago and it was very warm and springlike, even at the top of Alta/Snowbird. Had a nice trip though.

Mammoth is a place I would like to try but access from Quebec City is simply horrible. Not worth it for only one week.

I was also wondering about there being enough terrain for a full week at Marmot. As for Mont-Sainte-Anne, I am so jaded that I have trouble maintaining interest for a day, with all the trails and glades that are usually unskiable due to poor snow cover.

I too like to visit new places and explore.

Any info available about terrain exposure at Marmot Basin. Tony? This is your specialty :wink:
 
I would view both Jasper (size) and Kicking Horse (lift system, unreliable lower slopes) as adjuncts to a Banff trip if you want some more variety.

I don't know Marmot's exposure. I focus on exposure a lot because it's nearly always important at U.S. latitudes/temperatures. Lake Louise has shown me that it's less critical in Canada, though by April exposure becomes increasingly important. The main issue with the Alberta places is that the snowpack rarely gets very deep, so an April warmup can bring the rocks out in places like Goat's Eye or the off-trail areas of Louise's frontside.

By contrast LCC, Mammoth and Bachelor base depths are usually 10+ feet on April 1. Mammoth and Bachelor are the most consistent spring ski areas in North America. Patrick managed to get from Ottawa to Reno last year, so I'll let him comment on that. From there you rent a car and drive 3 hours to Mammoth, possibly dropping in on a couple of Tahoe areas if they are looking good. Portland to Bachelor is a similar arrangement. JonnyD also came to Mammoth from Toronto last spring and was not disappointed :) http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... php?t=1035 .

Utah's spring pattern is frequent warmups that are periodically buried by the next dump. Alta/Snowbird average 70 inches April snowfall, about 2 midwinter months' worth at the Banff areas. During the warmup phases Alta can be difficult because most of its steeps face east and west. Snowbird is pretty good for spring skiing because about 1/4 of terrain (north-facing steeps) stays dry, and between groomers and timing the other exposures you can usually find something enjoyable.
 
Tony Crocker":251qsc58 said:
I would view both Jasper (size) and Kicking Horse (lift system, unreliable lower slopes) as adjuncts to a Banff trip if you want some more variety.

I don't know Marmot's exposure.
(...)
The main issue with the Alberta places is that the snowpack rarely gets very deep
(...)
Patrick managed to get from Ottawa to Reno last year, so I'll let him comment on that. From there you rent a car and drive 3 hours to Mammoth, possibly dropping in on a couple of Tahoe areas if they are looking good.
Click to expand...


Marmot:

Here is a link to a satellite pictures of Marmot Basin. The general exposure is toward the East (as I thought it was). I would definately think that the conditions would be more winter like than Kicking Horse for the first week of April. The peak of the ski area is the patches of snow near the trianglar shape summit.


http://maps.google.com/?t=k&ll=52.79653 ... 096645&t=k

I don't think that Marmot get much snow and wouldn't be a powder destination, but the snow last longer because of the weather. There were significant patches snow left from mid-mountain to top on the last week of June 1990.

Marmot has changed since I've been and added more steep out-of-bounds terrain (ie North Chute and Outer Limits). The Eagle East area was just opened up the year I went. :P

http://www.skimarmot.com/trailmap.html#


Mammoth:

Definately worth the trip, even last June. :P Regardless, I also really like Marmot.

However I'm pretty sure that Bernard would have to fly Quebec-Toronto-Denver-Reno to get there versus a Quebec-Toronto-Calgary or Edmonton (not much longer from Calgary - extra hour and 50km). We personnally landed in Edmonton and drove maybe 4 hours to get to Jasper (360km according to Mapquest).

The drive between Lake Louise and Jasper (which includes the Columbia Icefields) iis probably my favorite scenic drive in Canada and one of the most spectacular I've seen.
 
Thanks Tony and Patrick,

Very useful Google link. Exposure at Marmot is even a little NEE. Not too bad for snow preservation. But is is true that there is little snowfall at Marmot. Currently, according to their snow report, they have only a 76 cm base (or "settled snow", not the same) at mid-mountain. Marginal at best

I have until the first days of March to make up my mind.

As for Mammoth, yes, Quebec-Toronto-Denver-Reno would be it, followed by a 3-hour drive if there is no snowstorm. Unless I do Quebec-Toronto-San Francisco and add a 5-hour drive. Too many points where things can go wrong and a day might be lost.
 
Las Vegas or LA would be better than SF. If there's direct Toronto - Vegas, I'd recommend that for the interesting drive through Death Valley: 5 hours total, no chance of snow until you get close to Mammoth. From L.A. airport it's 5 1/2 hours normally, but will be much worse if you land in late afternoon M-F with traffic. SF is 8 hours through Tahoe with lots of potential weather and traffic issues.
 
Considering current snowpacks and comments from this thread, I am leaning towards the Banff region. Final decision to come in a little more than a month.

As for transit through Las Vegas while going to Mammoth...What a swell idea! With Air Canada, I would have a choice of Quebec-Toronto-Las Vegas, or Quebec-Montreal-Las Vegas. I could be in Vegas around noon, local time, leaving ample time for the long drive to Mammoth.
 
BernardP":7kxw4t2n said:
Considering current snowpacks and comments from this thread, I am leaning towards the Banff region. Final decision to come in a little more than a month.

As for transit through Las Vegas while going to Mammoth...What a swell idea! With Air Canada, I would have a choice of Quebec-Toronto-Las Vegas, or Quebec-Montreal-Las Vegas. I could be in Vegas around noon, local time, leaving ample time for the long drive to Mammoth.
Click to expand...

You have two excellent choice...

1) Banff (with Jasper?)

If you considering Banff, you can do the Marmot Basin combo with Skican. Let's you ski 3 days in Marmot and 3 days in Banff, that might be the best option. The drive between the two is amazing. I think Skican still offers that combo.

You can discover Marmot without staying there too long.

2) Mammoth

Different place, different climate. Although I didn't land in Las Vegas for my Mammoth trip, I can imagine the scenary through Death Valley. I enjoyed Mammoth very much, even if the skiing was limited in June.

You can't go wrong with one of these two options.

I'm leaving the ice surfaces behind, flying out tomorrow for my 2 week trip (or what my wife could call... mid-life crisis Part II).
 
On second thought, truth is I would rather not worry about a car during my ski vacations. It is more relaxing.

In the Mammoth option I would try to look into slopeside lodging with bus transfer between Las Vegas airport and Mammoth.
 
Since Mammoth evolved as a SoCal weekend destination, it is very car dependent. The new Intrawest villages are not, but they are much more expensive. I don't know if there are Vegas to Mammoth transfer buses. I would also think you might want to stop and look around for an hour or so in Death Valley.

If this is a solo trip, the rental car cost and 10 hours roundtrip drive might be a deterrent to Mammoth. Also the fact that Mammoth lodging is mostly condos and relatively few hotels. If you have anyone else with you it should be OK.
 
I have the privilege of travelling and skiing with my charming expert-skier wife 8)

Yes, Tony, as you point out Mammoth seems to be more car dependent. For one week, I want to stay in a hotel and not have to worry about groceries. I am very interested in eventually going to Mammoth, but for this year, it might be that Banff will have to do.
 
I'm based in Calgary, skiing the Banff/Fernie corridor about 50 times per year. April is pretty safe in April within Banff (Fernie closes in the 3rd week of April), although some bare spots may arise on southern exposures.

I would suggest Banff over Marmot as the terrain at the latter is pretty slim for a one week vacation. Banff provides alternatives such as Louise, Sunshine and Kicking Horse (probably getting spotty at that point). The volume of terrain between the 3 hills just increases your alternatives.

Naturally, the Utah/Colorado connection has the best snow assuming you can get there easily.

John
 
Thanks John

Yes, a day trip to Kicking Horse is also possible from Banff, but one has to get up early...

Do you know if there is shuttle bus service between Banff and Kicking Horse?
 
I believe there is a shuttle service to Kicking Horse as I shared a lift with a visitor whose kids had taken a shuttle there. Your best bet would be to try Brewster as they are the largest service provider in Banff. Try them at http://www.brewster.ca/. Phone number is 1-877-791-5500. They can always redirect you to another provider if they don't have a link.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top