Western Resort Destination Help Needed

[Tony Crocker]

I think the fewer bumps fits with the preference for high alpine terrain. Spread everyone out instead of forcing people on to a cut trail and there will be fewer and smaller bumps. Whistler/Blackcomb has more alpine than anywhere in North America, so you can ski a lot of steep terrain there without huge bumps. Mammoth is the rough equivalent of 1 of those 2 mountains in alpine terrain. Squaw is probably the exception to this rule. It's wide open but gets bumped up more.

Colorado and Taos are mostly trails (except Vail's back bowls), thus more bumps. Same with Silver Star's Putnam Creek.

The other thing that holds down the bumps is low skier density. Alta and Snowbird are still fairly low density, though lift upgrading is bringing both closer to average. The upper reaches of Jackson and Big Sky and the other Canadian places are lower density than Alta/Snowbird or Mammoth.

 

[Rich]

Thank you everyone for your insightful replies.

It's looking like a Canadian vacation is in store. My older son is hot on Fernie or some other "middle of nowhere" resort. It does make sense to go off the beaten path, in Canada, considering so many US schools will be on vacation for President's Week. It's just that 4 hour shuttle to the mountain from Calgary International Airport!

Does anyone know when Canadian schools have a winter vacation?

Whistler Blackcomb is way up there on the list, too. Seems like you can't go wrong, except for an unpredictable warm front moving in.

The idea of a "safari" sounds cool, but I don't want to have to pack up and drive every other day. I do like the idea of multiple areas being a shuttle bus away from a "base camp", though. The Banff area is probably best for that.

I've also noticed that there are reservation incentives if you book before November 1. It looks like a busy weekend ahead. Sure beats raking leaves! :wink:

Best regards to all,

Rich

 

[Admin]

My older son is hot on Fernie or some other "middle of nowhere" resort. It does make sense to go off the beaten path, in Canada, considering so many US schools will be on vacation for President's Week. It's just that 4 hour shuttle to the mountain from Calgary International Airport!

The airport in Cranbrook is considerably closer, but realize that you're far less likely to find a bargain airfare.

Does anyone know when Canadian schools have a winter vacation?

The dates vary widely from province to province.

Oh, and if you do get a car, be absolutely, positively certain to hit Castle Mountain on the way back to Calgary, sorta-kinda on the way back from Fernie outside of Pincher Creek: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/castle.htm

 

[Admin]

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/castle.htm

Here, nearly 6 years after that article was written, I found a typo. :? The town of Pincher Creek is actually east (well, northeast) of the ski area, not west.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I never understand why people are so reluctant to rent cars and thus depend on shuttles. I certainly understand why someone might not like the "safari" trips where you pack, change lodging and unpack multiple times. But having the car makes life more convenient, particularly in a remote location like Fernie. You come and go to both hill and restaurants in town when you please. If it's wet at Fernie, I can assure you there's no shuttle to Castle, but you can drive there in an hour and a half. You can also drive 2 hours south to The Big Mountain for a day. And with 3 people the shuttle won't even save that much money over a weekly car rental.

You don't need a car at a compact and self-contained area like Whistler. But at a lot of western ski destinations where you're skiing multiple areas (SLC, Tahoe), or where town and mountain are separated (Fernie, Taos, Jackson), it's much easier with a car.

I agree with admin. Don't spend the extra airfare to Cranbrook. Castle makes a good stop between Fernie and Calgary.

 

[Tony Crocker]

While Banff is a more established destination than Fernie, with shuttles offered to all mountains, the mountains are not that close to town and I still much prefer doing it with a car. If you are strong skiers Lake Louise will be your preferred area for skiing and if you stay in that area you'll save a few 45 minute commutes from Banff. You are also that much closer to Kicking Horse if you decide to ski there for a day.

My 14-year-old son and I stayed at Chateau Lake Louise in 1999 and it was a very reasonably priced 4-day ski package (we were in Fernie, etc. the first part of the week), particularly considering the quality of the hotel. Maybe not as much of a deal now, but worth checking out.

 

[mark]

i would agree about renting a car. i've been to fernie twice, stayed once in town and once on the mountain, and both times been glad to have a car. one thing i really remember is all the kids hitchhiking home from the mountain at the end of the day. the town is not walking distance. and conversely, if you stay at one of the lodges at the bottom of the mountain you are very limited in your meals and grocery opportunities. (kelsey's every night and potato chips for breakfast?) you should have a great time though. i loved it.

 

[Geoff]

I never understand why people are so reluctant to rent cars and thus depend on shuttles.

You're right. My next time to SLC, I'm borrowing His Editorship's Miata^h^h^h^h^h^h Z3. :mrgreen:


It's a pretty rare ski trip for me where I don't rent a car. I do have a lot of trips where I rent cars instead of SUVs since they tend to gouge you on 4wd rentals. At my sister's house in Vancouver, I have a couple of sets of tire chains for trips into the BC interior. The rental people look at you kind of funny when you reject a car telling them, "No, I want that one over there with the 195/65R15 tires".

 

[Rich]

Okay, I may as well let the list know what we decided on. Arrive Calgary International Sunday 2/19, rent SUV and drive to Fernie. Staying on the mountain at Lizard Creek for 5 nights. Drive to Castle Friday night, ski there Saturday, fly back from Calgary Sunday 2/26.

I have not bought lift tickets yet. RCR has discounts for Fernie, but I need to call and check multiple day deals from the mountain. They don't have them listed on the web site.

All in all, should be a damn good time. The flight and car rental will be paid with AMEX points 8)

Thank you everyone for your input. =D>

Rich

 

[Idaho Cliff]

... we decided on. Arrive Calgary International Sunday 2/19, rent SUV and drive to Fernie. Rich

Rich,
If you havn't bought your ticket yet, you might check out Glacier Park International Airport. It's between Kalispell and Whitefish Mt. As I recall it took us about 2.5 hours from Fernie to Whitefish including several stops getting gas and clearing customs. The following web site has some info:
http://www.purewest.com/destinations/fe ... ional.html
It looks like they say it's only 1.5 hours, but I think that's too quick.
They are accessed by Northwest Airlines and Delta among others. The Route from Whitefish follows US Hwy 93 and BC Hwy 93 to the Crownest Hwy 3 to Fernie and is a lot closer than Calgary.

Before you'd finallized your decisions, I was going to suggest you might look at skiing a few days at Big Mtn., MT (at Whitefish) and then a few more at Fernie. I like Big Mtn, but it's probably doesn't have enough "above timberline" for you. So you'd probably do better driving right up to Fernie.

As long as we don't have another wierd winter like last year, you should do ok. I was going to mention that a plus for Whistler is that when you watch the Olympics in 2010 you would already be familiar with some of the ski runs.
Have a great trip,
/s/ Cliff

 

[Tony Crocker]

I agree on the Whitefish recommendation from a skiing perspective. The Big Mountain is underrated IMHO and is higher than Fernie and very uncrowded. Ferrnie to the Big Mountain is a 2 hour drive, definitely closer than Calgary. But I suspect airfares to Calgary are cheaper, and you do break up the dirve some if you ski Castle. FYI Castle has been discovered by Calgary daytrippers and there can be considerable Saturday lift lines. Castle is still deserted midweek.