Fernie, BC is a true mountain town with a laid-back vibe and great community spirit. Most of the 5,000 plus residents live here because they want to. They like what the town has to offer, not just in winter but on a year-round basis; things like great recreation out the back door, excellent dining, loads of locally owned shops to visit and most of the services of a far larger town. If you're a visitor…
"You're skiing at Kicking Horse Mountain" my friend Judy says to me. "You do know it's a big gnarly mountain, don't you." "Oh yes" I reply. "Last year I tried a run from the top and couldn't see the tips of my skis for over half the run." So it was with some hesitation that I returned to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. I admit I was nervous. Usually I'm not a wimp but this mountain…
Not only is Big White Ski Resort one of Canada's top family friendly ski destinations, it's been recognized by Vogue as being "Whistler's smaller and less popular but (just as pretty) sister." It offers loads to do on and off the mountain as you'll see in the 20 Big White photos. I have visited Big White three times now and marvel at how much there is to do off the mountain. The Big White photos…
Have you heard of Le Massif de Charlevoix? Virtually unknown outside of Quebec and southern Ontario, this mountain delivers long ski runs with phenomenal in your face St. Lawrence River views. Boasting the biggest vertical drop (770 m) east of the Rockies, this is a ski hill you'll want to try. What it's like to ski Le Massif John and I had the opportunity to ski Le Massif while on a short visit to the spectacular Baie St. Paul area -…
I was lucky to spend three fabulous days skiing at Silver Star Mountain Resort. I'd heard about the ski resort for years. I'd seen all the colourful photos of the quaint "village" but it wasn't until friends rented a condo for a month on the ski hill that John and I finally made it here. It's really easy, especially when you get big dumps of snow, to have a memorable time at Silver Star. And…
I'd never even heard of Castle Mountain Ski Resort in southwest Alberta until last year. There are plenty of skiers and boarders who would like to keep it that way - so my apologies to them for penning this blog. I knew that Castle Mountain Ski Resort was somewhere in southern Alberta, but that was the extent of my knowledge. It's actually closer to Calgary than I figured - only 2.5 to 3 hours away…
Three days of downhill skiing in Fernie, BC is about all my legs could take. The reason - epic powder on one of those days. Fabulous Fernie is what I'm calling it now. I think it's one of the best ski resorts in all of Canada. The Fernie area can see up to 37 feet of snow in a season so it's one of Canada's true winter playgrounds. Interestingly the ski resort strikes a chord…
One weekend I skied two of the three downhill ski resorts in Banff National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) - Lake Louise one day and Sunshine Village the next. It had been over 30 years since I'd last skied at either of them - so it felt like the first time all over again. Temperatures both days in the morning were in the -17°C range (1°F) - and that was at the base without…