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For A Great Ski Trip – And Bargain

Funviralpark 2 years ago 0 1

Much of the buzz in the travel media world in 2022 was over the strong dollar to euro rate, fueling an explosion of trips across the Atlantic – even though many of the most popular destinations were wildly expensive by any standards, even with a small discount from the favorable exchange rate.

But now it is winter and ski season is upon us in all its glory, and when it comes to skiing, you might look at Canada instead of the Alps. Surprisingly little has been said about our much closer neighbors to the north, where the exchange rate is currently very good for Americans, even as the Euro has begun to climb back up in recent weeks, costing us nearly 3% in December alone. On top of the strong dollar north of the broader, Canada always offered ski travel bargains – and great ski travel.

For much of my lifetime, Canada has always been viewed as a minor travel bargain, with the U.S. dollar almost always going a little further than here at home. There are exceptions of course, but it’s been more than a decade since the Canadian dollar was worth more than its U.S. peer (2011), and notably, as of the start of this month, the loonie had lost more than seven per cent against the U.S. dollar – in just four months. Unlike the Euro, that trend is continuing, and the U.S. dollar is stronger today than it was when December began. That means we are currently in one of just three similarly advantageous peaks recorded since the all-time best rate, a value proposition that often does not exist for several years at a time. For most of December, our dollar has bought around $1.36 Canadian, occasionally climbing even higher (for those who think in opposite terms, the Canadian dollar has struggled to buy 73 U.S. cents).

But when it comes to ski vacations, there is more at work than just currency – like snow. There’s also timing – you have either planned a big ski trip this winter or you haven’t. If you have, whether it’s to the Alps or Rockies or Japan, you might be locked in. If you haven’t, you should definitely consider Canada. While the epic storms that have pummeled the American West have not been as kind to our neighbors to the north, snow conditions at many big Canadian resorts are good for this time of year, while Europe’s early winter is off to an unimpressive start. Banff Lake Louise, one of North America’s top ski resorts and a personal favorite of mine, added another foot this week to bring its total for the season already to 79 inches, six and a half feet. It’s higher altitude neighbor Banff Sunshine reports a whopping 10.5 feet so far.

Ski Big 3, Alberta: Right now this is where I would go – in fact, I am going in two weeks. Alberta is one province east of coastal British Columbia, which has just experienced an unfortunate warming trend and rain, and a friend who just visited BC’s famed “Powder Highway” last week found slopes closed and was desperately heading further north in search of precious snow. Alberta gets the dry snow associated with our Rocky Mountain resorts, and as mentioned above, is off the very strong start. But it also offers one of the best mountain towns on earth as its home base, Banff, and a great value deal with three independent ski resorts, all located in Canada’s oldest National Park, a place of almost surreal beauty. The three share a lift ticket and interconnecting free shuttles (hence Ski Big 3) and are also on the Ikon Pass, so if you have one, it’s free. Ski Big 3 is also part of the Mountain Collective, which offers less days but also gives you free skiing here. Lift tickets for 3 or more days are more heavily discounted, and the further in advance you buy the more you save, but right now a 5-day ticket for dates from mid-January into February runs $595. For similar dates, a 5-day lift ticket to Jackson Hole, WY is $922. Aspen, Co is $820. Vail, CO is over $1000. Deer Valley, UT runs $915 and up. Basically, compared to most big mountains in the U.S. Rockies, Ski Big 3 costs 30-40% less.

And compared to most big mountains in the West, it’s simply bigger.

Two of the three mountains, Banff Lake Louise and Sunshine, would be among the larger resorts anywhere, and together, on a shared lift ticket, they are bigger than any U.S. ski resort. Lake Louise just had one of the largest recent terrain expansions in North American skiing, adding the new West Bowl last winter, 480-acres of glades, steep tree runs, and wide-open powder served by a new high-speed quad chair. The new area is already some of the best advanced-intermediate and expert terrain at the resort, easily accessible in-bounds yet featuring a wilderness backcountry feel. That brings the total skiable acreage here to a whopping 4,200-acres. That would make it the fifth largest ski resort in the country if it was in the U.S.

But you have to add Sunshine, which is much less well known, despite having a much higher than average 3,300-acres (to put this is in perspective, famed Aspen Mountain has 675), including a wide variety of terrain and challenging expert skiing. It’s high base at 7,200-feet usually guarantees reliable snow, and it always boasts one of Canada’s longest seasons. As described above, Sunshine has already received more than ten feet of snow this season, with more forecast. The area also offers a tremendous variety of lodging, food and other attractions, like glacier walks, ice climbing, Nordic skiing, dog sledding and much more. The scenery in the Park is gorgeous, and just riding to the slopes is a vacation adventure in itself.

There is one upscale and unique hotel at the top of Sunshine you get to by gondola, the Sunshine Mountain Lodge, redefining ski-in/ski-out. Lake Louise has two stunning, standout luxury options, the famed Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the much smaller Post Hotel & Spa, a Relais & Chateaux superstar famed for its culinary excellence and a winner of the rare highest tier Wine Spectator Grand Award of Excellence. But most vacationers choose to stay in the incredibly charming town of Banff and utilize the free transportation system, and Banff has everything from bargain motels and rental condos to the grand Fairmont Banff Springs, arguably Canada’s most famous hotel, “The Castle in the Rockies,” going on 130 years.

Banff is also home to the smaller third ski resort in Ski Big 3, Mt. Norquay, where locals have bene making turns for nearly a century. There are 60 trails, and its ultra-convenient location lends itself to a perfect first or last half-day on arrival or departure. Norquay also offers the only night skiing in the Canadian Rockies.

My Forbes destination feature on the Banff area skiing is now six years old, but still paints a pretty good picture of what to expect – and why to go.

Whistler/Blackomb, BC: The largest and most visited ski resort in North America, these towering siblings, connected by gondola and base village, have long been part of any serious skier’s pilgrimage tour. There is a huge amount and variety of terrain for every ability, including year-round glacier skiing, and the large, pedestrianized base village is full of restaurants of every sort, from gourmet to dive bars, and one could argue that this is the best epicurean ski resort in North America. The village has an equally impressive slate of lodging options, including lots of luxury standouts. There’s a Four Seasons, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, two impressive Pan Pacific resort hotels, Mountainside and Village, a Westin, and the local-color option, the escapist Nita Lake Lodge.

Whistler/Blackcomb offers a turnkey vacation experience, with fairly easy access via Vancouver, everything you need for skiing, lodging and dining at your fingertips, but since the village was built to be a ski resort, not an old mining or cowboy town like many western resorts, it strikes some visitors as artificial and a bit soulless. It is also the most visited resort on the continent, and as such, can get crowded. A big appeal is for holders of the most popular pass in skiing, the Epic Pass, which unlocks Whistler/Blackcomb’s 32 lifts for free. If you don’t have one, a 5-day lift ticket for the period described above will run you $632, more than Ski Big 3 but much less than its U.S. peers.

So far, the mountain has been off to a strong start, reporting 120 inches, or ten feet of snow, but conditions here are much more variable and unpredictable than at most major Western resorts, thanks to its proximity to the Pacific, which gives it more of a maritime climate with wetter, heavier snow and occasional winter rain. Not infrequently, low visibility requires shuttering parts of the resort. On the flip side, the mountains are so tall and large that there is almost always good skiing somewhere.

In the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Whistler/Blackcomb hosted most of the alpine ski races, giving you the rare opportunity to try these slopes yourself. It also has a world-class purpose-built Nordic center – you can even try biathlon – and the Whistler Sliding Centre, where you can experience bobsledding firsthand. The Olympic activities are pretty special.

Powder Highway, BC: Taking on an almost mythical reputation, for the past several years this region in interior BC, with drier snow than the coast (hence the name), has been emerging as the next frontier for adventurous skiers, with a more old school feel, few fancy hotels and less amenities, but tons of great asking, lots of snow (usually), and small crowds. The Powder Highway loop links no less than eight resorts, five of which can fairly be described as enormous. The region has not been commercialized in the corporate style that has affected many major ski destinations, and none of these resorts are part of the big ownership groups. It is ideal for bargain seekers and more independent travelers seeking mainly skiing and snowboarding and less frills, with funky ski towns and authentic local charm.

The totality of skiing and snowfall averages are staggering, but so are the distances involved. There are two main corridors, and in one, from the southernmost resort, Fernie, to the northernmost, Kicking Horse, is a 4-plus hour drive – in good weather. It is about the same for the other corridor, from Red Mountain up to Revelstoke. For most vacationers, of the five large mountains, the only two that are “easy” to combine are Fernie and Panorama, and these are two hours apart. Ski Magazine recommended two full weeks to try to comprehensively tackle the region. It’s also not easy to get here. Red Mountain is two and a half hours from Spokane, which is not a major airport, and Revelstoke is more than two hours from even smaller Kelowna airport. Calgary is the “closest” major international airport, but it is 165 miles from the first stop, Kicking Horse, while from Calgary to Banff and Ski Big 3 is just an hour and a half, and a pretty easy drive.

On the plus side, you could pick any of the five larger resorts and make it your sole destination, and it is cheap. A 5-day pass at the biggest of them all, Red Mountain, starts at just $414, and pretty much everything from food to lodging is a bargain.

The biggest is Red Mountain, with a staggering 3.850-acres, third largest in Canada – along with small crowds. As a result, Red claims to offer the most acreage per skier anywhere. Recent improvements include a new lift, new mid-mountain cabins, and its base is home to the region’s one notable luxury hotel, the Josie. I have not been, but this is a sister hotel (Noble House Hotels & Resorts) to the wonderful Hotel Terra and Teton Mountain Lodge in Jackson, WY, both of which I have visited repeatedly and thoroughly recommend. The Josie is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection for unique boutique hotels that don’t fit into cookie cutter brands and one of the best options in skiing for redeeming your Bonvoy points. Red Mountain is currently 100% open, and given its size and amenities, probably the top choice in this region to base yourself.

The other major resorts include Fernie, with 2,500-acres, 142 runs and five above treeline bowls; Panorama, with 2,975-acres and a ski-in/out family friendly base village; Kicking Horse, the self-proclaimed “Powder Capital of Canada” with 2,800 acres, 121 runs, four bowls, the fourth highest vertical in North America (4,133’), and for experts, a stunning 85 chutes; and Revelstoke, Canada’s newest ski resort, with North America’s longest lift accessed vertical (5,620’), 3,121 acres of terrain, and the continent’s longest ski run (9 miles!).

A few area resorts including Panorama and Revelstoke are on Mountain Collective, and several, including these and Red Mountain, take the Ikon Pass.

Pray for snow!

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