Now Screening at BC Winter Resorts: La Niña: The Sequel

by Jack Christie

It’s the stuff of nail-biting suspense: experts have issued a “White Alert” across British Columbia, just in time for the 2011-12 ski and snowboard season. Reaching for the popcorn? Better yet, grab your skis and boards.

The prospect of a second La Niña, a wet-weather condition fostered by cooler temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, has BC winter resorts from Vancouver Island to the Canadian Rockies anticipating a repeat of last year’s snowier-than-average season that kept alpine passes and trails snow-covered through the summer. And since fall’s fresh snow has already added frosting to last year’s cake, there’s only one thing to do: clip in and follow the snow to BC’s bounty of ski resorts.  With most featuring ski-in, ski-out pedestrian villages and endless après selections — not to mention their own brand of distinct personalities — options are sure to be boundless.

Here follows a few of the season’s best bets:

Vancouver Island
Mount Washington Alpine Resort boasts a winning blend of West Coast good looks and all-natural snow.  A whole lotta snow: in 2010-11, the resort recorded 19 metres (62 feet) of white stuff — almost double the average — in five months.  And while there’s plenty on offer for the skilled set, the resort, which borders Strathcona Provincial Park to the west and the Georgia Strait’s deep blue to the east, is set to focus on its latest converts this season.  How?  A new $3 million Easy Acres learning area, featuring four covered Magic Carpets, the longest carpet network in North America, is set to shelter rookies from the elements between runs, thanks to the new canopies.  This series of high-tech “moving sidewalks” is sure to beat a rope tow, T-bar or platter lift any day.

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
After digging out from the second-snowiest season in its 45-year history, Whistler Blackcomb flips the on-switch in mid-November. Together with a new $2.5-million fleet of groomers, snow-making cannons are already laying down a solid foundation for La Niña to build on, providing ideal terrain for those eager to test the new Whistler Blackcomb live app — smartphone technology that allows powderhounds to view trail maps, track runs using GPS and more.  Not that advanced? Master basic skills or build confidence in deep powder with Whistler Blackcomb’s ski and snowboard school.  This season the resort will buck the trend, maxing out at four students per instructor. After all, like dancing, there are always new moves to master.

Thompson Okanagan
Whether you enjoy a scenic drive or favour flying to international airports in Kamloops or Kelowna, skiing and snowboarding at BC’s four Thompson Okanagan resorts won’t need much of a nudge from La Niña to get underway. In short, summer-long slope manicuring smoothed the way for early winter grooming; all it takes is a skiff of powder.

At Sun Peaks Resort — BC’s newest municipality — the promise of powder isn’t the only thing sure to get the party started.  Indeed, this family-friendly draw is set to celebrate in a big way, as Tod Mountain, the first of the resort’s trio of lift-serviced peaks, marks its 50th year.  Pull on the woollies to join Olympic gold-medalist Nancy Greene Raine as she kicks off season-long celebrations, December 3, with complimentary mountain tours. Your party favour: count on the Austrian alpine ski team that trains at Sun Peaks in advance of the first World Cup downhill races of the year to get the fireworks underway.

BC’s biggest show on snow this winter, the 2012 B.C. Winter Games, February 23 – 26, promises alpine and Nordic events sure to dominate the Monashee Mountain slopes at Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon.  But it isn’t all about contests at this family-friendly, Victorian-inspired village.  Au contraire.  Thanks to a new partnership with Revelstoke-based Eagle Pass Heliskiing, snowy adventures are but a hop, skip and a heli into the Monashee’s powder-packed Gold Range.

If you’re eager to foster the family vacation spirit, make tracks with Big White Ski Resort’s new Mom, Dad, and Me program, where parents can shush with the kids during their first introduction to skiing or boarding. Makes sense. Big White is known far and wide for family togetherness, not to mention boundless dry powder.  Off the slopes, après for the family set takes on a whole new flair with ice skating, dog sledding, snowmobiling and even ice climbing.

Think you’re done with the Happy Birthday chorus?  Not so fast.  Apex Mountain Resort, an intimate hideaway in the South Okanagan Valley above Penticton, is also set to celebrate the big 5–0 this season. Earth movers worked all summer long to gently contour beginner slopes before rolling out the carpets to welcome winter (not to worry, there’s still plenty of terrain for the more adventurous set). As a bonus, this is one resort that doesn’t act its age; here, locals boast that the only lineups are for the pool table at the Gunbarrel Saloon.

Kootenay Rockies
Home to the Powder Highway, this mountainous region in the southeast corner of the province shelters the most tightly-knit collection of winter offerings this side of the Alps: eight full-service alpine resorts, nine Nordic ski clubs, 23 snowcat and heli-ski operators and a complement of 20 backcountry lodges.

One such stop along this storied BC highway? Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the newest kid on the block, continues to garner recognition as innovative features come online. Sporting the highest lift-serviced vertical in North America, the third phase of the Nelsen Lodge opens this season, expanding the mountain’s base area with new facilities to service lift, cat, and heli skiing from one central location, a global first.

For the 50th year in a row, Fernie Alpine Resort will fire up the lifts in early December. This cooler-than-cool ski town is a haven for skiers and boarders, and this season, Fernie unveils a brand new triple-seater: the Polar Peak Lift.   Designed to transport powder-lovers to dizzying heights above the tree line, the Polar Peak offers the highest vertical experience in the Canadian Rockies. Consider it Fernie’s way of celebrating the resort’s golden anniversary.

That celebratory spirit continues at nearby Kimberley Alpine Resort, with run enhancements and glade widening — plus the completion of the 2,229 square-metre (24,000 square-foot) Conference & Athletic Training Centre — topping this year’s new offerings.  The biggest buzz?  Newly enhanced airline service at Cranbrook International Airport, alongside a chummy daily shuttle service between the Kimberley and Fernie resorts.

Over at RED Mountain Resort in Rossland — Western Canada’s original ski town and home to two Olympic ski champions — summer months were spent improving both the resort’s terrain park and Ski Cross/Snowboard Cross course. Truth be told, RED is one massive terrain park. To find your way, take a mountain tour with a volunteer host, or sip coffee with old-timers at the Paradise Lodge.  Either way, you’re sure to feel like a local.

Whitewater Ski Resort, near Nelson, is another destination set to mark a milestone this year: 35 years as the little resort with a big reputation.  To celebrate, Powder Highway travellers can get in line for 23 newly gladed treed and groomed runs serviced by the Glory Ridge chairlift, which doubled access to the self-proclaimed “champagne powder champion’s” terrain last year (now totalling an impressive 479 hectares, or 1,184 acres). Correction: there are no lift lines at Whitewater. Simply hop on.

With boundless mountain terrain, crowds are also few and far between at Panorama Mountain Village.  Here, there’s plenty to challenge — from the powder-filled Taynton Bowl to the perfectly groomed fall line cruisers that provide the backdrop for the resort’s Alpine Canada Alpin National Training Centre. No matter the skill level, after a day of schussing these peaks, everyone feels like a winner while enjoying a restorative soak in the sprawling slopeside Panorama Springs steaming pools, a unique feature at this smaller-by-design family ski destination.

That same sense of belonging reigns at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, near Golden.  Indeed, you’re sure to get comfy at this resort, renowned for its quartet of heavenly big bowls.  New this year, Kicking Horse has improved the access trail on Redemption Ridge: hitting the south-facing glades into Crystal Bowl and the north-facing chutes into Feuz Bowl is now half the work, courtesy of a brand new groomed entrance. For the newbies?  Look to hone the skills required to handle big mountain conditions at the resort’s new beginner area on the main plaza.  And for those eager to make the journey, new twice-daily shuttle service from Calgary International Airport will make the trip that much easier.

Seems that no matter where the journey begins — or ends — skiers and boarders just can’t get enough of BC’s snowy slopes. From the looks of things, neither can La Niña.

For more information on ski in BC or to learn more about special offers from the province’s ski resorts, visit www.HelloBC.com/ski. For more on British Columbia’s destinations and travel information, call 1-800 HELLO BC® (North America) or visit www.HelloBC.com.

Contacts:

Apex Mountain Resort: 250-292-8222; 1-877-777-APEX (2739), www.apexresort.com

Big White Ski Resort: 250-765-3101, 1-800-663-2772; www.bigwhite.com

Fernie Alpine Resort: 250-423-4655, 1-877-333-2339; www.skifernie.com

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort: 250-439-5425, 1-866-754-5425; www.kickinghorseresort.com

Kimberley Alpine Resort: 250-427-4881; 1-800-258-7669, www.skikimberley.com

Mount Washington Alpine Resort: 250-338-1386, 1-888-231-1499; www.mountwashington.ca

Panorama Mountain Village: 250-342-6941, 1-800-663-2929; www.skipanorama.com

Revelstoke Mountain Resort: 1-866-373-4754; www.revelstokemountainresort.com

RED Mountain Resort: 1-800-663-0105; www.redresort.com

Silver Star Mountain Resort: 250-542-0224, 1-800-663-4431; www.skisilverstar.com

Sun Peaks Resort: 250-578-7232, 1-800-807-3257; www.sunpeaksresort.com

Whistler Blackcomb: 1-800-766-0449; www.whistlerblackcomb.com

Whitewater Ski Resort: 250-354-4944; www.skiwhitewater.com