Snow Safari February 4th to March 17th 2004 – Canada Trip Report
Alberta and BC
Resorts: Whistler, Sun Peaks, Apex, Red Mountain, Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, Kicking Horse, Fernie, Castle Mountian, Silverstar and Big White.
Fotos: http://community.webshots.com/user/paedde31/1
Day 1 – Travel Zurich to VancouverFlight from Zurich to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Vancouver with Lufthansa. Excellent service made this flight short and comfortable (spent some miles to upgrade to Business). First night in Vancouver to meet some friends
Day 2 – Travel from Vancouver to Whistler Driving from Vancouver to Whistler where I spent 3 hours to find an accommodation. Almost everything fully booked or too expensive. Finally I got a very nice one bedroom condo for CAD 170 (Tax included) instead of 250 (+Tax). “Just because you are Swiss, last minute and…” Think I have to mention the place “Greystone Lodge” on upper village, a real SkiIn-SkiOut to Whistler Backcomb. If you wonna start @ Whistler Mountain very early you can just take the free bus shuttle in front of the house.
http://www.greystonelodge.com/ Very special thanks to Chris!!
Day 3 – Skiing Whistler15cm+ over night made it worth to get up just before 6am. There is a so called “First Tracks Ticket” you can buy it for an additional CAD 15 + Tax. You should be at Whistler Gondola by 7am. The first 600 skiers / boarders are going up the mountain @ 7:15. On top you get first off all a nice cold and hot breakfast buffet. As soon as avalanche control took place the first two chairs open for the early birds. It’s usually the “Big Red Express” and the “Emerald Express” If there is not too much new snow make sure to be outside by 8am. I missed the opening by about 15min.
Due to ongoing avalanche control, wind and poor visibility the Peak Chair and Harmony have been on stand by and it didn’t look promising at all. I spend the rest of the morning mainly in the trees between Big Red, Garbanzo and Emerald Chair. Around lunchtime I change to Blackcomb. Some very nice tree skiing between Solar Coaster, Excelerator and Crystal Chair. On top of Crystal Chair I went towards Outer Limits. I couldn’t see any untouched powder and this made me going future and future to my right – much more to the right then Outer Limit. Quite a few tracks didn’t let me think of any upcoming trouble. I became steeper and steeper but that’s what I like. At once I was standing on top of a cliff and no way out. After trying to find a way for quite a while I finally found a robe going down a very narrow, rocky and icy “couloirs”. No why to ski down there so I had to use the robe. What a nightmare. I definitely reached my personal limit. Not to mention the two off piste and backcountry rules “Never ski alone” and “Don’t follow tracks if you don’t know where there lead” Yes I know I shouldn’t have but ….
For some reason I had this feeling that the Glacier Express could open soon and it did have the lucky nose again. Untracked powder everywhere. First all the way down on the right side of the chair and another one on the left side. Heavy wind, poor visibility and continuing snowfall made it a little difficult and therefore I decided to go for one more run in the trees.
Day 4 – Skiing WhistlerJust a couple of centimetres since yesterday afternoon. 8am Whistler Gondola to the top and right away to Harmony chair. Lucky again, it opened just a minute after I arrived. Sun bowl was awesome with some nice untracked powder and wind drifts. All the way down and back to Harmony again. What a bad surprise at the bottom of the chair. Lines with waiting time 15min + not even the “Singles only” line made it any better. Between Sun bowl and Burnt Stew Trail I could find some nice cliffs and some untracked powder. Waiting time remained between 10 and 20 min. After another two runs in the same area I went down Glacier bowl. Peak chair had long lines as well. Some extreme stuff can be found in Whistler bowl, The Couloir and The Cirque. Getting tiered I went up to the peak for the last run down to the valley. From the top I went down Whistler Bowl for just a few turns and then always to the left following the ridge. On the backside I could find some powder in the trees and after I while I found myself on Highway 86. With burning legs I had to call it a day already a 2pm. (getting older I guess)
Day 5 – Skiing WhistlerFirst right up to the top and into Blackcomb Glacier. Now new snow but still some very nice and soft snow as long as you did some long traverses. When I came up to the top of Glacier Express they opened Spanky’s Ladder so I had to give it a try. Very nice, very steep and soft tracked powder in Garnet and Diamond Bowl. It was so good I had to do it again this time down Ruby Bowl. Next time I could see some skiers and boarders crossing the area boundary and hiking up to some untracked awesome spots. I just couldn’t refuse. After about 45min I reached a peak (no idea about the name) within Garibaldi Provincial Park. Being on my own not knowing about how to come back to Whistler there was no way to go down the backside. Most other hikers didn’t know where the tracks lead so I had to go down on the front side. Nice powder all way down made me smiling for the rest of the day. It was so fxxxing good. I’m not used to hike at all and this almost forced me to call it a day @ 2pm. 5 more weeks to go..
Almost forgot the mention the no existing lines. Due to a layer of fog many stayed home and had now idea about the perfect weather above mid mountain. Only 7th Heaven Express reported long lines.
Day 6 – Skiing WhistlerOnce again the weather didn’t look too good from the valley but wasn’t bad on top. During the day it improved every hour and was just perfect after lunch. I went once again up on the Blackcomb side and before starting with the very steep I enjoyed carving from the top of Solar Coaster down to the valley. The overnight grooming was closed to perfection. Again on top of Solar Coaster I had to go at least once to the 7th Heaven side of the mountain. After this the day went on with steep, very steep and extremely steep runs like Ruby Bowl, Couloir Extreme, Quasar, Jersey Cream and then through the trees all the way down to the valley. Up to the Peak followed by The Couloir, The Cirque, Monday’s, Cockalorum, Glacier Bowl and finally one more time up to The Peak and down Bagel Bowl.
Not much powder all day but what can you expect after 3 days without new snow. Conditions are still very good to excellent off piste and excellent on the groomed. Almost forgot to mention the non-existing lines. Less than 1 min all day as single and 2-5 min for others.
Now after 4 days skiing in Whistler is about time to change to another resort. Whistler is definitely one of the best mountains I’ve ever skied. Ski patrol is opening the resort step by step after avalanche control and they are really fast. If you like hiking you have an almost unlimited amount of options.
Overall rating:
Snow quality 7
Variation of steep runs 9
Tree skiing 9
Grooming 9
View 9
Friendliness 8
Lift System 8
Lift lines 6 (without Saturday 9)
Food 9 (Dinner, no idea about lunch – just never had the time for)
Double Blacks are: Definitely Double Blacks no doubt about this !!!!
Day 7 – Travelling from Whistler to Sun Peaks From Whistler on Highway 99 to Cache Creek, Trans Canadian 1 to Kamloops and on Highway 5 towards Sun Peaks. A 4h 15min and 370km drive. Not to recommend during severe weather conditions. 99 can closed at any time and it will take ages to drive this way with snow and ice on the road. When I arrived in Sun Peaks I could not believe how empty it looks. The slopes are empty and the parking area was almost empty as well. I’m looking forward to ski without any lines – I hope. To find accommodation was not a big deal.
Day 8 – Skiing Sun PeaksNot cold at all just about -4 Celsius and light wind. The first run gave me a clear sign of spring being just around the corner. Hard packed snow from top to bottom just too hard to ski off piste. Conditions on the groomed are very good. Carving all morning without any lines. The resort seems to be empty but according to locals and my personal experience from last year this will change on Saturday when President’s week starts. After lunch the sun improve the situation quite a bit and it was even possible to go for a run in the trees. Not more than good and this made me going back to the groomed quite soon.
After just one day I am bored. This resort can be a lot of fun after a nice dump for some days as long as the temperatures are low enough. Don’t know yet what I’m going to do tomorrow, but for sure I will travel to the next resort on Friday. Snow in the forecast for Sunday until Wednesday but it looks just like a couple of centimetres. PLEASE LET IT SNOW!
Day 9 – Travelling from Sun Peaks to Apex When I woke up I knew that I have to change the resort. It was too boring yesterday and I got an email from a guy from Montreal who is on a very similar snow safari in Albert, BC and the US. He is going to Red Mountain on Sunday and this would be on my route.
From SunPeaks Highway 5 South towards Merritt, on 97C and 97 to Pendicton and finally to Apex. It’s a 3h and 45min easy drive except from the last 31km from Pendiction to Apex. A winding, snowy, icy, dirty (sand covered all the way) and very slippery road.
Accommodation can be found easily by asking the Hostel staff. They are running the Hostel and Apex Accommodation, which includes about 60 condos. There is also the Coast Inn Hotel right @ the T-Bar and the Studios are very nice. Unfortunately they had nothing available for 3 nights. “The resort will be very busy starting on Saturday – due to Presidents week” That’s what they all say. How ever, today the resort left a different impression when I arrive it was more like “Sorry, we are closed – please call again”.
Day10 – Skiing Apex MountainLike any other BC resorts Apex got no new snow for about a week. Blue Sky and -10 Celsius @ 9am. The base is good to very good. Off piste variable or let’s say rather poor. The sunny side to the mountain was not really worth spending a minute except on the groomed runs. The left side of the mountain with runs like K2, 22, Gunbarrel, Make My Day and Dirty Harry are good fun and with some fresh powder most probably some of the best skiing you can get. Very steep and lots of trees all the way down. The vertical @ Apex is not very impressive with only 600m and you lose a lot by traversing from and to the double blacks. Some doubles are probably only 100 to 200m vertical but still worth a day or two. Lift lines do not exist. Some locals mentioned lines up to 5 min on a busy day. After a nice dump this mountain will keep you busy for days especially during the week. The lift system is a short topic to mention. The Quickdraw is the only high-speed quad. Stock’s Chair is quite slow and there are not challenging runs from the top. The T-Bar is only open on weekends and for night skiing. Except after going to the Wildside you will probably spend all day on Quickdraw Chair.
Light snowfall in the forecast for tomorrow.
Day 11 – Apex MountainLight snowfall started @ 8am.
About 3cm by lunch time
Perfect day to do nothing then relax, drinking coffee @ the hostel, do some washing and watch some DVD’s.
Day 12 – Travelling to RosslandAn easy 4h and 310km drive. Not easy to find accommodation due to President’s week or better say weekend. Only until Monday and after this you can get what ever you want…. One night in a Motel and after this back to “Smith and Bean” Guesthouse in Rossland.
If you ever travel to Rossland / Red Mountain make sure you asked Linda and Tom about the guesthouse. Very good value especially if you travel as a group. About 200 CAD (4 person) for a big 4 bedroom Chalet sleeps up to 8.
http://www.rossland.net/smithandbean/house.htmlVery special thanks to Linda and Tom for the special rate!! Whenever I’m back in Rossland I’ll be happy to stay @ your guesthouse again.
Day 13 – Skiing Red MountainBeing afraid of some lines in the morning we (meet Steve in Rossland – I know him from the epic.com forum) where ready about 15min before opening of the chairs @ 9am. Right away we hit the trees and to our surprise it was gooooooood. Mainly soft packed with some powder stashes all day. We spend all day on Motherlodge Chair going down the double blacks on the left and the right hand side. Good fun all day and the mountain virtually belong to us. No lines not even waiting for one chair all day. This is skiing like it should be. A lifty wrote “Snow in the forecast – says CBS - and CBS never lies” It’s around freezing level and no snow until closing.
5pm: It’s snowing.
8pm: Still snowing
Day 14 – Skiing Red MountainOfficial report 8cm over night.
When we arrived at 8:30am there where already 25 mainly boarders waiting at the chairs. Right away we hit the double blacks in the trees. Not only that we found much more then only 8cm it was very nice powder. I would say 15-20cm in the trees mainly on the north facing slopes. We (meet another Swiss Guy on the first chairs) spent all day once again in the trees more or less only on the double blacks. It wasn’t a real powder day but compared with what I got during the last few days it was the best. It was cloudy all day but with very good visibility and mild temperatures.
Day 15 – Skiing Red MountainOfficial report 8cm over night.
When we arrived at 8:30am there where already 60 mainly boarders waiting at the chairs. By opening over 350 waiting. The first few runs we had lines on the Motherlodge Chair up to 5min and later on less then one minute. Right away we hit the double blacks in the trees ones again the north facing part of Granit Mountain. We have to call it a “Powder Day” not the best but you can get much worse stuff. Another 15cm of “light” snow on top and heavy at the bottom. We found some untracked spots from yesterday and had boot to knee-deep powder all day.
As mentioned before it can be better and also worse. Temperatures are definitely too high with +5 Celsius mid Mountain an about +2 on Top. Light snowfall on top during the afternoon and changing weather all day. From blue sky to fog and wind the whole program all day. No new snow in the forecast until Friday or Saturday.
Day 16 – Travelling to BanffIt was not an easy decision. I checked the snow and weather forecast for the next 5 days. All resorts except Sunshine and Lake Louise have above freezing temperatures during daytime some even at night. It’s a long drive to Banff but I would drive even more if needed to get some gut snow conditions. After 6h and 520km I arrive in Banff late afternoon and it was very easy to find accommodation even during president’s week.
Tunnel Mountain Resort with very nice studios, brand new with kitchenette.
http://www.tunnelmountain.com/contact.htmlDay 17 – Skiing Sunshine VillageIt was quite cold when I arrive at Sunshine Village. 1cm of new snow over night and 10cm from the previous day gave the Village a nice winter look.
Today’s routing: Delirium Dive, Hell’s Kitchen, Delirium Dive, Delirium Dive, Delirium Dive, Hiking up to the top of Far Side and Delirium Dive again. The Dive was a dream with tracked and untracked powder all the way down. Boot deep powder with no sign of spring like condition. A bit different at the Far Side where I found spring like conditions and that’s way I went back to do the dive one more time.
I was a good decision to drive that far. Sunshine has good to very good conditions on and off piste. The lines are not too bad with up to 5 min (mainly less then 1) for the single line and up to 15 min for others. With a base of 170cm Sunshine is definitely a trip worth. Last year with only 130cm it wasn’t as good at all.
Day 18 – Skiing Sunshine VillageToday’s routing: Delirium Dive all day incl. hiking the far end Galaxy (Milky Way remaining closed) On the first hike up to the summit I meet Jake and Ken two locals and they invited me to join them. I “lost” them during the first run but met them again about an hour later at the safety gate to the Dive. I had a hike to Galaxy in mind so did they and after a quite difficult hike of about 45min we reached the target. A powder field almost untracked and almost no rocks. A dream and it felt like heli skiing. From there all the way down in boot deep powder. They showed me some local secrets with virgin powder I could hardly believe and this after several days without new snow. Dive again and again and tomorrow again and again….
Day 19 – Skiing Sunshine Village and trip to Golden What can I say – It was too good yesterday to stop it. Another 6 times Delirium Dive. This makes a total of 17 times in 3 days. The daily limit will be 7 if you keep on going hard all day.
After skiing a less then 2h drive from Sunshine to Golden.
Accommodation: Like last year we got a chalet in Golden. The Alpenrose chalets are very nice and just about 15min from the ski hill. Thanks to Maria and Gary Frey for the special last minute rate!
http://www.alpenrosecabins.com/index.phpDay 20 – Skiing Kicking HorseThe base is good but skiing is on hard packed snow. 99% of the resort is open and this will keep you busy for a while. Off piste is variable. We had some turns in very nice powder but icy spots on the same run. We hiked from the top up to Terminator Ridge and skied into Super bowl. A 30min hike with a spectacular view from the top.
Grooming is limited but very good. Some of the blue runs should definitely be black and most of the black runs are double blacks for sure. The new terrain is great and it looks like there is some more expansion on the way. Very nice Ski In – Ski Out will be available for next season. I’m sure this resort will become busy as Fernie in a few years time. The vertical you get by only one gondola ride is amazing. This resort is one of the top 3 in Alberta and BC.
Some snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the following few days but most probably not really a big deal.
Day 21 – Skiing Lake Louise SKIING DEATH COOKIES - ALMOST ALL DAY LONG
Spring like conditions but not warm enough to get it soft at all. Rock hard, Icy and not funny at all. Off piste very limited to the double blacks at Whitehorn and of the Paradise chair. There isn’t much to talk about – Let it snow , Let it snow
With good snow conditions this resort will keep you busy for days. No lift lines at all on the backside an only about a minute or two on the front side.
Day 22 – Skiing Sunshine Village Partly cloudy, -11 with a high just below freezing, light wind and some fog on Lockout Mountain. Snow conditions are still much better than in Lake Louise. 1cm of new snow over night and a few more are in the forecast. Another day for Delirium Dive and hopefully some turns in powder.
Up to 10 turns in “powder” but mainly soft and hard packed. 3 times the Dive and a few more runs on Angel and Divide. Just after 1pm I decided to call it a day. Delirium is getting boring after 20 times in 4 days.
Tonight: Praying for snow incl. a snow dance
Tomorrow: No snow – no skiing and my sister is going to arrive in Calgary.
Day 23 – No Skiing – Day off and Calgary Airport Lake Louise 1cm
Sunshine 2cm
My legs and knees are happy about the bad news – I’m not at all
Red Mountain 15cm
Mt. Washington 27cm (yesterday 28cm)
I’m going to pick up my sister later today and a short shopping trip to down town Calgary.
Day 24 – Skiing Sunshine Village – First day with my sisterLake Louise 1cm
Sunshine 2cm
What a change!! Only 2cm yesterday and another 2cm today and it change from hard packed and icy to hard packed with a very nice soft layer of fresh snow. After a warm up run on Angle and Divide my sister insisted on a first run in Delirium. After the not always easy first 20m she managed the next 100m very well, unfortunately she fall and couldn’t stop for another 100m. Guess what … one ski remained right at the beginning of her “free fall” and I was already at the end of it. What should I do other then being a gentlemen and hike the 40 Degree hard packed back to get the missing piece of wood? It has been hard work but the last 3 weeks of intensive skiing and some hiking did help to manage this challenge. Just to show me that she is absolutely able to ski the Dive (without free fall) she decided to try it again and she made it.
I think it’s now about time to stop this Delirium Dive Chapter for at least a year. I’ve done it 22 times within a week (actually 22,2 times – incl. the hike to grab the missing 161cm of modern technology)
The rest of the day we skied some groomed on Goat’s Eye and Lookout Mountain.
Day 25 – Travelling from Banff to FernieApprox. 4h and 400km easy drive.
Temperatures are still above freezing in the valley. Fernie got a few centimetres of new snow over the last 48h but only above the village. According to some locals it rained a little as well. No idea how it will be on the mountain but we will find out tomorrow.
It was easy to find accommodation. Like last winter and summer I went right away to the reception of the Timberline Lodge. They take care of various other buildings and Chalets. You can get so called bronze, silver or gold accommodation. Special thanks for the warm welcome back and the special rate!!
By the way: Utah got about 60cm the last few days and another 60cm are expected until Sunday evening. I checked the distance and it looks like a 14h and 1500km drive to Salk Lake City. Would like to do it but it seems to be a very long way and my sister does not really like the long driving neither do I.
No big dumps on the way.
Day 26 – Skiing Fernie At 9am -5 Celsius and around freezing during the rest of the day.
Today you could get any kind of snow conditions at any time of the day. Mainly good skiing on the upper mountain and not to bad mid mountain. On the lower parts it was rock hard in the morning and spring like later on. My first impression wasn’t too good but this changed before lunchtime. First we skied the new side before we went into Lizard Bowl. Lucky again the ski patrol opened the upper Lizard Bowl. Not only the face lift was open you could even hike up to the rock band and this made it possible to ski untracked powder for a few hours. I hiked the 10-15 minutes 3 times and my sister took the nice pictures and movies. Not bad at all but too much work if you pay 60 CAD. After this we skied several different runs from top to bottom and as mentioned before we found all possible snow conditions. It’s Sunday and no lines all day.
Some snow in the forecast for the end of the week but I don’t trust the long range forecast any more. Steve ( I skied with him for a few days decided to drive all the way down to Utah and he got over a meter of new snow within 48h and more in the forecast)
Would like to ski there but it seems to be a very long way.
Day 27 – Skiing Castle MountainAfter 1h 30 min and 130km we arrive at Castle Mountain. An easy drive from Fernie. (Don’t drive there during heavy snow as the Crowsnest pass could be closed at any time)
9:30am -5 Celsius, light snow fall and fog on the top. About 20 cars and two school buses – looks like a busy day…
All the kids remained on the green beginner chair and the 30+ other skiers had the whole mountain to enjoy.
Looking forward to the nice snow with about 1-2cm of new over night we went right away to the top with the intention to check the double blacks on the left of Tamarack Chair. BUT there was nothing to enjoy. Rock hard, icy, poor to no visibility or to say it in fewer words “Almost unskiable”. Sometimes we could even see the blue ice right under our skies. We went back to the groomed and found slightly better conditions but still not anything to enjoy. A few more runs to the left and right of the blue chair and after just over 2h we decided to call it a day. This is not skiing!!!
How ever, a few words to the mountain regardless of the actual situations: IT IS JUST GREAT, AMAZING, AWSOME, STEEEEEEP, VERY STEEEEP!!! This mountain is a must and will keep you busy for days. The tree skiing can make it very nice even on a bad weather day. It’s probably one (or the only one) of the remaining local secrets in Alberta. Don’t tell anyone!!
Day 28 – Skiing FernieWhat a change!!! 7 outta 10 (And this after yesterday’s 5 outta 10 according to Craig’s unofficial Fernie Report)
No snow until 4am but then Grizz started to work hard until 10am. 5cm at the base and up to 10 on top. First a few runs on the groomed (tracked very fast) and then some very nice off piste but only on the upper mountain.
The Saddle has been closed on our first day in Fernie but today it was open. After a very rocky top part it became soft, deep and steep. Several turns in boot deep powder and many more in soft nice powder between 10 and 15cm. From the bottom of this run a right traverse back into the trees and good snow all the way down. Just the lower part of the mountain is not recommended for off piste at all. A hard crust and only a few centimetres of new snow are not enough. How ever the Saddle had to be done again and again. There is still some nice powder for tomorrow – Again: Don’t tell anyone.
Before lunch it was not possible to go for any serious hiking. Polar Peak, Upper Cedar and several other spots where closed due to avalanche danger. But after a while the ski patrol started to open one by one and this gave me the chance to hike Polar Peak for the first time. It took me 30min to the top (photo stop included). Unfortunately you are not allowed to ski into Lizard Rock Bands, this would be so nice and I know that some locals did it but you get in big trouble if the patrol gets you. Maybe one day…..
Day 29 – Skiing FernieA Fernie Day!!
At 9:30am it was -6 at the base and -8 Celsius at the top and not snowing at all.
At 10am 24h after Griz stop to work yesterday he came back to work and after about half an hour he started to work very hard. About 2h later we had already more then 5cm on top and 3-5cm at the base. This changed the skiing a lot. Very nice and mainly soft turns on the groomed and improving off piste but still not good enough. We skied mainly the old side but didn’t consider Cedar Bowl at all until about 1pm. A big mistake!! The best snow at all and nobody skiing there. Boot deep powder all the way down. We had to do it again this time from the top of Boomerang Chair down Cedar Ridge and it was even better, steeeep and deeeeep. Right away back to the top of Great Bear Express to do it again but by then ski patrol closed the upper part of Cedar due to avalanche danger. We had to ski to the top of Boomerang again and went down Cedar Ridge this time a little bit more to the right and this has to be called the run of the day. Knee deep powder all the way down, having this all day would be called “A Fernie Powder Day”.
When we arrived at the Haul Back T-Bar it was closed. I can’t tell you if it was related to a technical problem or a stupid decision of who ever. 50+ skier and boarder had to hike towards Boomerang for about 10min. In addition the ski patrol arranged 5+ skidoos and provided a kind of skidoo-T-bar service.
It’s 6pm still snowing and there is more in the forecast. It’s the very light Fernie stuff coming down!!
Special thanks to Griz!!
Day 30 – Skiing FernieA real Fernie Day!!
With 17cm overnight and 26cm in 24h the day had to be good.
At 8:40am a few hundred powder freaks did already stay in line to be first. The first guys did wait since 8am or even earlier – that’s crazy. Several areas like Currie, Cedar, Easter, Saddles, Knots Chutes and upper Lizard remained closed due to avalanche danger.
Timber Chair followed by White Pass Quad and right away towards Knots Chutes to check the real status. Ski Patrol was ready to open it at any time and this let me wait for a few minutes. About 30 other skier and boarder decided to wait as well. After about 5 minutes “Go for it” This has been so fxxxing fantastic with boot to knee-deep light powder. Next run Diamond Back all the way down to the base. After just over one hour the main runs where already tracked and it was about time to find fresh powder. Why not checking the up to date status of Cedar Bowl? Once again this was a very good decision. Just when we arrive the patrol opened the area between the top of Boomerang and top of Great Bear Express and we could traverse all the way towards Fish Bowl. Definitely the best snow (just like yesterday). All the way down in knee to waist-deep light powder and face shots at times. The Haul Back was not open all day most likely due to a technical problem. But who cares on a day like this. Some hiking can only make it better – less people – more fun. Back on top of Boomerang I asked the ski patrol how it looks for Currie as we could hear the permanent boooom of the avalanche shooting. He just used a few words “U better hurry” and so we did. We missed the opening by about 15min but still very nice untracked stuff on Currie Creek. Right away back to Currie again and lucky for the third time as the ski patrol opened the Saddle and all other double blacks. I gave it a try on Lone Fir and it was for sure a good choice. Deeeep and steeeep just the best you can get. One more time Lone Fir followed by The Saddle, Corner Pocket Decline and High Saddle. Too bad but by then it was 4pm and about time to go home. Snow became bit heavy on the lower mountain but still good for some turns.
What a day!! Not the best I ever had in Fernie (8 out of 10) but some of the best and there is more snow in the forecast for Fernie as well as for the interior BC. If Griz is not doing something crazy overnight we are going to travel tomorrow and ski again on the weekend.
Food: Lizard Creek Hotel, The Old Elevator !!
Day 31 – Travelling from Fernie to Silver StarWhat a trip, very closed to a nightmare! 740km and 9.5h driving part of it in very poor conditions like snow and ice, 1h lunch break and half an hour shopping makes 11h. This can be done in about 8h driving with good conditions or at least with some good winter tires and not like this useless all season tires on the rental car. I followed the advice of some locals in Fernie and followed Highway 3 and then 97. Well this is probably not the best way. Next time I would most probably drive towards Golden, Rogers Pass and then on the Trans Canadian towards Vernon.
It looks good in Silver Star. Quite heavy wind, cold and some new snow. According to a local guy at the reception the snow is very good and deep as well.
Weather forecast: More snow on the way but very mild temperatures as well. It sounds not too good right now.
Accommodation: The reception of the Putman Station Hotel is also taking care of several other units (different size and budgets). Like last year we go a very nice one bedroom studio – brand new and real SkiIn / SkiOut @ Creekside.
Day 32 – Skiing Silver Star Great day – great skiing
8:30am -8 Celsius, blue sky, 9cm within the last 24h and lots of fresh powder from the previous days.
The base is excellent. No rocks, no hazards just nothing than lots of snow on the slops. Grooming is excellent. Off piste is good to very good. Some areas have wind drifts with a light crust on it but not too bad at all. Some south facing runs have still some evidence of the previous spring like conditions but this will not bother you at all. Other areas like the left and the right of Powder Gulch Express are in very good shape. We could find a lot of light tracked and untracked powder. You can jump and ski like crazy wherever you want there are just no rocks or anything to stop you (except of the trees and there are lot’s of).
Lift lines: Just like last year. Usually between 10 and 11 am the Gulch gets a little bit busy with lines up to 5 min but after this it’s just quiet. The runs are generally steep to very steep and this helps to keep the area reserved for the advanced skiers and boarders. O contraire on the Comet Express. Best for beginner and intermediate it’s a busy area and lines are 5min + (it’s Saturday – no idea how it looks on a weekday)
There’s snow in the forecast for tomorrow and probably on Monday too.
It’s 7pm – light snow started a few minutes ago.
Day 33 – Skiing Silver Star Great start but…
At 8:30am just below freezing, overcast with fog on the top and light wind. 5-10cm snow over night.
The new snow was not light but not heavy as well. It was excellent on the groomed and very good off piste. After the first run it started to “snow” very light but it was more like ice crystals and the wind became heavy as well. Each run was different, unfortunately to the negative. Due to the above freezing temperature the new as well as the old snow became more and more heavy and by about lunch time we started to take about “skiing cement” or how we call it in Switzerland “leg breaking snow”. It became hard to turn in the trees and less and less fun on the double blacks. By 1pm we decided to call it a day. The right time for some shopping, washing, relaxing …. On the way back to the apartment we where surprise by the remaining good snow on the groomed runs.
Wet snow (hopefully not rain) in the forecast and well above freezing temperatures for the next few days. I checked the weather forecast for all resorts within 5h driving and there is no escape from the mild at least until Wednesday. Just my luck
5pm light wet snow
Day 34 – Skiing Silver Star At 8:30am +5 Celsius, above freezing all night, overcast with fog on the top and very light wind. No snow over night.
After the first run we came to the following result: Very good spring like skiing on the groomed, not too bad on other runs and poor or better unskiable in the trees (heavy – wet - cement like). The snow was already quite wet but on the groomed it was easy to turn. The mountain is almost without any other skier and boarder - virtually for the two of us - less and less cloudy after each run. By lunchtime we had blue sky and it was even warmer. The traverse from and to the Gulch Express became slushy and very slow but the black groomed runs remained in good conditions. At about 1pm the snow became very sticky and it felt like having breaks on your skis. It was about time to go home and spend the afternoon off the slopes. This last run was the biggest challenge of the day. I never ever had this kind of snow before – not in Switzerland and for sure not in Canada. We had to follow the shadow as much as possible to get some speed and lost it again on the sunny spots. From the top of the Comet Express we had to ski more or less one straight line to get some kind of speed – no way of making any turns and it felt like skiing the first day in your life. Now I can understand how it must be as a beginner on the first day on skis fighting not to fall and trying hard to give the two wooden things any command and they don’t even follow you – more like you have to follow them.
How ever, it wasn’t bad after all. Just not what we expected in March and especially not in Canada. No idea yet what we are going to do about this situation. The forecast is reaming on the mild side and we have only one week to go.
At 3pm it’s +10 Celsius at the house.
Day 35 – Skiing Big White – Day Trip9am at the Gem Lake Express it was +3 Celsius, 6 Cars total (12 by 9:15) and therefore huge lines at the ticket counter and the chair J
The Gem Lake, Falcon and Powder Chair area was rock hard very icy. The village side offered some nice soft spring like conditions between the bottom and the top of Ridge Rocket Express higher up was as well rock hard and heavy wind at times. Off piste was unskiable, not one single turn possible and poor off the groomed. Green and blue runs are the choice of the day as there where no groomed blacks today. Just around noon it started to snow and about half an hour later we had a perfect snowstorm. Temperatures dropped blow freezing and visibility change to poor. The icy snow started to hurt in our face and that was the point of no return. Right away back to the parking lot and time for some shopping in Vernon. What a change in Vernon, with about +14 Celsius some crazy guys walked around in T-Shirt and shorts others played golf and even better some prepared there boat to put it back in water. Canadians are kind of strange as soon as temperatures climb above freezing.
Back in Silverstar it looks like the weather was much better but this may not be good for the snow conditions if I consider my yesterdays report.
Day 36 – Travelling from Silverstar to VancouverSilverstar – Vernon – Kelowna – Meritt – Hope – Vancouver 450km and about 5h – easy drive. Highway 5 is a Toll Highway but saves you a lot of time and it’s only CAD 10.--.
To find accommodation was very easy. Like last year we ask for a cooperate rate at the Comfort Inn at Nelson Street and go a one bedroom studio for only 140CAD. Excellent value and breakfast included.
Day 37 – Shopping in Vancouver and Trip to WhistlerFirst I had to go to the Airport to pick up my travel documents. On the way I got an SMS from wookie and this gave us the opportunity to meet at the airport for the first time. We managed to but his luggage in our car and spend some hours at Metrotown. Metrotown is a huge shopping centre with about 500 shops. Early afternoon we gave wookie a lift to downtown Vancouver and from there we had to drive another 2h to Whistler.
Remembering my accommodation at the beginning of my trip I knew that I’d like to stay again at the Greystone Lodge on the Upper Whistler Village. Lucky again we could get a very special last minute deal. There are several different units available. E.g. 1/2/3 bedroom with and without loft, outdoor and indoor hot tube, outdoor swimming pool, skiIn and skiOut.
One again I’d like to say thank you to Chris!! You made the last few days in Canada very special and I’m sure whenever I’m back in Whistler I’ll try to get accommodation @ the Greystone Lodge.
http://www.greystonelodge.com/After two days without skiing I’m in desperate need of some activities tomorrow. Wookie is still in Vancouver and will take the very early morning shuttle to Whistler. It will be the first time for him skiing outside of Australia. Even if we are going to have spring like he will love it!
Day 38 – Skiing Whistler Part 2 Day 1Spring Skiing
At 9:30am +4 Celsius in the Village and -4 Alpine, 2-3cm snow over night for the upper elevation and some rain for the Village.
At 4pm +10 in the Village
We started with fog and reduced visibility and some wind on top but it improved and by early afternoon we had blue sky.
Skiing conditions are extremely variable it all depends on how high your are and your preference. Right now you can get almost everything expect of powder. The upper mountain is rock hard, icy and the new snow did improve the situation very little. Swiss rating: poor – Australian rating: (wookie) reasonable. Mid mountain is hard packed with some icy spots and some soft spring like condition on the south facing areas. Swiss rating: good – Australian rating: fast. The lower mountain is soft spring snow becoming a bit slushy towards the end of the day. Swiss rating: good – Australian rating: Just like the bottom of Thredbo.
Now the bad news for all off piste freaks: Very poor!! Top mountain pure ice, mid mountain hard/icy and the lower mountain too soft or no snow at all. Double blacks like Glacier Bowl, The Couloir or Cockalorum are highly recommended it you want to kill your self. Sun bowl wasn’t too bad but still not better then let’s say fair with a few turns tending to good.
Nice warm weather for Saturday, some rain and snow for Saturday. Cooler temperatures are forecasted for the second part of the week and snow starting on Thursday right when I’m going to be back at work. Just my luck
Day 39 – Skiing Whistler Part 2 Day 2Spring skiing day 2
At 9:30am -4 Celsius in the Village and Alpine, no snow over night blue sky all day.
At 4pm +10 in the Village and still just below freezing mid and upper mountain.
Skiing was quite different today. With below freezing temperatures over night the whole mountain was hard, icy but thanks to the hard work of the groomers it was not too bad at all – at least if you don’t mind using your edges a lot. It was quite funny to get some speed and try to stop as fast as possible. It was just like driving a car with 80km/h on ice and trying to stop it. It took forever but as mentioned quite funny.
The temperature remained below freezing above mid mountain and therefore the situations didn’t change a lot. Some south facing slopes had some soft stuff on top but never like yesterday.
An hour before closing we found the 2 runs of the day. “Overbite” and “Straight shot” very nice spring conditions, easy to turn and soft from top to bottom. The way back to the village was good too with soft sugar like snow.
Start of spring break but almost not lines compared with what I experienced 5 weeks ago. Up to 5 minutes but not more then that hopefully it will be the same tomorrow.
Forecast for tomorrow changed to the good and it looks like we are going to have another day of spring skiing.
Day 40 – Skiing Whistler Part 2 Day 3Spring skiing day 3
At 9:30am +3 Celsius in the Village and -6 Alpine, 2-3cm snow over night, wind and fog on top.
At 4pm +9 in the Village and still just below freezing on the upper mountain.
The new snow improved the upper mountain a little. The best snow could be found on the Horstman Glacier and the upper part of Blackcomb Glacier. The lower mountain was soft from the beginning and slushy by the end of the day. Mid mountain became better every hour. After several runs on 7th Heaven, Glacier Express, and the T-Bars it was about time to go back to yesterday’s runs of the day. Before 1pm it was still hard and icy but after this it became soft and easy to turn. Perfect steep spring skiing by about 2pm and this kept me busy until the official closing of the Glacier Express at 3:15pm. With only 15min per run I managed to ski “Overbite” and “Straight shot” 9 times. My knees didn’t like it at all and tried to convince me to stop after about 5 runs but I had not intention to listen to them on my last day in Canada. They are probably going to blame me tonight and tomorrow but who cares. It was really good spring skiing this afternoon and Whistler is definitely always a trip worth no matter what kind of conditions you get.
Day 41 – Ready to go homeVillage +3
Alpine -4
Peak -7
No new snow over night. Overcast and a chance of flurries today.
Forecast: Flurries for tomorrow and a few centimetres for Wednesday and now the best part of the forecast:
Thursday: Snow heavy at times with a total accumulation of 15-25 cm. Just my luck it’s the day I’m going to be back at work.
It’s 9am and I’m
Day 41 – Ready to go home Part 2On the way to the airport we where talking about how it would be to stay one more day in case of what ever… And it almost happened. During check in I tried to get an upgrade without success “We are completely overbooked!” The very friendly lady asked us if we would mind to go on waiting list and eventually take tomorrows flight – the compensation for each of us would be CAD 800. We agreed immediately and had to wait until about 45min prior to departure (20CAD lunch check was provided as well). About 15 passengers had to wait for the final decision. How ever all of us finally got on the flight.
The flight was not too bad but with very slow service. After about 2h we got our dinner and then had to wait more then one hour until they cleared our table.
Day 42 – 2nd part of flight and arriving back homeAfter about 4h sleep it was already time for breakfast.
Short stopover in Frankfurt followed by a 30min flight to Zurich
When we arrive early afternoon we had first of all to take off our warm clothes. It was +21 Celsius and nothing remained me on winter.
It was so warm in my apartment I had to install the garden furniture right away.
Checked the snow conditions for some Swiss Resort and it looks good except of the very high freezing level during daytime. Just my luck – again spring skiing.
Day 43 – Last vacation day 10am +14 Celsius
2pm + 22 Celsius
Sitting on the balcony, sun protection, T-Shirt and Shorts only, writing the last few sentences of this 17 pages long report. Thinking about the last 6 weeks – thinking about my next trip – planning my skiing trips for the next 6 weeks until the end of the season on the 2nd of May – thinking about how it would be to spend my summer holidays in south America – thinking of how nice it would be in Whistler for the next few days with up to 70cm in the forecast – thinking of how it would be to be rich and ski all year round…
I’m going to review this report during my next boring night shifts and may even add some additional info like: good restaurants, good accommodation (if not mentioned already) and even more important budget vs. reality. I already know that I spend less then expected this due to the money I got from Steve, my Sister and wookie, as well as some unexpected discounts on accommodation and lift tickets.
Pics: I have over 1000. I’ll have to check them, create some albums and upload them as well. It will take some time but I’ll let you know as soon as the first album is ready. This time it will be high resolution.
Forecast: a little bit cooler towards the weekend with some light rain and back to seasonal on Monday.
Next skiing trip: Most probably on the weekend with some friends to Zermatt.
Possible trips until the end of the season: Lech, St. Moritz, La Grave, Flims and Laax or any other resort within a few hours drive.
At 4:30pm it is +22.1 Celsius, I’m still on the balcony, a little bit moody - you ask why – back to work tomorrow and no skiing at least until Saturday and it won’t be powder at all.
5pm: Now in bad mood, a farmer in the area decided to change the smell of the spring air into a terrible stinking one and all my fresh washed wet clothes are outside – just my luck
Zurich, 17th of March 2004
Reviewed: 11th of April 2004 – nice to read it again, interesting how many things you forget, surprised how many nice days we had and yes I’ll ski Canada again. Probably not all resorts but Whistler, Fernie, Red and….
Pictures: (total 9 albums)
http://community.webshots.com/user/paedde31/1[/b]
Thema: Reisebericht Snow Safari Kanada Februar - März 2004 (Gelesen 6064 mal)