Ski Canada, is it worth the dosh??

[R TOY]

Been looking at Whistler for 10days hol but the cost is close to £1800 each!! Always skiied europe for much, much less. Can it be that good?? Will someone please convince me! We've always said that we have to try Canada but i'm getting cold feet(bum bum)at the cost. Tales of "powder" from top to bottom sound pretty tempting tho. Mmmmmmmmm"powder"
Thanks D.

[basil brush]

Whistler is fantastic, although the year I went they had one of their best seasons for snow fall. I'd definitely go across there instead of Europe, but 1800 quid? Where are you staying?

[mcflurry]

We have been to canada twice this year.
Once with Canadian Affair, and once with Air Canada.

Air Canada was a fantastically great flight, I swore never to use a charter again after the other...

[GKP]

Deffo worth it. We wouldn't go anywhere else. No lift queues and no Europeans all mixed up with friendly Canadians and favourable exchange rate! Whistler is great but can suffer from "wet" snow , but the upside is that Vancouver is only a short distance away and can make an interesting 'non snow' day out.
Have you thought about Banff? You have access to 3 hills from there. Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise. (The last two resorts there have already opened!)

1800 quid does sound expensive, though. (are you staying in the Fairmont!?) We've booked Mont Royal Hotel in Banff for the family for 2.5k (7 nights, but passes/hire etc extra) so bargains can be had.

[David A]

Banff, seconded! So much choice, great nightclub (well its crap but great) cheap food, locals are good value etc

[Raify]

Yes, it's worth it. For the huge terrain, lack of queues, friendly locals and better food (well better than French Alpine resorts anyway). Once you're there, you can stay and eat very cheaply compared to Europe.

I third the votes for Banff, and Fernie. Whoever's staying in the Mount Royal, check out the Sushi place opposite. It's fantastic.

[nel]

So I'm told the champagne powder over there makes even a mediocre skier feel like they are king/queen of the mountain. It helps too that you'll be in a country that has a true service culture, so no arrogant french garcons or overcharging italian waiters. Do it.

[srebbe64]

Agree with others - only thing I would say is that it's MUCH colder than Europe, in the main.

[David A]

It does get cold, was apparently hitting -50 on the top of sunshine when i was there a couple of years ago. They closed a lot runs at that point.

Also do the ski out when you're there, great for a long race down !

Dave

[StuB]

Went to Whistler a few years back at a much lower price (before they got the Winter Olympics) and had a great time. It has a European type of social scene the US resorts don't get anywhere near. We also did the 4 day 'Full Motion Learning' programme (which caters for all ability levels), which took us all over the mountains and found all the best snow conditions and we also did 'Extremely Canadian' (and it is!), both amazing if you're 'adventurous' & fit. There are some fantastic tree runs down Blackcombe mountain too and some of the runs, like Spankeys Ladder, are stunning.

We had quite a bit of wet snow when we were there and the runs to resort got really shocking on a couple of days too. We even had to invest in some little rubber figer mounted wiper blades for the goggles, it got that wet!

Always wanted to go back, but I'm not going to pay those prices. Thought about hanging on for a late booking, but ran out of patience and decided to go back to a nice European hotel (driving down) over the New Year.

There's great terrain in Colorado - went to Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail and Beaver Creek all on the same ski pass (there is another we didn't get to) and loved all of them in different ways. Back bowls at Vail on a powder day are just amazing fun and no hiking necessary.

Better value for money elsewhere just now IMHO.

[T5-R]

Whether you go to Banff or Whistler, you're guaranteed top skiing! The skiing at Banff is spread out among 3 different mountains (already mentioned by someone) around the town of Banff. Whistler is more like a European resort, where everything is at the base of two mountains, Whistler & Blackcomb, and all the lifts start from Whistler Village. More expert skiers tend to head to Blackcomb as the terrain is more challenging.

If you don't fancy driving to the mountain each day, Whistler is the one you want.

Does your price include your lift ticket and ski hire (if req'd)? And as someone already asked are you staying at the Fairmont - as it's well pricey? But then, I wouldn't expect Whistler to be cheap, TBH. It's constantly voted one one of the top ski destinations worldwide. Watch out for the Japanese skiers - they're everywhere!

>> Edited by T5-R on Tuesday 22 November 09:38

[R TOY]

Thanks for that everyone, v helpfull. Cost for flight & hotel is about £800ish. Lift pass £300 I've added £50/day for meals etc-£500. Then with ins, parking, odds'n'sods ended up about £1800ish. Havent found anyone doing the kind of deals that can be found in Europe. I'll keep looking..
thanks D.

[Plotloss]

Without question.

Best

Ski Resort

Ever

[obiwonkeyblokey]

David A said:

It does get cold, was apparently hitting -50 on the top of sunshine when i was there a couple of years ago. They closed a lot runs at that point. Also do the ski out when you're there, great for a long race down ! Dave

I was there as well then. -45 in the evenings in Banff but great snow conditions.

Bear in mind however that generally you go to Canada for 10 days whereas if you go to europe it tends to be for 7, so really you should compare 1800/10 x 7 for a true comparison - 1260!!

Plus its great to have a 6 days pass so you can choose to have a couple of days chilling without feeling that youre missing out. Go snowmobiling up in the rockies.

I have sworn not to go package to europe again having been to Banff twice. trust me - its awsome.....and the canadians are great as well

as for a night out at the ice hockey!!! go flames go!!

>> Edited by obiwonkeyblokey on Tuesday 22 November 14:08

[bad_roo]

nel said:

So I'm told the champagne powder over there makes even a mediocre skier feel like they are king/queen of the mountain.

Whistler/Blackcomb is a great ski area but don't listen to these sorts of comments about snow. It's a maritime snow pack which often spells rain in the village and wet flakes on the hill. The upside of this is that many steep chutes become skiable and avalanche danger is a little lower than the Continental snow pack of Colorado. If you want the true champagne powder experience, your best bet is to go storm chasing in Utah. Alta and Snowbird are renowned for having some of the lowest water percentage snow anywhere and lots of it.

[Whoozit]

Awesome place, I liked it so much I bought it!

Well, a tiny piece of it, anyway - I bought a flat a gnat's spitting distance from the Village Square. We were there in August as part of a Rockies driving tour we did for the summer hols, and I'm heading back on Boxing day for a couple of weeks.

£1800 each seems toppy, is that staying in one of the five star hotels or in peak season? You should be able to get there and stay for £1000 in mid/low season. Cheaper if you DIY flying Zoom Air and book your own apartment.

Added to say:

Oops, I've just seen your cost breakdown. It isn't the cheapest resort, I'll admit. They're not used to the full-service packages that the English tour operators use, however if you're looking for the half-board chalet type of package, try www.miquelhols.co.uk

>> Edited by Whoozit on Tuesday 22 November 14:14

[soir]

Friend specialises in ski breaks in Canada - see if she can get same package cheaper for you, hazel tel [phone]

[S Works]

If you want a really amazing trip, one where (if the conditions bless you) you will ski more challenging runs in a day than most skiers/boarders do in a week in Europe, there's one choice - Red Mountain.

The unofficial site is www.unred.com which links to the official one I think. Just check out some of the gallery pics. I've been twice now and each time have had feet of powder to play in.

Do it!

[mcflurry]

GKP said:

Deffo worth it. We wouldn't go anywhere else. No lift queues and no Europeans all mixed up with friendly Canadians and favourable exchange rate! Whistler is great but can suffer from "wet" snow , but the upside is that Vancouver is only a short distance away and can make an interesting 'non snow' day out. Have you thought about Banff? You have access to 3 hills from there. Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise. (The last two resorts there have already opened!) 1800 quid does sound expensive, though. (are you staying in the Fairmont!?) We've booked Mont Royal Hotel in Banff for the family for 2.5k (7 nights, but passes/hire etc extra) so bargains can be had.

We stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for 2 weeks
It is probably the best hotel in the area, service was impecable as was the free suite upgrade as we got married on the Lake

As a piccie is worth 1000 words, the main road to Jaspar looked like this



and here is the "local bus"

[bad_roo]

S Works said:

If you want a really amazing trip, one where (if the conditions bless you) you will ski more challenging runs in a day than most skiers/boarders do in a week in Europe, there's one choice - Red Mountain. The unofficial site is www.unred.com which links to the official one I think. Just check out some of the gallery pics. I've been twice now and each time have had feet of powder to play in. Do it!

Red, Fernie, Kicking Horse, Rossland and all that area have some excellent skiing. Well off the UK tourist radar too.