Vancouver Area, BC and
Northwest Washington State Ski Report and Ski Resort Links:
Night Skiing on Grouse Mountain, Vancouver
Whistler Condos: A Friend of mine owns a Condo he rents out and is also an agent for
several others. If interested click here.
Online Booking for Whistler Hotels & Resorts
General Information:
Since my Website is not primarily a Ski site, I
do not pretend to be able to do a better job than those which
are. My main object is to steer you to the best sources of the
specific information you are seeking. This page, therefore,
consists mainly of links to specific Ski Resort Websites and also
to some other Websites dedicated to Skiing and nothing else. I
have, however provided some general information of my own, that I
hope you will find useful. I try to update the outlook section
above on a weekly basis, at least, and I tend to modify it once
or twice during the week to reflect current conditions.
British Columbia, Western Alberta and
Washington State have some of the finest Ski areas in the world.
Whistler is the best known, but there are many other ski areas,
most of which are considerably cheaper than the upscale Whistler
area. The problem with Whistler is its lack of cheap
accommodation , although there is a Hostel there. There are links to other accommodations in the
tables below. Whistler can be subject to fog and other adverse
weather conditions due to its proximity to the coast. Snow at
Whistler tends to be stickier and heavier than that found in the
interior resorts. If you are willing to travel a little further
inland, you will be rewarded with some of the best powder skiing
and snowboarding to be found anywhere in the world at reasonable
prices. I'm not trying to discourage you from visiting Whistler.
There's no place like it especially if you are into the après ski
scene. Just consider visiting some of the other less well known
resorts.
Vancouver City Ski Mountains:
Vancouver city itself, has 3 Top Notch Ski areas all within 30
minutes of downtown, some of which can be accessed by public
transportation. They are in order from West to East, Cypress Bowl, Grouse &
Seymour. Of the 3, Cypress probably has the most variety, offering
Downhill , Cross-Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing & Tobogganing.
Rentals are available. Grouse offers Downhill Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
& Skating. Seymour offers, Downhill Skiing, Snowboarding, Tobogganing &
Snowshoeing. Of the 3 mountains, you can only drive up Seymour & Cypress. Grouse
requires riding up on a cable car. The only disadvantage to the local mountains
as compared to Whistler is the shorter season & unpredictability of conditions.
These peaks are at a lower altitude and closer to the Ocean. Generally speaking
they are at their prime during January & February. They have the big advantage
of being considerably cheaper than Whistler.
The Ski season technically ranges from late
November to Mid-April depending on Altitude and distance from the
Coast. In reality, though, Ski seasons usually run from mid to
late December through March with the best Skiing during January
and February. Some Ski areas use snow machines to compensate for
poor conditions, but these still depend on "below
freezing" temperatures. It usually takes until late December
before a good base is established in most ski areas. Obviously,
the further north you go, and the higher the altitude, the longer
the season.
Whistler: See
my "Whistler"
Section for specific info on Whistler and how to get there. Book
Whistler Hotels online by clicking here
If you know of any other links I should add or
you run a website on Skiing, E-Mail me and I will add it.
Buying equipment &
Ski Lessons: Ski Lessons in
Downhill, X-Country & Snowboarding are available on nearly
all local Mountains (no X-Country at Grouse). In Vancouver, the
best place to buy equipment is in the vicinity of Burrard &
4th Ave. There are several outlets clustered in this area,
specializing in Snowboards & Skis. For X-Country equipment,
your best bet is Sigges in the 2000 block of
4th Ave. They also rent equipment & organize tours.
Gay Ski Week:
This is held annually in early February. See Gay Ski Week in
Whistler- February
There is also a Gay Ski & Snowboard club: The Greater Vancouver Gay and Lesbian Ski and
Snowboard Club
Cross Country Trail on Cypress Mountain, West Vancouver.
There are 4 tables
below for Current Conditions/Ski Resorts/ Tour Operators and
Other Links.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Table below contains links to current Ski
Condition Information for most BC and NW Washington State
Resorts. I have found them not too good at keeping information
up to date at times. Its usually a better bet to visit the
website of the particular resort you are interested in in the
second table below. There are also Ski Information Phone lines
available in Greater Vancouver. Try the talking Yellow Pages at
(604) 299-9000, Box 3070. Most Local Mountains also have their
own Snow Condition lines. You will find the numbers to these by
visiting their websites below.
The information on Ski Resorts in the table
below is separated by general area: Vancouver, The Okanagan, The
Kootenays, Vancouver Island, The National parks (Banff &
Jasper), Northern BC, and Washington State. There are many
others, but those with web sites are listed below. Some info on
resorts without their own Websites can be found in the links to
other skiing oriented pages in the last table at the bottom.
Check the Tours table for Tours to Ski Resorts. You can also
access many areas by Greyhound Bus or Train from Vancouver. Some
are as much as a 2 day trip away, though. I have also included
some links to Ski Lodges, and reservation services. If you
operate such a facility and would like to be added, E-Mail me and
I will be happy to add your resort. (E-Mail)
LINKS TO SKI HILLS & RESORTS
| |
|
| Vancouver
City & Nearby Ski Hills |
|
| |
|
| Whistler
Mountain Resort |
North America's premier Ski area (Day
Drive from Van.) |
| Whistler's
Finest Small Inns |
Condo and small Inn accommodation at
Whistler |
| Whistler Blackcomb Reservations |
Online Reservations for Whistler |
| Whistler Accommodations |
Online Reservations (B&B &
Condo) for Whistler |
| Grouse
Mountain (City Bus Accessible) |
Local Vancouver Ski Hill |
| Mount
Seymour Resorts (Shuttle Bus Accessible) |
Local Vancouver Ski Hill |
| Cypress
Bowl OnLine (Shuttle Bus Accessible) |
Local Vancouver Ski Hill |
| Hemlock
Valley Resort (You need a vehicle for this one) |
Fraser Valley Ski Hill (just East of
Vancouver) |
| Mt. Baker Ski Area (4000 Meter Volcano, you need a vehicle) |
Washington State Mountain, close to
Vancouver |
| |
|
| Okanagan/Southern
Interior |
|
| |
|
| Big
White Ski Resort |
Kelowna Area (Okanagan) |
| Crystal Mountain |
Kelowna Area (Okanagan) |
| Crystal Mountain X-Country |
Kelowna Area (Okanagan) |
| Apex
Mountain Resort |
Penticton Area (Okanagan) |
| Silver Star Mountain Resort Winter 98-99 First |
Vernon Area (Okanagan) |
| Sun Peaks Resort |
Kamloops Area (Okanagan-Thompson) |
| Sun
Peaks Hostel |
New Hostel (1999) at Sun Peaks |
| Kodiak Timber Lodge at Sun Peaks Resort |
Kamloops Area (Okanagan-Thompson) |
| Sundance Lodge at Sun Peaks |
Kamloops Area (Okanagan-Thompson) |
| Harper Mountain (can't locate a
website) |
Kamloops Area (Okanagan-Thompson) |
| Manning Park Resort |
3 Hour drive from Vancouver on Hwy 3 |
| |
|
| South East
Interior |
|
| |
|
| Red
Mountain Home Page |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Fairmont Hot Springs Resort - Ski |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Welcome to Whitewater Ski Resort |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Ski
Fernie |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Kimberley
Ski Resort |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Panorama Mountain Village |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Ptarmigan Tours: backcountry skiing |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| Island Lake Lodge (Fernie) |
Kootenay Area of BC (South East BC) |
| |
|
| Vancouver
Island |
|
| |
|
| Forbidden Plateau |
Vancouver Island Ski Area near Comox -
no web site, 44 runs |
| Mt. Washington Resort |
Vancouver Island Ski Area |
| Skiing, Snowboarding on Vancouver Island |
Vancouver Island Website, some general
info |
| Mt. Washington Ski Bus |
Transport from Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, etc |
| |
|
| The
Rockies |
|
| |
|
| Lake
Louise Ski Resort - Lake Louise, Alberta - Main Page |
Skiing in Banff National Park |
| Panorama Mountain Village |
Banff Area Resort |
| Marmot
Basin - Jasper, Alberta |
Skiing in Jasper National Park |
| Powder Springs |
Near Revelstoke |
| |
|
| Northern
Interior/Cariboo |
|
| |
|
| Ski
Smithers |
Northern BC Resort (Longer season) |
| Mt.
Timothy |
Near 100 Mile House (Cariboo) |
| Powder
King |
Northern BC, near Mackenzie |
| |
|
| Washington
State, USA |
|
| |
|
| White
Pass |
Near Yakima in Eastern Washington |
| Mission
Ridge |
Near Wenatchee in Eastern Washington |
| Mount Baker |
NW Washington near
Vancouver/Bellingham |
| Washington Ski Areas |
Info on other Washington State Ski
Resorts |
The Table below contains Information on
Companies that offer tours to Ski Areas, or activities within
those areas. I do not personally endorse any of them. Tour
operators in BC are heavily regulated and you will probably be
happy with the services of any of those listed below. Note that
helicopter skiing can be risky, mainly due to avalanche
conditions that cannot always be predicted. Several deaths have
occurred over the years due to this activity and you do it at
your own risk. Operators make it as safe as possible, but there
are inherent risks involved. (Its interesting to note that they
usually manage to kill foreigners, rather than locals, maybe
tourists get a little more careless). I've already mentioned it
before, but be careful about skiing in "out of bounds"
areas. They are starting to charge people for their rescue costs
in cases where they feel negligence is involved. In some cases
this can amount to several thousand dollars. An average of 10-12 people a year die
in Avalanches in BC. Back Country & Out-of-Bounds skiing accounts for the bulk of them. In 2003, one
incident in January claimed 7 lives, and they were skiing with a reputable
operator with an exemplary safety record. In February another 7, this time high
school students were killed in another avalanche. If i was a back country skier,
I would invest in an airbag backpack, available for about $500 US, it will keep
you on the surface of an avalanche.
The table below contains links to other Ski
Information pages. Unlike this page, these pages are dedicated to
Skiing only and will contain more detailed information than I
offer on my Web Site.
This individual claims he can help with finding
ski jobs at Whistler. Here is his E-mail: Ski-Jobs@itchyfeetadventures.com You can also try the website of Intrawest who run the Whistler resort. They have an employment
section. A seasonal employment link can sometimes be found at Employment
Opportunities at Whistler Blackcomb Mountains. A new site opening in 2001 is http://www.whistler-jobs.com
Interested in investing in a new ski resort?
For $1000, you can get in on the ground floor of the Pinetree Ski
Resort being developed in Newfoundland. I was impressed enough to
sink $1000 (Can) of my own money into it, & I'm seriously considering investing
some more. If your interested,
E-mail me
at and I'll put you in touch with them or you can visit their web site at Pinetree Recreation - Newfoundland, Canada.
