| Calling in sick, mapping out road trips, and listening to friends BS about how they were at some hill without you and happened to poach some secret stash with powder so deep they couldn’t breathe – these are the sure signs that winter is in full effect.
With last year’s epic snowfalls and the prime conditions that came so early this season, it’s a tough call deciding on where to spend your hard-earned ducats to get some turns in this winter. Dig around and do some research and you’ll discover there are tons of options beyond the obvious few. We’re fortunate to live so close to some of the gnarliest mountains in the world. From world-class mega resort pampering to independent hills with low-key attitudes, there is a range of options to sample. The following is a guide to what’s new at the resorts in the region.
Canada Olympic Park
Now open
At $2.25 for bus fare, COP is definitely the cheapest place to get your shred-on in the area. The local urban hill fired up its chairs November 10 for the Calgary park rats and beginners looking to practice before taking their skills to the mountains. COP is proving it’s a major player this winter with plans to build the world’s first 6.6-metre wall, 150-metre halfpipe — the Olympic standard for 2010. The pipe will be complete with the latest environmentally progressive snowmaking and enhanced lighting.
The hill is going to have a shiny fleet of Burton rental equipment with a wide selection of brand new options from beginner to professional. COP will also feature the innovative Burton "Learn to Ride" programs.
Castle Mountain
Opening Dec. 15
Across the windswept prairie from Calgary lies a southwest Alberta freeride gem loved for its long fall lines and lack of liftlines, unless it dumps that is, and all of Calgary is down to poach fresh tracks.
Last season, after an early pre-Easter closing, summer development got underway at Castle on the long-delayed and hugely anticipated expansion onto Mount Haig. The new Huckleberry triple chair has been installed to service intermediate and novice terrain. The chair will rise 330 metres accessing about 27 hectares of tree-lined runs with the longest spanning two kilometres. Haig’s northeast-facing slopes ensure that plenty of natural snow will await skiers on these relaxed cruising runs. There are six main runs that include an easy novice run, Buffalo Flats, to the west and progress to Sidewinder, a strong intermediate run on the east. For the more adventurous, there are well over 650 hectares of backcountry touring terrain.
The installation of the chair and expansion onto Haig is considered essential by resort operators in ensuring Castle’s long-term viability, though the move is controversial because of its impact on the area’s environment "Eighty per cent of the skier market is intermediate," says Brian Cusack of Castle Mountain. "Opening up Haig will effectively quadruple our intermediate terrain."
Fernie Alpine Resort
Opening December 9
The big hoopla amongst Fernie’s tall cedars this year is the completion of the Lost Boys Café at the top of the Timber Express, one of the resort’s main chairlifts. Offering up hot beverages and specialty items, the café will provide refuge when it’s puking and you’re waiting for the hill’s ski patrol to give the green light after clearing avalanche dangers. According to Paula Worthington from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, one in four days last season was a powder day with at least 10 cm of snowfall.
Ladies will be stoked on the White Room Sessions — a new high-impact ski instruction program set over three days and designed to get you familiar with gear and ripping the mountain. Speaking of ripping, summer crews ripped up brush and opened new glades in ski areas like Lynda’s Run, Steep and Deep, Cedar Ridge, Cedar Bowl, Easter Bowl, and Currie Glades. The resort also logged off the corner at the bottom of Diamondback Ridge to allow better grooming. Just when you thought the shredding couldn’t get any better off the Timber Chair, another run has been cut on Lower Siberia Bowl. Also, a new groomed trail from Falling Star back to the Timber Chair has been added that will facilitate getting from the top of White Pass to the Lost Boys Café.
Fortress Mountain
Opening TBA
After a rebirth last season of a truly grassroots ski experience, the fate of the little hill is up in the air again this year. The Alberta government recently ordered the resort owners to stop selling season passes and advertising a December 1 opening date because it doesn’t appear realistic to meet and consumers may be at risk.
The resort’s opener was continually pushed back last season because of delays in getting the facilities fully operational. However, anyone that checked out Fortress last winter knows they had the hill to themselves almost every time they went, and that’s pretty hard to beat nowadays. The Alberta government will allow Fortress to resume selling passes once the resort proves it’s a properly functioning facility.
Kicking Horse
Opening Dec. 15
Over the coming three years, Kicking Horse will invest over $15 million towards projects to enhance the resort. A major focus of the plan is to ensure the terrain is accessible to skiers and riders of all abilities. An aggressive summer grooming program is currently underway and will continue over the coming years, clearing the way for enhanced top to bottom cruising. A winch cat (a bulldozer-like vehicle) will make its debut on the grooming team this winter, enabling the resort to soften the experience on some of the steeper runs and create a groomed trail from the top of Stairway to Heaven to the resort village.
Lake Louise
Now open
The Lake is now almost in full swing after some solid storms have rolled through the area. The past few seasons have seen the resort push through some major developments including the installation of the Grizzly Express gondola and improvements to the grooming program resulting in some killer corduroy.
An additional $3 million has been thrown at the resort’s snowmaking system to ensure that there is consistent coverage even when the mountain is scraped and dry. The old beer-drenched stank of the Powderkeg Lounge has been cleared and renovated with new carpet and leather chairs.
The annual Winterstart World Cup events will be held at Lake Louise with men’s action November 25 to 26 and women’s races December 1 to 3. In February, the powder bowls area will take centre stage and host freeskiers from across Canada and the U.S. for the 5th Annual Lake Louise Big Mountain Challenge. Over 100 competitors are expected to take part in the multi-day event.
Nakiska
Opening December 9
Claiming to be the closest mountain to Calgary with a leisurely 49-minute drive (depending on who’s driving), Nakiska has long been regarded as a good place to go to burn long runs on precision corduroy. Little do most know that there are stellar lines to be had in the glades off the Gold Chair ski run. The best part is that most people go to Nakiska to cruise the groomed areas, so if there is powder in the glades, it will usually hang around for some time.
The resort is trying to lure more people to the hills and introduce them to skiing and snowboarding this season by offering a $20 lesson program. For just 20 bucks you get hooked up with a lift ticket, equipment rental and a group lesson.
Sunshine Village
Now open
With major lift developments over the past few seasons now out of the way, operators at Sunshine are taking it all in stride with a number of smaller incremental items on the go for this season. It all starts with two new passenger buses to ferry people back and forth from their cars to the gondola, a nice touch considering the hike from the far end of the lot if you sleep in on the weekends.
From the top, the recently launched Silver City freeride zone is bound to clench the sphincter of just about anyone who rips into this area. Alongside the Delirium Dive and Wild West, the freeride zones are arguably the most challenging inbounds terrain anywhere. Silver City sits in a natural rock amphitheatre with 40-degree faces, cliffs, false lines, spines and narrow slots. Knowledge of the route is mandatory, as is a transceiver, shovel, probe and an equally equipped partner.
"This area will definitely challenge the nerve and skill of some of the very best big mountain riders," says Mike Moynihan of Sunshine Village.
Rogers will be back for the first full year to boost the terrain park program at the resort. Spread over more than 4.4 hectares this season, the park will feature a number of innovative rail and box features, hips and jumps. The longstanding Strawberry pipe is moving to a new home off the Wawa chairlift for this season. Sitting above the pipe will be a skier/boardercross area. If you’re hungry after sessioning the park, season’s pass holders can snag a 20 per cent discount on food and beverages this year. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.