May 21, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Silver Star Mountain Resort, Skiing & Snowboarding
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SILVER STAR, CANADA
Librans are partial to being surrounded by beauty. In a ski resort my preference lies in surrounds that have a theme (European, colonial) or reflect 'days gone by' (Silver mining, Copper mining etc). Failing that, bright primary colours used in buildings tend to inspire, stimulate and complement the green and white theme nature provides as a backdrop. Welcome to Silver Star, British Columbia. Think Fairyland.
WORKING-IN WITH BIG WHITE
Two hours up the Vernon-bound road from Big White lies Silver Star. Fantastically the Big White season pass can be used at Silver Star, which makes for a great bargain when you're planning to ski for more than 10 days. Two thousand five hundred vertical feet, 115 runs, you won't get bored.
The ski school systems are synchronised, when you walk in on day one all you need to do is explain that your child was a 'Racing Raccoon' at Big White and they get straight into it. One of my pet peeves is when you need to explain over and over what ski skills your child has achieved, this can sometimes mean the week is spent skiing basic slopes when they were working up to blacks. An expensive, annoying pain in the what-zit. Luckily, Silver Star is a fine example of how to run a ski school, take note.
THE SHOPPING VILLAGE
This village would be perfect for my mum and the sooner she gets to experience it the better. Stores with baubles and trinkets, wall hangings to decorate condos, thick top quality wool jumpers with snow flake designs on them followed by a hot chocolate by the fireside. Nice one. The targeted demographic down the main strip quite clearly points to the older generation, but what a generation flocks it is. It was Silver Star that turned me to see the merits of settling down and taking roots one day in one ski resort (rather than traverse the ski world like a ski wanderer as I do, sampling the wares and delights of each). This finer point deserves some elaboration and for this I dedicate a special paragraph.
BOOM BABY BOOM
The Silver Star Baby Boomers are inspiring, somebody forgot to tell them they're not thirty anymore. You see them on the steepest, bumpiest slopes, they're not lost, they skied there deliberately and they're smiling like Cheshire cats. Press your nose up against The Bakery window at 10am or noon and the place is packed out like Rockerfeller Square on New Years Eve. Forget tennis on Tuesdays, these bunnies pass you in packs out on the runs, laughing and living it up. Sheesh. Have we got a thing to learn. We stayed with an awesome couple in their sixties, I sent them an email at 8am, to say we'd arrive there that evening. They didn't get the message because they'd left for their day's skiing. And they were on their sixth or eighth week of skiing in a row.
April 26, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Silver Star Mountain Resort, Skiing & Snowboarding
Find more information about Silver Star Mountain Resort - Skiing & Snowboarding
I made it to Vernon for my first and last run of the year on the Easter weekend and all I can say is... FANTASTIC!!! I arrived and stayed overnight in Vernon on Thursday night and headed for the hill on Friday morning. I left Vernon at 9:30am and I was strapped in my bindings at 10:30am. Ok, i'm not the die-hard-boarder making it there for first tracks... but why bother when we had the whole hill to ourselves?! We still found the runs where no one had been all day! Fresh tracks - CHECK! Perfect spring skiing conditions: weather and snow - CHECK! Exhausted by the end of the day - CHECK! Do it again the next day?! - CHECK! Yes, for a day pass of $53 the resort had a special deal that weekend: $53 for a 4 day pass! How could we resist? The second day was even better only because it had snowed overnight and left us fresh powder in the morning! For the rest of the day the weather was pretty good minus the interludes of fog but we had moments where it was snowing when the sun was shining and blue skies were over our heads! It was a pretty surreal moment if you have never experienced it before and NO... I don't smoke wacky grass... The higher elevation winds were moving the snow clouds so fast that the snow fell slower than the winds blew the clouds... Anyways, the backside of the hill was closed on Saturday but the hill still offered a lot of terrain. We managed to find a circuit route that gave us a lot of opportunities to explore off the main runs and into the trees... yah, it was pretty fantastic! For the 3rd & 4th day... I could see the mountain ranges from where I was staying and again, it looked like the snow had fallen overnight... Fresh snow! I wish I could say I went up again but regretfully I had to stay home and get rid of the jello feeling in my legs. Yes, I'm out of shape and yes, I've put myself to shame by blogging this, but I thought I needed to share this to those who are interested in finding a great place to ski or board for next year! Silver S