November 14, 2005 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Have you seen the mountains? "Excuse me?" "Have you seen the mountains?" I usually don't talk to people during my morning commute. It's my chance to Zen-out for a few minutes before I start the day, besides I usually end up talking to the most eccentric person on the train. "Yeah buddy, I live here. I see them everyday." "Well take a look." Holy Moly! They're... covered... with... SNOW! A solid of week of cold, heavy rainfall has paid off in spades!
Vancouver is lucky to have three ski hills all within a one hour drive of downtown. And while the opening of
Whistler/Blackcomb always creates a buzz amongst the snow-obsessed in this city, the buzz doesn't really kick into high gear until the local mountains get dusted. Each mountain has its own personality.
Mount Seymour boasts the most snow of the three mountains, three terrain parks, snowshoeing, snowtubing and is the only mountain with a tobogganing area.
Cypress Mountain is actually two mountains, Black Mountain and Mount Strachan, and offers the greatest variety of downhill terrain, extensive Nordic and snowshoe trails and a snowtube area. It's also the future home for some of the 2010 Olympic events.
Grouse Mountain has unquestionably the best views and offers something for everyone; even a non-skier can find plenty to do atop Grouse during the winter. In addition to the downhill and Nordic trails, there's ice skating, snowshoeing, sleigh rides and award-winning dining. Most locals make a day of it, spending the day on the hills before then hitting the town at night. Or they switch it up, spending the day in the city before heading up for a evening of alpine fu
November 03, 2005 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Skiing & Snowboarding
Find more information about Vancouver - Skiing & Snowboarding
The snow that's begun falling in great big flakes across the province has got me thinking about plans for this year's ski season, and remembering great ski trips in BC from past years.
Whistler Blackcomb is a regular and popular feature in my ski plans every year. It's only two hours drive from Vancouver, so an easy trip out of town to one of the most giant mountain playgrounds ever. And there's so much terrain that we rarely find ourselves repeating the same runs (except for favourites), or having to wait in a lift line. If we have more than a couple of days, we like to venture a bit further afield. I'm always keen to go to
Sun Peaks Resort, about 4.5 hours drive from Vancouver, located a bit north of Kamloops. This resort has nice wide cruiser runs, some fun tree runs, and a great village with a real community feel. My husband loves the mountain too; as a telemarker he finds lots of company on the slopes. Not far away is
Silver Star Resort, about the same distance from Vancouver. We'll often rent a large house on the mountain with a group of friends, and stock the kitchen with bread from the on-hill bakery and other hearty goodies. After the lifts close and night falls, we'll head out for a turn at the tube park, or wander to the village for a drink or two. It's become a tradition for us to head to
Mount Washington on Vancouver Island on the days after Christmas. The views from the snowy slopes down to the green valley and blue ocean are fantastic. As the first mountains off the Pacific Ocean, Mount Washington often gets loads of snow as the weather systems pass through. Skiing in the Canadian Rockies is another experience e