There are three main areas in which to ski in Canada:
- Whistler-Blackcomb, in British Columbia
- Rockies / Okanagan, in British Columbia and Alberta
- Quebec
For comparison purposes, skiing conditions in Western Canada are more akin to those in Aspen, Colorado, while skiing conditions in Quebec are somewhat comparable to those in Vermont.
Prices decline as you move from west to east. Whistler is the most expensive, the Quebec resorts are the least expensive, and the resorts in the Canadian Rockies and the interior of British Columbia are in between.
WHISTLER-BLACKCOMB
- Canada's top ski resort and consistently rated the #1 ski resort in North America due to the combination of extensive terrain, good snow, and a highly-rated nightlife.
- Whistler-Blackcomb is the largest ski area in North America with over 8,100 acres of skiable terrain, 200+ marked trails, 12 bowls, and three glaciers.
- Boasts the greatest vertical rise in North America.
- Offers ski-in / ski-out accommodation.
- Consists of two mountains linked by a pedestrian village with lift/gondola service from village. The pedestrian village itself has well over 100 restaurants offering world-class dining and entertainment. There is also dining offered on the mountain and valley.
- Whistler is known as "party central."
- The gateway city to Whistler is Vancouver , which is a 1 1/2 to 2-hour drive away. The Sea-to-Sky Highway (Hwy 99) is currently being upgraded to reduce that time. However, until it is complete, the construction may have an impact ; check construction information at DriveBC.ca for the most current details.
- Whistler is the most expensive place to ski in Canada.
- In partnership with Vancouver, Whistler will host the 2010 Winter Olympics .
ROCKIES / OKANAGAN
From a cost point of view, the Rockies / Okanagan Region is somewhere between Whistler and Quebec. The Rockies / Okanagan Region is a large territory that can be further broken down as follows:
Alberta Rockies
The gateway cities are Calgary and, to a lesser extent, Edmonton .
The biggest single ski resort is Lake Louise .
However, the larger town of Banff , with its 200 restaurants, can serve as an excellent base for accesing the surrounding ski slopes. If you stay in Banff, you can buy a Tri Area Lift Ticket that gives you access to Mount Norquay , Sunshine Village and Lake Louise .
Other Alberta Rockies ski resorts include Marmot Basin outside of Jasper , Nakiska in Kananaskis Country, and Castle Mountain near Pincher Creek.
The ski resorts in the Alberta Rockies do not offer ski-in / ski-out accommodation. The exception is Sunshine Village Inn . If you choose to stay there, however, you should be aware that it is the only property that offers lodgings on the mountain. Once the gondola shuts down, you have no option but to stay there for the rest of the night.
British Columbia Rockies
There are a number of ski resorts that offer ski-in / ski-out accommodations in the Kootenay-Rockies Region of British Columbia.
The resorts include Kicking Horse near Golden, Panorama near Invermere, Kimberley and Fernie.
Calgary serves as the primary gateway city to these resorts, although Cranbrook 's smaller airport is an option for accessing Fernie and Kimberley.
These resorts are strung out about an hour or an hour and a half from each other. If you do not wish to drive to them, there are a number of shuttle bus services that connect the BC Rockies ski resorts with each other, with the ski resorts in the Alberta Rockies, and with Calgary International Airport .
Okanagan
The Okanagan Region has ski-in / ski-out resorts like Big White near Kelowna, Silver Star near Vernon and Sun Peaks near Kamloops.
This area is in the interior of British Columbia, between four and five hours' drive from Vancouver . You also can access these ski resorts by flying to Kelowna or Kamloops .
QUEBEC
Quebec is the least expensive area in which to ski in Canada. The slopes are less ambitious than those in Western Canada.
Montreal is the gateway city for Mont Tremblant while Quebec City is the gateway city for Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Both of these ski resorts offer ski-in / ski-out accommodation.
Some of the information on this page was obtained from this discussion thread on the TripAdvisor Forum.
