Canada, eh?

[scott43]

I am not exaggerating here: every time at Sun Peaks when locals complain about "icy conditions" the skiers from Ontario break out in laughter.

It's true..we were in the gondola at Snowbasin and the locals were talking about how icy one area was..and my wife and I were like..wha??? That was nice grippy hard-pack!! The stuff we skated on at the base, now THAT was ice!

 

[Posaune]

B.C. and Alberta are much more convenient for me. Let's just stay away from Whistler. I'll join the magic bus crowd. Do those of us south of the border have to learn to spell differently and say "eh" instead of "huh?" Not a deal breaker, but it would require practice.

 

[scott43]

We will accept the grating inferiority of "huh" instead of "eh"..but it's a limited time offer...

 

[Jilly]

Yes neighbour I think we could do that eh?

I'd be up for interior BC or Banff.

 

[Started at 53]

Sounds interesting.

Floridians here, but we have passports

 

[Castle Dave]

Maybe we should have an All-Ontario meet-up

Gag!!
After 10 years skiing these two hills I can vouch that Fernie/Castle is a great combo. Two hours apart and totally different (but great) hills.

https://pugski.com/threads/unofficial-guide-castle-mountain-resort-ab.4764/

 

[noncrazycanuck]

once your down in that area add Whitefish - once was semi Canadian.

 

[David Chaus]

I suppose there could be some border-blurring trips, for example Castle/Fernie/Whitefish or Whitewater/Red/Schweitzer. Jay/Sutton/Owl?

 

[agreen]

From Spokane we could do 49 deg, Red, WH2O, then Schweitzer or reverse? Sweet loop for the magic bus!

 

[Mike Rogers]

Great idea. It would be great to meet some of you! I can easily join anything in Alberta or Eastern BC. I am a passholder at Lake Louise, and I know the area pretty well, but I can hit up:
Castle, Fernie, Pano, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Lake Louise, or Sunshine without too much planning or effort. I could probably be convinced to go further into BC, though I already have my big annual trip planned.
I would not be able to join a gathering east of Alberta.

 

[David Chaus]

You know, a name like @Mike Rogers just sounds so Canadian.

My guess is that if anything were to happen this season it would probably be in the spring, since many already have vacation plans for the winter part of the season. SSV and LL make a lot of sense for that time of the year. It could even probably happen at those in early May.

 

[DanoT]

You know, a name like @Mike Rogers just sounds so Canadian.

My guess is that if anything were to happen this season it would probably be in the spring, since many already have vacation plans for the winter part of the season. SSV and LL make a lot of sense for that time of the year. It could even probably happen at those in early May.

I'm not 100% sure but LL is usually fully open in April but may be weekends only and/or Larch only open in May.

BTW, if you Americans ever want to blend in and sound Canadian, then never say "ice hockey". The "ice" part is a given so if you are talking about some other sport like field hockey or road hockey, that is the only time a prefix is used.

 

[VickieH]

@David Chaus - it's a good year to start. So many will have MCPs for the Utah Gathering that Banff is a natural choice.

You're thinking April. How many days? Early or late? Any school breaks or other events to influence timing?

 

[David Chaus]

@David Chaus - it's a good year to start. So many will have MCPs for the Utah Gathering that Banff is a natural choice.

You're thinking April. How many days? Early or late? Any school breaks or other events to influence timing?

I only have this to say: Let the consensus process begin!

(Phonetically, that’s “pro-cess”, not “pra-cess”).

 

[Mike Rogers]

I'm not 100% sure but LL is usually fully open in April but may be weekends only and/or Larch only open in May.

Lake Louise is open every day until their closing date, which is scheduled to be May 6, 2018. There isn't any set terrain closure schedule but spring heat can mean that some of the interesting terrain has a small window of acceptable conditions. Terrain on the backside was quite limited on closing day last year, for example.

Skiing was excellent until April 16, 2017 though.

Generally speaking, Lake Louise skis best between Mid February and the first week of April. Sunshine's prime is March and April.

Late April and May are more variable at the Lake.

Closing dates are (almost) set in stone. They needed to close a week early a couple of years ago when the snow melted out, but that year was really hot! They are unlikely to do bonus weekends, as there is pressure from Parks to shut down operations. Olivia, the resident grizzly is often on the the slopes in late season, and she needs some space!

 

[Mike Rogers]

@David Chaus - it's a good year to start. So many will have MCPs for the Utah Gathering that Banff is a natural choice.

You're thinking April. How many days? Early or late? Any school breaks or other events to influence timing?

Easter is probably the last big holiday weekend you need to be concerned about. It's early this year, April 1. Note that many Albertans get Easter Monday off work too.

Obviously Easter is a convenient travel time for many people, but accommodations can be a bit pricier than they would be before or after this break. The ski hills are usually busier than average, but not Christmas or February/spring break busy.

I have noticed that crowds really die off after Easter. It doesn't seem to matter when Easter falls, that weekend is the "end of the ski season" for many Calgarians.

 

[Poolskier Vinny]

I like the idea of a Canada Gathering.... In general...I'd be up for something out west (ie: AB/BC etc.) Annual attendance would depend on dates picked for the gathering as as I ski with a club out of Calgary and we've got trips going somewhere almost every other weekend (Castle/Revy/Fernie/Marmot/Panorama/KHorse/WFish/LL/SS). A trip out to Red/Whitewater/Bwhite/Sstar/Sunpeaks etc. would be interesting too. Can't wait to get on the hill.........8 days till opening day LL and SS!

 

[Old boot]

My plans for this year include the gathering, Also a few trips to W/B as LS is instructing again. I also plan on an Ontario trip or 2 at some point. I have no set dates but will watch here. Oh ya might get stuck skiing in CO also when I go to the Denver Mint.

 

[Old boot]

For the Spring you should seriously look at Mount Tremblant or however them French people spell it. They have a late season pass in the spring is like 79 bucks for 3 weeks and its a great place to ski. maybe Gilly can fill in the info

 

[Jilly]

Yes, they have a spring pass. It'll be valid after Easter, till close. I'll keep an eye for when it comes out!