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Northern Rockies/Alberta Trip with my 13 y/o- Fly into Calgary for Big 3, Revy and Kicking Horse or Spokane for Red, Whitewater & Rev in mid January?

surfandski

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My son and I are planning on making 2 trips to the Powder Highway next winter with one in January and another in early March. We haven't skied BC/Alberta before and are trying to decide which trip to plan early in the season and which to save for later. In addition to skiing, we'll be looking at Real Estate so we'll be mixing in some rest days to get a good feel for the towns. Which trip has a better shot of deeper days early? I know Red/Rossland is lower so I'm thinking going further North early in the season will be a safer bet but I also know that Canada is way gnarlier flying across the border vs driving if Covid is still an issue up there. Does anyone know if Canada is going to require proof of vaccines as that could come into our decision if so. Thanks!
 

Wilhelmson

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Trudeau made an odd statement recently. But my attitude has been let everyone do their thing.
 

Jilly

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That is an interesting question. Presently vaccine vs quarantine etc. So far the border is still closed to non essential travel.

So back in 2019 I had a work event in Calgary in late November. I had 2 choices. Hussle my ass back to Ontario and drive up to Tremblant for opening weekend, or take most of my ski stuff and ski Banff. Ikon won!! This was the weekend before the white circus descended on Banff. Conditions were beyond what I thought it would be for late November. We were able ski most of Lake Louise on Saturday. Powder... doesn't happen on my trips.

And on that note, I've a friend that is planning a girls week to Big 3 in early February. More of the mountain should be open by then.

I really think either route at either time should be fine.
 

noncrazycanuck

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for second trip
Prior to end of first week of March Red and Fernie and Revy are fairly reliable but any later than that freeze thaw becomes a bigger issue.
Conditions are usually better at Kicking Horse Louise and Sunshine in March.

Border is now closed until at least July 21 - expect it will be reopened by end of summer if both countries achieve the vaccination targets.
A vaccine "passport" or need for it hasn't been finalized yet but I'll be very surprised if some proof of vaccination isn't going to be required to make international travel easier.

In Canada there is not much support for allowing anyone in who isn't fully vaccinated, most countries haven't come close to 75% being fully vaccinated and we have an upcoming Federal election.
 

Castle Dave

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Since you will be in the neighborhood check out my Unofficial Guide to Castle.
 
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surfandski

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Thanks! Yeah, that's the dilemma between going too early when conditions are thin on the first trip, or going too late and getting into spring conditions on the 2nd. We'll be in Colorado and Utah for most of February so I was thinking of doing the first Canada trip Jan 16-23 and the 2nd trip the first week in March. I figured being that much further North that we likely wouldn't encounter spring conditions that early. We do tend to luck out on our trips and get dumped on (got over 10' the week we were in Jackson Hole in early 2020) but I also want to put the odds in our favor.

If further North is better in early March, is it also usually better in mid-January or would Red and Whitewater be just as likely to get dumped on as KH and the Big 3? We'll likely hit Revy on both trips and we'll be nimble so if it's better further north even on our Spokane trip, we can hit Red once and then follow the powder. Like I said, we are also wanting to start to look for real estate so we are game to travel around a bit.
 

noncrazycanuck

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by 3rd week January unless it's a bad year most hills are going to be 100% open
I second the recommendation for Castle, great fall line chutes - but pay attention to the wind forecast, the top chair needs to be able to run to get to them.
 

Bad Bob

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Read in a CBC article today, that boarder would not be open fully till summer of 22. Have no other backup for this, but CBC is pretty staight up.

Doubt there is a way to call which trip would be better early or late. It all comes down to the jetstream. All are great locations, and there are a bunch more up there.
 

DanoT

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If you are skiing the western Canadian interior then cold weather is a big consideration, not snow coverage in January. Banff, due to higher elevation and farther inland vs B.C, can get brutal cold from mid Dec to early March and when the cold snaps come they are always colder and last longer in Alberta vs B.C.

So it is really a no brainer: Red/Whitewater/Revy in Jan., Banff/Kicking Horse in early March. Spring skiing in Banff is such a big deal (but not crowded) that they even sell a Banff March-April Spring Pass.

Something to keep in mind if traveling between Revelstoke and Golden (Kicking Horse), you have to travel thru Rogers Pass. The Pass averages 60 closure days per year mostly for avy control work (some closures are fatal MVA and happen in summer). Plan your trip so you don't get stuck behind a closure on the day that you are trying to make a flight connection. So if flying to Spokane, drive past Red/Whitewater to Revy and then stop at Red and Whitewater on the way back to Spokane. Or if flying to Calgary drive straight to Revy and stop at KH and Banff on the way back to the Calgary airport.

BTW, you will find driving times an distances in Canada are long and since Revy is the furthest away from either airport, and because of Rogers Pass, I would suggest skiing there on just one of the 2 trips. And Revy while it has big vertical it does not have a lot of runs and the lower mountain is very, very ,very low elevation resulting in some manky snow at times and made worse by a flawed lift system that does not properly address the low base of approx. 1600' elevation above sea level. In other words if you hit Revy during a mild spell you will end up mostly skiing the upper Stoke Chairlift; 2000 vert feet and not the full 5600 vertical feet of the full mountain. Reliable mid Dec to mid March skiing in western Canada starts at around 4000 feet asl.

While people pour out of the woodwork on powder mornings, you will find the all of the resorts are pretty much empty the rest of the time.
 
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DanoT

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Read in a CBC article today, that boarder would not be open fully till summer of 22. Have no other backup for this, but CBC is pretty staight up.
Do you have a link to the article?

Here is a link to a CBC article from June 7 talking about some possible border restriction easing by June 22, not 2022. Canada right now leads the world at around 75% of adults with the 1st vaccine but is way behind in fully vaccinated adults. Still, by fall most adults in Canada should be fully vaccinated.
 

Bad Bob

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Do you have a link to the article?

Here is a link to a CBC article from June 7 talking about some possible border restriction easing by June 22, not 2022. Canada right now leads the world at around 75% of adults with the 1st vaccine but is way behind in fully vaccinated adults. Still, by fall most adults in Canada should be fully vaccinated.
Good. I am so happy to be wrong about this.
I'm looking forward to getting across the boarder too.
 

Turoa Kiwi

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At the of February 2020 Myself and A friend flew into Calgary. We rented a car and drove to Banff and had two days each at Sunshine and Lake Louise and one day at Norquay We stayed in a Banff Hotel and took the excellent free bus services to the resorts We then drove an easy 2 hrs to Kicking Horse Resort for four days. After that we drove to Fernie for four further days. We had good conditions everywhere with Sunshine being affected by strong winds Great variety of terrain at alll of them and would happily return to all of them In order of favourites it would be Fernie at the top then Kicking Horse, Norquay, Lake Louise then Sunshine. A very easy road trip to achieve
 

DanoT

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At the of February 2020 Myself and A friend flew into Calgary. We rented a car and drove to Banff and had two days each at Sunshine and Lake Louise and one day at Norquay We stayed in a Banff Hotel and took the excellent free bus services to the resorts We then drove an easy 2 hrs to Kicking Horse Resort for four days. After that we drove to Fernie for four further days. We had good conditions everywhere with Sunshine being affected by strong winds Great variety of terrain at alll of them and would happily return to all of them In order of favourites it would be Fernie at the top then Kicking Horse, Norquay, Lake Louise then Sunshine. A very easy road trip to achieve
Next time go to Castle. You can thank me later.
 

David Chaus

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I personally wouldn’t skip Schweitzer if flying in/out of Spokane and spending time at Red Mt and Whitewater. It’s a lot farther to drive to Revelstoke.

I’ve been to Red and Whitewater around Xmas/New Years, another year at Schweitzer around the same time, coverage is usually good by that time and warm temperatures are usually not an issue.

OTOH the Banff resorts can get really cold then, and preserve snow really well late in the season. Louise and Sunshine are great in March/April/May.
 

Pequenita

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+1 on Schweitzer. A decade ago, a friend won slopeside lodging at Schweitzer at an auction, and we added on a road trip to Whitewater. This was in early March.
 

dovski

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IMHO if you are planning to do the Canadian Rockies and Powder Highway, I am not sure I would both with Schweitzer. Don't get me wrong Schweitzer is a nice resort, but you just cannot put it in the same class as Banff, Lake Louise, Revy, Kicking Horse, Fernie, Panorama, Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks, Red Mountain ... etc. Just to name a few. If you include Cat and heli ski resorts along with the back country resorts, you easily have 50+ places to chose from. Your biggest challenge will be the weather as they do close down some of the passes as mentioned earlier, so plan accordingly so that regardless which side of the pass you end up stuck on you can ski. I remember once Rogers pass closed for an entire week because of heavy snow, which is great if you are already skiing but not so great if you are trying to get to the resort.

Now yes interior BC and the Canadian Rockies can get super cold, especially in January/February. There have been times when I skied there in -25 F, so plan accordingly. Personally I have a hybrid down ski jacket, insulated ski pants, extra base layers in case I need to double up and some warm mid layers. Boot gloves help, but if it is really cold you will want boot heaters for sure. I ski those temps in a big pair of arctic rated mittens with a merino glove liner, but again heated gloves are an option. Balaclava is must and I would also recommend a pair of Abom Goggles (they are heated :) )

Personally I love skiing the Banff Lake Louise area in April. Snow is still fantastic, crowds are light and the skiing is great.

As for border access to Canada from the US, there is a growing sentiment within Canada that they would like some sort of phased reopening so that vaccinated tourists can enter and so that business can start to return to normal. So along with the announcement of the extension of the border closure they also announced that they would be rolling out a program to accommodate vaccine certification for cross-border travelers in July https://www.clickondetroit.com/news...ification-for-cross-border-travelers-in-july/
 
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surfandski

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I personally wouldn’t skip Schweitzer if flying in/out of Spokane and spending time at Red Mt and Whitewater. It’s a lot farther to drive to Revelstoke.

I’ve been to Red and Whitewater around Xmas/New Years, another year at Schweitzer around the same time, coverage is usually good by that time and warm temperatures are usually not an issue.

OTOH the Banff resorts can get really cold then, and preserve snow really well late in the season. Louise and Sunshine are great in March/April/May.

Cool, and that may help if there are still problems crossing the border. Thanks!
 

Bad Bob

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A nice part about doing Red and White H2O is the lack of passes from Spokane to do them.
I would be a very happy camper to just be skiing those two. Hope the heaven is a lot like Roseland, BC.
 

David Chaus

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Don't get me wrong Schweitzer is a nice resort, but you just cannot put it in the same class as Banff, Lake Louise, Revy, Kicking Horse, Fernie, Panorama, Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks, Red Mountain .
Oh, but I can.
 

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