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DanoT

DanoT

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Thanks @DanoT. Do you have any recommendations for accommodation....two families, a 4 pax and a 5 pax. Would be nice to stay together or in the same complex, must be ski-in, ski-out, and walking distance (if possible?) to cafes/restaurants. Ok with mid-range or a little higher on the pricing. Would appreciate any advice or areas to look into.

The hotels are all ski in/out or close to it. Kookaburra Lodge has 2 and 3 bedroom condo units and it is walk across the road and put your skis on. Snow Creek has ski in/out town houses. The Grand Hotel Residences are 1 and 2 bedroom suites right in the village.

The Cahilty Lodge has some condo suites (1 bedroom I think) and a friend of a friend owns one that i could inquire about if you are interested.
 

NZRob

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The hotels are all ski in/out or close to it. Kookaburra Lodge has 2 and 3 bedroom condo units and it is walk across the road and put your skis on. Snow Creek has ski in/out town houses. The Grand Hotel Residences are 1 and 2 bedroom suites right in the village.

The Cahilty Lodge has some condo suites (1 bedroom I think) and a friend of a friend owns one that i could inquire about if you are interested.

Thanks, much appreciated ogsmile
 

Turoa Kiwi

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Thanks, much appreciated ogsmile
try Fireside Lodge
They have a great range of condos and is ski in s
Thanks @DanoT. Do you have any recommendations for accommodation....two families, a 4 pax and a 5 pax. Would be nice to stay together or in the same complex, must be ski-in, ski-out, and walking distance (if possible?) to cafes/restaurants. Ok with mid-range or a little higher on the pricing. Would appreciate any advice or areas to look into.
Try Fireside Lodge
We stayed there this year as a group of five guys
They have a range of two and three bed condos
 

NZRob

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try Fireside Lodge
They have a great range of condos and is ski in s

Try Fireside Lodge
We stayed there this year as a group of five guys
They have a range of two and three bed condos

Thanks mate ogsmile...hope you've got some plans for a northern winter
 
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DanoT

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Here is a link to "What's New" from the Sun Peaks Resort website:
https://www.sunpeaksresort.com/explore/news-updates/whats-new-for-winter-201819

The new chairlift is mostly a people mover providing better connection to the Main Village from Mt. Morrisey, East Village, and P5 parking lot and more ski in/out accommodation.

The 30% increase in capacity is to the resort's most popular lift, Sundance chairlift gets more chairs.

Of the now 137 runs at Sun Peaks, close to 100 are a good variety of intermediate blue square runs and some are very good high speed cruisers. Chances are that other than Xmas holidays, you will not see anyone else on the run, so then it is perfectly fine to go as fast as you want. Just don't::philgoat:
 
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geepers

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@DanoT , great review.

Was at SP for 6 weeks mid Feb to end March last season. Only a couple of foggy days as I recall and mostly affected only the top of the mountain - from flat bit at top of Sunburst chair upwards.

The off-season grooming of runs is another plus. Doesn't need a big snow cover for an adequate base and ski bases are preserved.

It's a family oriented resort however there's a good variety of terrain including some excellent mogul runs like 5th Avenue and Tighten Your Boots (Sunburst side) and Spin Cycle/Cover Shot and Static Cling on the Morrisey side. One small downer: The lifts on the Morrisey side are not best laid out for some of the more advanced runs Taking Static Cling all the way to the bottom means a short uphill walk to get back to the drag lift that then takes skiers back to the chair. Or walk/ski the other direction to the Burfield...

The Burfield? Oh dear... That part of the mountain will significantly open up when they eventually install a high speeder but resident skiers may have to share their toys.:P

@NZRob Whilst there's an adequate small super-market in the village, if you like to self-cater there's a great service that will deliver your online supermarket shopping from Kamloops right to your room. It was a $20 fee for a container that will hold around $200 of groceries. Search for Sun Peaks Cargo (or a name something like that).

There are a number of retail outlets selling/renting skis - 4 or 5 at least. This is more than at other places (Whistler and Vail excepted) so provides a good choice and seem to be reasonably competitive. If you want a good bargain on skis wait until the last 4 weeks of the season when prices will really come down.

@marjoram_sage - yes the pre-season passes are significantly cheaper.
 
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DanoT

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The Burfield? Oh dear... That part of the mountain will significantly open up when they eventually install a high speeder but resident skiers may have to share their toys.:P

Most guests take the 22min ride on the Burfield once and then never come back. The SP village is a couple of kms down the road from the Burfield base and the Burfield chair is less busy now than it was in the 1980s in the Tod Mtn. pre development days. The locals love it and it is one of the reasons that the locals are so friendly and generally supportive of the SPR Corp.

is it best to visit after January? Also the pass prices look steep ($1300 CAD)

Best time to visit is mid Jan. to early March. Day tickets sell for around $105CDN or $75-$80US, season passes when purchased in May or June are around $900CDN. SP is part of a season pass holder 25% discount for day tickets along with a number of other resorts and have an exclusive 50% off day tickets at Whistler deal for SP pass holders. The deal with Whistler is due to the fact that Nippon Cable, owners of SP also own 25% of WB. I haven't verified but presumably the deal is still in effect for 2018-19.

As far as Zrankings listing SP with 207" annual snowfall--it kind of depends on a bit on when one starts counting and when they close the lifts in spring (normally due to lack of skiers, not lack of snow) but I usually say 220"-235" or 18-20 feet in an 18-20 week season.

Zrankings is not up to date on SP's expansion of a few years ago as there are now 4270 skiable acres and 137 runs. (5 of 6 chairlifts and all 3 mountains with close to 60 runs open now with most in good condition).
 
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Orient chair update, tower install via helicopter:

Once the chair is complete there will be lift serviced skiing on 4 mountains at Sun Peaks, well 2 mountains and 2 ridges to be more accurate. And once skier visits increase the Orient chair will be lengthened and made high speed, a few years from now.
 
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20cm/8in snowfall on Friday night, Dec 28, has now caused all runs to be open.

The other day I skied by the new for 2018-19 season, Hair Salon/Barber Shop:

upload_2018-12-30_21-35-31.jpeg

There was a guy in there wearing ski boots, getting his hair cut. And then I realized that Sun Peaks probably has the only ski in/out Hair Salon in North America, maybe the world.:cool:
 
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Not this year unfortunately The bank manager thinks I spent too much on a 5 month summer road trip around Europe last year !!

Right now I have more US dollars in my US bank account than Canadian dollars in the bank, so I leave Sunday for a 6 or 7 week Ikon Pass truck camper tour of the western USA terminating at the Big Sky Pugski Gathering. Except that I will be returning to Canada via Whitefish were as a 70 y.o. I get to ski for free.:yahoo: (If they ever offered free skiing to 70+ y.o. at Sun Peaks....they would go broke.)
 
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Whitepine

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Dano, this is a great review! Thanks for putting in the effort. I read it several months ago and we decided to come to Sun Peaks. So we - my wife and daughter and I - will be there starting Jan 27 leaving Feb 5. Are you still working at the Elevation shop?
 
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DanoT

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Dano, this is a great review! Thanks for putting in the effort. I read it several months ago and we decided to come to Sun Peaks. So we - my wife and daughter and I - will be there starting Jan 27 leaving Feb 5. Are you still working at the Elevation shop?

@Whitepine , I am leaving tomorrow on a 6-7 week ski road trip with my dog in a winter capable truck camper. I have an Ikon Base Pass and will be skiing in UT, CO, WY, and MT. Hope to catch you next time.
 

Whitepine

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@Whitepine , I am leaving tomorrow on a 6-7 week ski road trip with my dog in a winter capable truck camper. I have an Ikon Base Pass and will be skiing in UT, CO, WY, and MT. Hope to catch you next time.
%
That sounds like a great trip! I hope you and your dog have a blast!
 

Bill Miles

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Right now I have more US dollars in my US bank account than Canadian dollars in the bank, so I leave Sunday for a 6 or 7 week Ikon Pass truck camper tour of the western USA terminating at the Big Ski Pugski Gathering. Except that I will be returning to Canada via Whitefish were as a 70 y.o. I get to ski for free.:yahoo: (If they ever offered free skiing to 70+ y.o. at Sun Peaks....they would go broke.)

That's what they say about Sun Valley!
 
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Sun Peaks has announced the next new chairlift will be a fixed grip quad on the upper mountain, off loading on The Top Of The World, and open for the 2020-21 season, replacing the current 40 year old Crystal Chair. This chair will no doubt eventually be converted to high speed detachable to accommodate future increases in skier visits.
https://www.sunpeaksresort.com/explore/news-updates/new-crystal-chairlift-announced

The big news for myself and others is that Sun Peaks has listened to complaints that we had about the Master Plan calling for the shortening of the Burfield Chair along with the installation of the new chair. So with the current announcement the "Burf" chairlift remains intact allowing continued access to The Top Of The World from the Burfield Base (AKA West Village) without having to ride an additional chairlift.

Ski Canada Magazine once labelled the Sun Peaks locals as the friendliest in Canada. I think a big part of that is SP's history of seeking out input and listening to locals. And they have done it again, to my and others great satisfaction.
 
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