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[email protected] December 23rd 05 02:04 PM

Canada & USA Road Trip
 
hi,

me and my wife are arriving in Vancouver at the end of January for a 10
week road trip finishing in LA. we aim to spend at least the first 4
weeks in Canada ... probably a coupleof week sin Whistler and then on
into the interior, before heading down the Rockies into the US and
eventually to the coast.

Can anyone give us any tips, advice, recommendations of where to check
out along the way: we a re ok boarders (doing blacks and reds in
Europe) but aim to improve a lot and do some cheaper heli or cat
boarding along the way.

Also we plan to buy a car in Vancouver - can anyone advise on selling a
canadian car in the US?

thanks in advance for any help,

Chog.


Neil Gendzwill December 23rd 05 03:05 PM

wrote:

Can anyone give us any tips, advice, recommendations of where to check
out along the way: we a re ok boarders (doing blacks and reds in
Europe) but aim to improve a lot and do some cheaper heli or cat
boarding along the way.


After you're done with Whistler, take 99 back to the #1 and then to the
Coquihala Expressway. Head for Kelowna. Once you're there you can
spend a good week checking out the resorts in the Okanagan Valley: Big
White (near Kelowna), Silverstar (Penticton) and Apex (Vernon). All
three resorts are within an hour or two of each other. If you want a
relaxing time, rent a condo on the hill at Big White, it's plenty big
enough to keep you happy for a week. Silverstar isn't quite as big but
still good for a few days. Apex is smaller but worth your time. If you
feel like a side trip, head North to Kamloops and check out Sun Peaks.
After you're done with the Okanagan and maybe Sun Peaks, head east on #1
until you get to Revelstoke. There's a bunch of cat and heli operations
out of Revelstoke, my advice is to book in advance as they are popular.
After you're done play in Revy, keep heading east to Golden and spend
a few days at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. KHMR is steep and deep,
hopefully you're tuned up by then. Down the #1 from KHMR you'll find
Lake Louise, then Sunshine, then the town of Banff. Probably you'll
want to make Banff your base of operations for a week or so and ride at
Sunshine and Louise. Norquay is there too but only worth a day of your
time, you could skip it and it would be no biggie.

After you're done with Banff, you can take the route in the mountains
through Invermere and check out Panorama, which is only good if they've
had tons of snow. But if they've had snow, it's great. Lots of condos
on the hill to stay at there. After Panorama you'll pass Kimberly, it's
worth only a day. You could also opt to go through Calgary rather than
Invermere. Either way you'll eventually get to Fernie and probably want
a few days there. South from there you'll hit the US border and then
Whitefish, Montana, where you'll find the Big Mountain which is worth at
least 3 days of your time. Optionally you could head west and hit Red
Mountain at Rossland, a rowdy, quirky hill with serious steeps and pow.

I'll leave the US guys to direct you from here. But if I were you I'd
keep going south until I got to Jackson Hole. I've never been but I've
always wanted to go there, hear it's great.

I don't know about the car thing. Probably your plan is better than
renting but there are likely some paperwork hassles.

Neil

Jrobb December 23rd 05 03:07 PM

Wow, sounds like fun. As far as the car goes, I would highly advise
buying a 4x4 (4wheel drive, or all wheel drive) Subaru or suv...but I'm
sure you already knew that. As far as selling the vehicle in CA there
may be issues as far as emissions regulations. You should contact the
DMV (department of motor vehicles) near wherever you plan to sell it.
Are you living in Europe now? If so that may be an issue
too...(european trying to sell canadian car in California). Not trying
to be a downer but just some things to consider. Arizona, Nevada,
Idaho may have different takes on the selling of the car so you can try
there too...then just rent a vehicle to get back to LA or something
like that.


Reccomendation on heading to the coast, try to go through Lake Tahoe
area...very pretty this time of year and the skiing rivals the Rockies
and Canada .
Here's a list of resorts near the lake...highly highly reccomend
Kirkwood.

http://www.snowbomb.com/resorts/

hope this helps.


tg December 23rd 05 04:17 PM


wrote in message
oups.com...
hi,

Snip
Can anyone give us any tips, advice, recommendations of where to check
out along the way: we a re ok boarders (doing blacks and reds in
Europe) but aim to improve a lot and do some cheaper heli or cat
boarding along the way.

Snip
Chog.


First - there is no such thing as "cheaper" heli! Expect about
$750 -1000/day. Cat is $200-$300/day.

Vancouver is a great place to start. However, I don't know if Whistler is
worth a couple of weeks, YMMV. Check out www.skitown.com and look at BC and
AB and where the resorts are located around your route. I would highly
recommend heading east across BC stopping across the way at resorts of your
choice, to the Lake Louise Area and then South again and do not miss
Whitewater near Nelson and Red Mountain in Rossland. Both have great steeps
in bounds. I think Red has some of the best in bounds terrain period off its
Paradise lift if you like trees and glades. Whitewater also has very good
steep terrain.

Now for Cat and heli operations. I would contact Snowwater Heliskiing
(www.snowwater.com). They are near Nelson and offer both Cat and heli. Went
there last year (during a miserable snow year) and they still gave us a good
time. The heli is the way to go if you can afford it as you can get to more
terrain and usually get much more vertical per run that Cat. They actually
let you get as far in as you are capable and have great guides. We are
heading back this February we we liked it so much. There is also a new cat
operation near Red Mountain called Big Red Cats (www.bigredcats.com). I am
going to try them out next week when I hit Red with the family. I will post
a followup then.


On the way back you have many options of heading back to the coast for Mt
Hood etc... or sticking in the corridor of Idaho, Montana, Utah, to Tahoe,
then Mammoth. Colorado as well.


My choice in BC across the 1. Whistler, Sun Peaks, Silver Star, Powder
Springs, Kicking Horse, to Banff, then Panorama, Fernie/Kimberley, to
Whitewater, the Red. At that point head down to Spokane and pick your
direction. I would go Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and then decide whether
you want to drop into Colorado and then head to Tahoe and Mammoth or go more
south to Wolf Creek, NM, AZ.




Mike M. Miskulin December 23rd 05 09:21 PM

Neil Gendzwill wrote in :

After you're done with Banff, you can take the route in the mountains

I'll leave the US guys to direct you from here. But if I were you I'd
keep going south until I got to Jackson Hole. I've never been but I've
always wanted to go there, hear it's great.


If you follow Neil's advice I would then consider going south into the US
and depending how far east you are, Big Mountain (MT) or if more around
Glacier Park area, there are any number of resorts now in Idaho such as
Schweitzer and of course Sun Valley. In the same area as Sun Valley is
Big Sky, I've been twice and its one of my favorites. From there if I
remember the drive its about 3 hours to Targhee (which has some 'in bounds'
cat riding, probably too tame for you at that point!) and about another
hour or so to Jackson Hole. From there I would drive into Utah. Powder
Mtn and Snowbasin are first on the way and then Canyons and then the
cottonwood canyon resorts (Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird). When you are
done with Utah, which should have plenty of backcountry, you can drive
west and stop in Vegas for a couple days on your way to North Tahoe
(Squaw, Alpine, etc) then down to Kirkwood and what ever other Cali
areas you want on the way to LA.


[email protected] January 8th 06 10:10 PM

wow ... thank you all so much for the replies! exactly what i needed
to know ...

had a few other tips since posting (sorry for not replying sooner -
currently travelling in Brasil) such as getting a bus to Seattle from
Vancouver to buy a car as it will then be much easier to sell in CA.
apprently there is a road full of used car lots. sounds ideal!

one final question to you helpful people .... my wife needs to buy a
new board & bindings and my board needs a full service. i take it
Vancouver is a cheaper place to do this than any resort town - can
anyone recommend a decent shop?


thanks again,

Chog.


Chris ONeill January 19th 06 01:40 PM

Hi chog,

Sounds like you have had some pretty good advice regarding your road trip
already. I'm planning to do something simmilar with the missus next year.
Stay in Canada a while, buy a car, drive it through the US and poss onto
South America. It would be great post when you come back and pass on your
experience of the buying and selling the car and of the resorts and towns
you visited.

Have a good trip!

FC.


wrote in message
oups.com...
hi,

me and my wife are arriving in Vancouver at the end of January for a 10
week road trip finishing in LA. we aim to spend at least the first 4
weeks in Canada ... probably a coupleof week sin Whistler and then on
into the interior, before heading down the Rockies into the US and
eventually to the coast.

Can anyone give us any tips, advice, recommendations of where to check
out along the way: we a re ok boarders (doing blacks and reds in
Europe) but aim to improve a lot and do some cheaper heli or cat
boarding along the way.

Also we plan to buy a car in Vancouver - can anyone advise on selling a
canadian car in the US?

thanks in advance for any help,

Chog.





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