"Slaughterhouse" wrote in message
news:fXrue.1778870$Xk.1526219@pd7tw3no...

"stuart" wrote in message
newsrjue.79323$9A2.35020@edtnps89...

Its my favorite ski hill. They have very dry powder when it gets snow.
Last year was very good. I would definitely check conditions beforehand,
because Jasper is in the lee side of the mountains and can have low
snowfall winters. They are also not terribly honest about reporting snow
conditions on their website. For example, "Good conditions, packed
powder, some natural hazards exist" means 'skiable snow between zillions
of rocks'. In other words, don't bother. I would not spend money to go
there unless they have AT LEAST 120 cm base and are reporting fantastic
conditions. That means the skiing can range from reasonably good to
exceptional. The problem they have is that Jasper has no radar coverage
with Environment Canada, so they can get a fabulous dump of powder
overnight, and there is really no way of knowing what's on the hill until
8am that day, or when you get there.
You will love the terrain...the night life in Jasper is 'OK' but not too
many choices...

This is really good info! I went to Banff last season and it was great but
after what I heard Jasper was getting there was just no other option for
next season. We are heading up at the beginning of March on the basis of
what the rest of Alberta is doing for snow and also that by the beginning
of March there should have been enough snowfall already to make a somewhat
decent base. Sound about right to you or is Jasper an anomoly? Thanks
Stuart for you time with this!

Yes, March/April are generally the best months at Marmot. I was at Banff and
Jasper this past season and there wasn't a big difference in conditions,
albeit I was at Sunshine later in the season. Marmot basin is notoriously
bad for painting a much rosier picture regarding conditions because they are
so out of the way, and desperately need skiers. They can have fantastic
conditions and no skiers, which is great if you are the skier, but not so
good if you are the resort.
I remember the crappy seaon we had two years ago, when, just before X-mas
they were reporting "Vastly improved conditions" I decided to stop over
coming back from Kamloops, and I made the mistake of bringing my new Salomon
skis. I literally hit a rock every second turn and ruined the bases. It was
the most god-awful skiing conditions I had seen in over 40 years. I emailed
then and suggested they should have been ashamed of themselves for their
reporting. They replied that they wouldn'y want to paint such a picture as
to discourage folks from coming out. I can understand their sentiment, but
it bit them terribely later offset the damage to their credibility.
The following year when conditions were actually good, nobody believed them,
so they were saying things like "best conditions in 10 years!!!" on their
website to lure the skiers back.