Two Dutchies want to go skiing in Canada

Hi,

After a lot of years skiing in Europe we want to explore the Canadian
skiresorts. We have heard it's great fun!
But, before we book, we have some questions and we would be very, very
glad if someone would answer them.
* What is the snow like in the first week of January?
* What kind of weather can we expect mostly? Cold, sun, snow?
* We would like to go two weeks and we think we will visit
Whistler-Sun Peaks-Silver Star. Or is Big White a better choice than
Silver Star?
* How many days is recommendable for the resorts? 2,3,4 or longer?
* In the brochures we got we have read that it is in only a few hours
drive from one resort to the other. Is that correct or is it too
optimistic to visit several resorts?
* Do we need special gear for our rental car or are the roads mostly
clean?

If there is anybody who has any questions about The Alps, we are - of
course - very willing to give some information to help you as well.

Bye, bye.
Monique and Peter from Haarlem, The Netherlands

in article , Monique at
wrote on 9/21/03 11:27 AM:

Hi,

After a lot of years skiing in Europe we want to explore the Canadian
skiresorts. We have heard it's great fun!
But, before we book, we have some questions and we would be very, very
glad if someone would answer them.
* What is the snow like in the first week of January?

White and cold

* What kind of weather can we expect mostly? Cold, sun, snow?

All three, and don't forget rain.

* We would like to go two weeks and we think we will visit
Whistler-Sun Peaks-Silver Star. Or is Big White a better choice than
Silver Star?

Yes and no. Do both.

* How many days is recommendable for the resorts? 2,3,4 or longer?

More for Whistler.

* In the brochures we got we have read that it is in only a few hours
drive from one resort to the other. Is that correct or is it too
optimistic to visit several resorts?

Actually, you can squeeze them all in with plenty of time.

* Do we need special gear for our rental car or are the roads mostly
clean?

Only real hassle can be the Duffy Lake Road from Whistler, take chains.
Rest pf the driving is in the valleys, reasonably flat, doesn't get much
snow.

Wow. British Columbia is huge -- in good weather it's about a 15-hour drive
from Calgary to Vancouver. Your first decision is whether to ski Whistler
(and maybe SunPeaks) by flying to Vancouver, or Kicking
Horse/Panorama/Fernie/ etc by flying thru Calgary and on to Kelowna or
another interior area. Yes, in general the interior resorts are about two
hours apart. If you rent a car in Calgary, you can get to Fernie in about
2.5 hours, then drive to Kicking Horse or Panorama in another two hours, and
then on to Silver Star in another two to four hours and so on; problem then
is retracing your route. I did this last winter, driving
Calgary-Fernie-Kicking Horse-Silver Star-Sun Peaks and back to Calgary,
skiing two days at each place, and had a lot of fun. Snow was pretty thin
last winter and they had a dry summer but it's snowing there right now which
is a good sign. Get a really good road map and compare it against the info
at http://ski-guide.com/statemap.cfm/BC.htm
Get awd -- preferably a Subaru as opposed to a huge gas-hog SUV -- because
if it snows at all you won't get over Rogers Pass etc without it.

Also -- and here's the commercial pitch -- try to pick up a copy of The
Unofficial Guide to Skiing in the West (2003 edition) with new chapters on
Whistler, SunPeaks, Fernie, Panorama, Kicking Horse and Mt. Baker -- see
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Have fun!

Seth
http://skiinghistory.org
http://masia.org
"Monique" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

After a lot of years skiing in Europe we want to explore the Canadian
skiresorts. We have heard it's great fun!
But, before we book, we have some questions and we would be very, very
glad if someone would answer them.
* What is the snow like in the first week of January?
* What kind of weather can we expect mostly? Cold, sun, snow?
* We would like to go two weeks and we think we will visit
Whistler-Sun Peaks-Silver Star. Or is Big White a better choice than
Silver Star?
* How many days is recommendable for the resorts? 2,3,4 or longer?
* In the brochures we got we have read that it is in only a few hours
drive from one resort to the other. Is that correct or is it too
optimistic to visit several resorts?
* Do we need special gear for our rental car or are the roads mostly
clean?

If there is anybody who has any questions about The Alps, we are - of
course - very willing to give some information to help you as well.

Bye, bye.
Monique and Peter from Haarlem, The Netherlands

In article ,
"Seth Masia" wrote:

Wow. British Columbia is huge -- in good weather it's about a 15-hour drive
from Calgary to Vancouver. Your first decision is whether to ski Whistler

Ummmmm... ..no. In good weather, it's about a *ten* hour drive from
Calgary to Vancouver. Don't make the vast distances of our province any
vaster by exaggeration. g

snip

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."

Sorry. It's a ten-hour drive via Routes 1 and 5. If you divert to Fernie
it's 15 hours. If you divert to Kelowna it's about 13 hours. If you divert
to Sun Peaks it's about 12 hours. And if you stop at Whistler it could take
a week. YMMV, eh?

Seth

"Alan Baker" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Seth Masia" wrote:

Wow. British Columbia is huge -- in good weather it's about a 15-hour
drive
from Calgary to Vancouver. Your first decision is whether to ski
Whistler

Ummmmm... ..no. In good weather, it's about a *ten* hour drive from
Calgary to Vancouver. Don't make the vast distances of our province any
vaster by exaggeration. g

snip

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."

Obviously, Seth Masia has no objection to stalking, defamation,
participation in criminal conspiracies, false accusations, gross lies, and
the like.
Because that's exactly what Alan Baker has done on this newsgroup...and Seth
cozies up with his friend.
Do YOU want to be associate with criminals and terrorists? Do you support
the vileness of the insanity of rsa?
Seth Masia does.
Go buy his book.

in article , Seth Masia at
wrote on 9/22/03 5:38 AM:

Sorry. It's a ten-hour drive via Routes 1 and 5. If you divert to Fernie
it's 15 hours. If you divert to Kelowna it's about 13 hours. If you divert
to Sun Peaks it's about 12 hours. And if you stop at Whistler it could take
a week. YMMV, eh?

Seth

"Alan Baker" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Seth Masia" wrote:

Wow. British Columbia is huge -- in good weather it's about a 15-hour
drive
from Calgary to Vancouver. Your first decision is whether to ski
Whistler

Ummmmm... ..no. In good weather, it's about a *ten* hour drive from
Calgary to Vancouver. Don't make the vast distances of our province any
vaster by exaggeration. g

snip

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."

In article ,
says...
Try driving from Toronto to Kenora in who the hell cares how many
hours! You will be nowhere. [ie still in Ontario]

Yep, that's about right. Ontario IS nowhere. ;-)

Rick

"Monique" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

After a lot of years skiing in Europe we want to explore the Canadian
skiresorts. We have heard it's great fun!
But, before we book, we have some questions and we would be very, very
glad if someone would answer them.
* What is the snow like in the first week of January?
Usually reliable

* What kind of weather can we expect mostly? Cold, sun, snow?
Yes

* We would like to go two weeks and we think we will visit
Whistler-Sun Peaks-Silver Star. Or is Big White a better choice than
Silver Star?
If you are advanced skiers that Big White and Apex would be a better choice.

* How many days is recommendable for the resorts? 2,3,4 or longer?
Not more than 3 at Big White and two at Apex. One at Sun peakes and 2 at
Silverstar.

* In the brochures we got we have read that it is in only a few hours
drive from one resort to the other. Is that correct or is it too
optimistic to visit several resorts?
From Whister to the others is a good 4 to 5 hours if conditions are ideal.
Big White is half way between Silver star and Apex and is less than 2 hours
in either case.

* Do we need special gear for our rental car or are the roads mostly
clean?
Chains are advisable or rent a 4x4


If there is anybody who has any questions about The Alps, we are - of
course - very willing to give some information to help you as well.

Bye, bye.
Monique and Peter from Haarlem, The Netherlands