Stories About BC Canada
Pipes, Chairs, and Backcountry Runs: BC Ski Resorts Go on an Expansion Spree
By Steven Threndyle
For travelers seeking the ultimate destination for carving the slopes, the status quo isn’t good enough. British Columbia’s thriving ski and snowboard resorts are always on the lookout for ways of exceeding the expectations of its guests – whether they’re locals or visitors coming halfway around the world. Opening up new terrain, providing better terrain parks, faster lifts, more reliable snow conditions and keeping runs buffed to perfection are just some of the challenges that BC resorts have to face in this incredibly competitive industry.
Nothing excites experienced skiers and riders like the knowledge that their favourite ski area is ‘getting bigger’ – either expanding its area boundaries or cutting new trails within its existing area. At Whistler Blackcomb, the big news is that two new areas (frequented largely by backcountry skiers or hard-core skiers and riders in the past) will now be open to the general public. The vast 700 acres of Whistler Mountain’s Flute Basin, accessed via a short hike from the Peak Chair, will be regularly controlled and monitored by the ski patrol. You’ll still have to hike to earn your turns, but you can relax knowing that the terrain will be controlled for avalanches. And at the bottom of Highway 86, four cut runs in the Peak to Creek area will now be regularly groomed, softening some of the more gnarly aspects of what is surely one of North America’s longest intermediate runs.
At Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, six new intermediate runs have been cut on the vast Gem Lake side of the mountain. This part of the mountain offers some of the longest and most exciting “cruiser skiing” in the province – and over 250 new acres of terrain will now be in play. Near the summit, the new Cliff Chairlift whisks skiers and boarders over 500 vertical feet to a big mountain playground of chutes, gullies, drops, and bowls. Turnaround time will be greatly reduced with the addition of this chair; skiers and boarders won’t have to traverse or take two lifts to complete each lap. Farther up the Okanagan Valley, Silver Star Mountain Resort has added a new gladed area in Putnam Creek between Judd’s Run and Powder Paradise, and on the Vance Creek face between Middle Dipper and Farout. Gotta love that tree skiing!
It would be hard to match what Sun Peaks Resort offered last year - not everyone can open a whole new mountain (Mount Morrisey) with a high-speed quad to become the third-largest ski resort in Canada. Indeed, the new lift proved so popular that its lift capacity has just been increased. New terrain will also be found, thanks to former patrollers and other colourful characters that were enlisted this past summer to uncover many of the secret 'local's lines and stashes' from the 70’s and 80’s. "These are runs that were once popular, but now have overgrown. We want to open up a bunch of hidden stashes that won't be on the trail map, but that locals and visitors can both enjoy," says Tourism Sun Peaks's spokesperson Christopher Nicolson.
It’s small, it gets tons of snow, and it’s been written up for years in core ski and snowboard magazines. Whitewater Winter Resort, situated outside of Nelson, opened up their Diamond Glades just last season. This year, the team at Whitewater has continued to improve the conditions of the Glades to ensure that the terrain just keeps getting better. With 100 acres of skiable terrain off the North Boundary (Summit-side of the mountain), this was the first of Whitewater’s backside to be “pulled into” the area boundary. Thanks to this new offering, powder-seekers can indulge in the newly cut, steep, fall line glades and ski/ride back to the bottom of the Summit chair rather than walk back up the road and trudge through the parking lots to get back on the lift.
Over on Vancouver Island, Mount Washington will open its Outback area - over 400 acres of new double-black diamond runs, augmented by one of the highest snowpacks in the province. Unique to western Canada, a new “dual offload ” high-speed quad chairlift - the Boomerang - will allow mid station loading and unloading. Riders can get on the lift at loading stations on either side of "Little Washington," adjacent to Mount Washington's summit, and can then sample the powder on both sides of the mountain, using one lift.
In the Kootenay Rockies, Panorama Resort added two new high-speed quad chairlifts last season to reduce turn-around times for skiers sampling the fabulous off-piste terrain in Taynton Bowl. Since it opened in 2001, Taynton has won numerous awards for its ambitious expansion into an area that was once accessible only via helicopter.
Two ski areas in the province have recently undergone ownership changes. Venerable Red Mountain near historic Rossland and the sun-friendly Mount Baldy in the southern Okanagan have been purchased by owners who are committed to opening new terrain and lifts. At Mount Baldy, three new lifts are proposed in its five-year master plan, and newly-renamed Red Resort will see similar upgrading in the future.
One of the biggest progressions in skiing and snowboarding has been the development of halfpipes, Super Pipes, and terrain parks. When the snow isn’t dumping, this is where you’ll find the future Olympians of 2010, training for half pipe, boardercross, and slopestyle competitions. Big White is leading the way with its TELUS Park that features a snowboarder/New School skier playground that is already being touted as a pre-Olympic competition and training site. Serviced by its own double chairlift and lighted for night sessions, the terrain park features an Olympic-size 500 foot-long Super Pipe with 17-foot transitional walls that meets FIS World Cup and X Games standards. There's also a standard-sized half pipe with 12-foot transitional walls, 400 feet in length, and a boarder/skier-cross course that can be tuned up to run regional, national, and even World Cup events; yet that can also be tuned down for us 'mere mortals' as well. The expanded rail park will feature segregated beginner/intermediate and intermediate/advanced lanes so that riders can learn at their own pace. TELUS Park also benefits from snowmaking that augments Big White’s copious 24-foot annual snowfall.
As host to many events in the 2010 Winter Olympics, it's hardly surprising that Whistler Blackcomb has the most highly-regarded terrain park and half pipe facility in the world. As host to the 2005 FIS Snowboard World Championships, a new Super Pipe will be built in the Base 2 area of Blackcomb, and it will be lighted from Thursday through Saturday for night riding sessions.
In North Vancouver at Mount Seymour, the word is 'freestyle' as many North Shore skiers and snowboarders can attest. Seymour has one of the most legendary terrain parks and halfpipes in all of BC and has just purchased a brand-new Bombardier BR-350 snowcat with front-mounted 'terrain park kit' that features a 16-way articulating blade. "The new machine enables us to groom all areas and contours of the mountain with greater precision including our legendary freestyle terrain," says Seymour's Special Events Manager Andy Boniface. One thing you'll notice at Seymour this year is a lot more skiers joining their snowboarding brethren in the pipe and park. Keep an eye open for some of Canada’s top ski and snowboard athletes including Sean Genovese, Roberta Rodger, Dave Short, and JP Auclair.
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