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Fernie/Kicking Horse/Nakiska/Kimberly?

abc

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Anyone familiar with these mountains in the Canadian Rockie?

What're the terrain like? Vibe, nearby town, lodging and other logistic?

Those 4 are on the MAX pass. Cluster close enough to drive from one to the other. I have more days than I have time to do 5 days in each. So trying to decide which mountain(s) to focus on if I go there.

It would be for the 2 week immediately after the New Year. I'm switching job and can take a week or 10 days as a gap. Looks like they're in better shape than Colorado or Utah snow-wise.
 
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Spent a week in Fernie a few years ago during almost the same time frame - mid January. Stayed slopeside and loved it! Fernie has excellent trees in the Currie Bowl and some extreme terrain near the "Corner Pocket" trail areas. It's a large enough area where you can explore for days. Town has that real ski town vibe w great bars/restaurants. Hope you get some fresh, dry powder as we didn't have as much as we would have liked, but conditions were still excellent.

Now onto Kimberley, don't waste your time. Did a day there and felt like we were skiing back in New England. It wasn't bad, but tree lined slopes and not much challenge made us glad we were only there for the day.
 

kingslug

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Actually Kicking Horse has some tamer terrain. My former wife survived it. You can then turn it up to whatever level you want. The road there can be closed when its snowing, as happened to us once. BC is one of my favorite places on earth...because its so removed ..from the rest of the earth. When asked where I was from at the time I said New York...Oh..wheres that? love it.
 

skimagic

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[QUOTE

Now onto Kimberley, don't waste your time. Did a day there and felt like we were skiing back in New England. It wasn't bad, but tree lined slopes and not much challenge made us glad we were only there for the day.[/QUOTE]

I visited Fernie a few years back, spectacular mountain, great terrain, views. And I made the day trip to Kimberly, it's a much longer drive than it looks like. The skiing was nothing special, views of valley, mountainrange across from main face we're nice, but not worth the drive.
 

abc

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Yeah, I notice Kimberly is a long way away. Maybe I'll skip and just focus on Fernie and Kicking Horse. Maybe stop by Nakiska for a day since it's an easy drive from Calgary.
 

benski

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Is the road to kicking horse the access road to the ski area or the pass from Revelstoke or lake Louise. I guess you could go to one of those as a backup if the roads are open but those passes probably close easily.
 

SIKSKIER

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Revelstoke is the real deal.Some of the deepest snowpack in North America is in the Monashee mts which are part of the Columbia range. The further east you get in the Rockies towards Banff/lake Louise the snowfall drops dramatically.Revelstoke is worth the trip but be aware that if you try to get to it from the east on Trans Canada 1,Rogers Pass sometimes can be closed.It is the main east/west highway across Canada loaded with big rigs so it does get a lot of attention though.
.
 

abc

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Nah, not doing Revelstoke this trip. Not enough time. It's not on the MAX pass either. I don't feel like burning money while I can ski for "free" at KH and Fernie, which is all the time I'll have for.

Besides, I'll reserve Revel for another trip, possible combine with SunShine and Lake Louise. All those 3 are on the MCP (if they don't change it, not likely though)
 

Angus

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KH has some great steeps and I wouldn't go if I was an intermediate skier looking for cruisers. You essentially ski one lift - a gondola - that runs top to bottom. It's definitely an experts mountain with some great terrain. Fernie is much more a resort. Definitely more lifts and more options terrain-wise. Again, you can find steeps but need to look for them a bit more - not hard. If you decide to ski both, consider Panorama, sits between Fernie and Golden - never been but heard it's a nice option. We stayed in Fairmont Hot Springs to break up drive. Revelstoke has great steeps and you can spend your day just skiing the trees but don't be fooled by the vertical...the bottom 1/3rd of mountain is prone to warm-up - I was skiing powder on the top and mank on the bottom 1/3rd and was told this is not atypical. Canadian Rockies are spectacular. We stayed in Fernie and Golden - Best Western and Holiday Inn if I remember correctly. Fernie is much more substantial. There are coal mines nearby that provide good paying jobs while Golden is a struggling lumber town. We flew in and out of Calgary and did a big loop - hitting Sunshine Village - my son has since been back and said Lake Louise was superior and KH, Revelstoke and Fernie. My favorite was KH - terrain is fantastic but they are all great.
 

abc

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I can ski a lot of terrain. Just that I don't want to be on my toes all day long. I like a more balance of a good mixed of terrains.

Where are the bed base located related to the mountain? (Fernie/KH). Are there town/village nearby and have decent "normal" lodging and eatery? I'm not one for glitzy resorty lodging (though a hot tub could be nice after a day out in the cold).

Unless, if the village is a long way away, then I'll pay the piper for a slope-side bed.
 

jimk

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And yes ..what about Revelstoke. I'm going in Feb. Almost 6000 vert, 3000 acres...and 3 lifts. Talk about an adventure.
Would love to hear your impressions when you get back.

Revelstoke is the real deal.Some of the deepest snowpack in North America is in the Monashee mts which are part of the Columbia range. The further east you get in the Rockies towards Banff/lake Louise the snowfall drops dramatically.Revelstoke is worth the trip but be aware that if you try to get to it from the east on Trans Canada 1,Rogers Pass sometimes can be closed.It is the main east/west highway across Canada loaded with big rigs so it does get a lot of attention though.
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I think I am going there in March skiing by myself. It sounds like the long steep tree runs are great there, but I'm concerned about skiing too deeply into 4k vert of lonely trees all by myself? Is there enough open bowl and cut runs for two days of fun?

Nah, not doing Revelstoke this trip. Not enough time. It's not on the MAX pass either. I don't feel like burning money while I can ski for "free" at KH and Fernie, which is all the time I'll have for.

Besides, I'll reserve Revel for another trip, possible combine with SunShine and Lake Louise. All those 3 are on the MCP (if they don't change it, not likely though)
SS, LL and Revy is what i am thinking about in late march. sorry for thread hijack:)
 

abc

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sorry for thread hijack:)
I make a point of NOT hijacking a thread until at least a day or 2 after the OP's last question. Certain not within a few hours of the thread starting...

More so when the new hijack question wouldn't need answering till q month later. :(

(and you do realize by the time kingslug gets back from Revel in March, he wouldn't be thinking of updating a thread under the title of Fernie/Kicking Horse...) ;)

Just saying.
 
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takeahike46er

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Anyone familiar with these mountains in the Canadian Rockie?

What're the terrain like? Vibe, nearby town, lodging and other logistic?

I am familiar with Fernie and Kicking Horse. I visited them last season and really enjoyed them both. Fernie is well-rounded in its terrain offerings, and gets more snow than any ski area in interior B.C. (outside of Whitewater). Just be aware that rain is possible a couple times per season due to its lower elevation. The town of Fernie, a few miles down the road, has some charm and makes for a nice base.

Kicking Horse is amongst my favorite mountains anywhere due to its impressive portfolio of steeps. Deep powder is less likely here, tending to get frequent small accumulations, but the mountain preserves snow very well. Most of Kicking Horse is also high enough in elevation to avoid rain. Golden isn’t nearly as happening as Fernie so don’t expect much besides great skiing and scenery.

You can read my trip reports here:
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Fernie-B-C-2-12-2-13-2-14-2-18-17-tp4102475.html
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Kicking-Horse-B-C-2-16-17-tp4102263.html

With so many other great ski hills in the region, I wouldn’t waste your time hitting Kimberley or Nakiska. Why not check out Castle Mountain? Though it might not be on your pass, many cite it as the best skiing in the region.
 

abc

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Thanks, takeahike46er. (BTW, I like your screen name).

Nice trip reports. I'm going to take the weather into account when choosing where to ski.

Yes, Castle had been mentioned by others. My first glance at their website looks good. I think I'll try to fit it in, weather permitting.
 
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kingslug

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I liked Panorama..probably the least crowded place i skied at the time. Git first tracks everyday..not even patrol was out there. Nice views, big. Love BC.
 

KustyTheKlown

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I was going to plan a Colorado max pass trip with friends for late feb/early march (probably 1 day copper>1 day winter park>3 days steamboat>3 days crested butte) but I am scared that it will never snow in Colorado ever again. Kicking Horse + Fernie may be our audible.
 
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