Regina Leader Post: Okanagan High - six ski areas within a three-hour drive

One of the reasons we moved to Kelowna from Calgary four years ago was the city’s access to outdoor activities, especially downhill skiing. There are six ski areas within a three-hour drive of the city (and three of them you can reach in 90 minutes or less) and we vowed to ski them all with our kids. 

We did the ski-in/ski-out thing, signed up our son for lessons, schussed with snow hosts, and got the feel of each unique resort; from the rime-encrusted ‘snow ghost’ trees atop the summit at Big White, to the mantles of downy fresh-fall covering the glades at Baldy Mountain Resort near Oliver.

Kick it old school at Apex

Located just 35 kms southwest of Penticton, don’t let Apex’s location close to wine country fool you—its base elevation a mile above sea level means it receives plenty of snow, and its northeast-facing runs hold that light Okanagan powder all winter. 

I’d heard the small ski area (just over 1,000 acres, and 2,000 feet of vertical) boasts fantastic fall lines and a lot of steep, advanced runs through glades and down chutes, and we weren’t disappointed. While my husband and I did laps on the challenging runs off the high-speed quad, our daughter practiced linking turns on her snowboard on the groomed beginner and intermediate trails accessed from the triple chair. 

Snowboarding at Apex Mountain Resort. PHOTO BY DESTINATION BC/BEN GIESBRECHT

What we liked almost as much as the snow and terrain, though, was the old-school feel of the resort . It seemed like everyone in the lift lines knew each other, and given the fact there are only two chairlifts, we hardly had to wait before loading.

Another highlight was hitting the Gunbarrel Saloon for lunch. This monument to retro debauchery (there’s a taxidermy moose whose antlers hold women’s brasiers) serves up great burgers and après ski drinks. Insider’s Tip: Order the ‘Chaesar,’ ​​which is basically a Caesar garnished with a slider and onion rings. 

Advertisement

Baldy: A community hill with heart

Baldy Mountain Resort, 37 kms east of Oliver in the South Okanagan, is even smaller, more quaint, and with fewer skiers, than Apex. This is truly a community hill—it’s only open five days a week (Thursday through Monday) and is frequented mostly by families from Oliver, Osoyoos and Penticton. 

The bald summit at Baldy Mountain Resort near Oliver. PHOTO BY LISA KADANE

There’s just one day lodge with a cafeteria and bar, two chair lifts, and a smattering of cabins that you need to book in advance if you want the ski-in/ski-out experience (we stayed in Osoyoos, which is an hour’s drive away). This is probably the best-value skiing in B.C., too—full-day adult lift passes cost just $65 at the ticket window.

For a ski area that’s 600 acres in size, with just 35 runs, there’s an impressive variety of terrain at Baldy , named for its ‘bald’ summit. We whooped it up through rollicking glades, jump-turned down steep chutes, carved wide GS turns on groomed intermediate runs, and discovered powder stashes a full four days after the last snowfall. 

Insider’s Tip: Don’t come here if you want all the bells and whistles off the slopes. This is a ski hill only, and it’s refreshingly quiet when the lifts close.

Get snowed under at Big White

Kelowna’s closest resort tries hard to convince the skiing public they’ll be schussing under sunny skies, but the reality is that when you get an average of 25 feet of fluff each season, you’ll often be carving turns while it dumps (hence its nickname, Big White Out). This means most days are powder days, perfect for skiing the tree runs from the Black Forest Chair, or the glades off the Powder Chair. 

When it’s sunny at Big White head to the back side for steep bowl skiing. PHOTO BY LISA KADANE

When the snow stops and the clouds lift, we always head up the Alpine T-Bar (this is where you’ll find those famous snow ghosts). From there, we drop into Parachute Bowl on the back side for steep bowl skiing in deep powder, then do laps on the Cliff Chair. The alpine terrain off the Falcon Chair is another good challenge on a bluebird day. There are family-friendly cruisers from the top of every chair, too.

Though Big White is just an hour’s drive from Kelowna, there are a ton of ski-in/ski-out accommodation options and it’s more convenient and enjoyable for out-of-towners to stay on the hill. That way you can take advantage of all the extras, like the tube park and ice skating, accessible from the main village via the free gondola. 

Insider’s Tip: Be sure and seek out the Ogopogo Trail through the trees if you have kids in tow.

Revelstoke delivers big mountain terrain without the crowds

If you want what feels like a backcountry ski experience, inbounds, while having every run virtually to yourself, make tracks at Revelstoke . We skied here last season for the first time since the ski area opened as its larger self—that includes former cat skiing terrain—in 2007. I was blown away. 

Expect epic views and big mountain skiing at Revelstoke. 

For starters, there’s a whopping 5,620 feet of vertical (the biggest drop in North America), accessed by two gondolas and a high-speed quad that take you up so high your ears pop (top elevation is 7,300 feet). Once you admire the stunning views of the Monashee Mountains and the Columbia River Valley from the top, it’s time to shred.

It took us the first day to get the lay of the over 3,000 acres of skiable land, and we ultimately settled on the upper bowls. I could spend the entire day high up in the Separate Reality Bowl and South Bowl, doing laps on The Stoke Chair and enjoying the glorious sunshine. The advanced terrain here is a pleasing mix of open bowls, glades and steep cruisers, with the odd groomed corduroy trail to give your quads a rest. The conditions were excellent considering it hadn’t snowed in a while (an oddity since the resort typically receives 34 feet of powder every winter).

For lunch options, you’ll have to descend down to the Revelation Lodge or the base as the tiny Mackenzie Outpost at the top of the gondola was a squeeze for indoor seating, in spite of how few skiers there were last season. 

Insider’s Tip: Elevate your stay this winter at the new Flying Moose Chalet , a boutique lodge located at the base of the mountain.

Surprising SilverStar has it all: great views, variety and snow to spare

B.C.’s third-largest ski resort is just 24 kms northeast of Vernon. SilverStar is spread over four mountain faces and 3,200 acres that include cruisers on the front side, knee-knocking double blacks on the back, open bowls in Attridge, and heavenly glades in Silver Woods below the village. But it’s not necessarily the terrain or the generous annual snowfall that won us over our first winter in the valley. 

Brewer’s Pond at SilverStar.

We also delight in the cheery, compact, Victorian-style village. We like that after a day of skiing you can wander over to Brewer’s Pond to ice skate. We adore the cozy sunset sleigh ride to Wild Horseman’s Cabin for hot chocolate and cookies. And we love that this is the only resort in the Okanagan Valley where you can actually see lakes from the top (both Kalamalka Lake and Okanagan Lake are visible). 

Perhaps most importantly, I’m personally gratified that our son, who has autism, finally graduated to skiing blue runs here thanks to the supportive team at SilverStar Adaptive SnowSports . It’s a hill where you can progress from the magic carpet, to easy beginner runs, to intermediate cruisers, to gentle glades, and onward and upward, without running out of new challenges. 

Insider’s Tip: Stop into the The Goody Box to fuel up on classic candy like salt water taffy and Jelly Bellies.



Chase the sun at Sun Peaks

Not only did I once ride a ski bike at Sun Peaks , I also skied with legendary Nancy Green. That was a very long time ago. But my experience schussing sunny runs with an Olympian on what seemed like a ski area designed for families—there are beginner runs from the top of every chair—made me want to return with my own kids one day.

Cross-Country skiing at Sun Peaks Resort

And so we arrived in the resort’s European-style village, 58 kms from Kamloops, ready to ski as a family. Sun Peaks is essentially a bowl, with the village at the bottom and three skiable mountains totaling 4,270 acres (B.C.’s second largest resort), surrounding it on all sides. We walked out of our room, dropped our son off at his lesson, popped into our skis, and headed up the Sundance Express. 

After warming up on some intermediate cruisers with our daughter on Sundance Mountain, we zipped over to the Sunburst Express, the gateway to Tod Mountain and its alpine bowls on the back side. Our son joined us after his lesson and we happily snow plowed down beginner run Homesteader together.

Insider’s Tip: If you like chasing the sun, head to Mt. Morrisey after lunch to soak up the rays (be sure and ski hero cruiser Mid-Life Crisis to make you feel young again).