It’s that time of year again—time to look across this country, strong and free, to celebrate some of what makes Canadian skiing the best in the world.
BEST GROOMING
The brass at Panorama looked at their trail map and noticed an abundance of long, sustained, fall-line pitches. So they decided to make the most of them by buying the largest fleet of Prinoth snowcats in Canada. Of course, it’s the people who drive those 11 machines that matter most, and Panorama boasts an 85 percent retention rate for drivers year over year. Result? Experienced and equipped Pano groomers now lay down boundless bolts of corduroy more luscious than that found in even the most vintage thrift stores.
HAPPIEST BUNS IN THE WEST
Banff is now home to more happy buns. The mercury does sink rather low in Canada’s oldest national park from time to time. Ergo, the SkiBig3 triumvirate has the only heated bubble chairlifts in Canada. This season, two new ones join the country’s first, which was launched at Sunshine in 2015. Sunshine’s newest, the Super Angel Express, is a six-pack—that’s a full 12 cozy cheeks—serving the high-alpine terrain of Lookout Mountain. And over at Lake Louise Ski Resort, their first heated bubble is called the Pipestone Express (formerly Upper Juniper), helping serve the in-bounds powder thrills of West Bowl.
BEST USE OF LUMENS
Bromont shines brightest again. This Eastern Townships hotspot has 91 lit trails beckoning skiers from Montreal as daylight wanes. It’s open seven nights a week, with many runs lit until 10:30. For extra peaceful evenings, Bromont’s many alpine touring uptracks are open until an hour before the adjacent on-slope lights turn off.
Best assist to Mother Nature
A full 96 percent of Blue Mountain’s terrain is within range of its fully automatic arsenal of 750 snow guns. The Ontario resort is in the middle of a system upgrade, with $1.2 million spent so far on things like high-temp guns that can make snow at temperatures as warm as -2°C. Let it snow, at the flick of a switch.
BEST STEEPS
There is a reason why the Freeride World Tour makes its only North American stop at Kicking Horse. With a full 80 in-bounds chutes, Kicking Horse is king of the rodeo when it comes to adrenaline rushes. The open ridge layout allows for straightforward navigation and safe catch basins below help make it the place to explore for those who like their skiing with a little anxiety.
BEST SKI-THROUGH ART GALLERY
Everyone knows the coolest art galleries are the hardest to find. So it is at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, where the Masterpiste Gallery gets little official recognition or promotion. But stumble on this twisty trail skier’s left of the Stoke chair and you’ll be treated to 22 art pieces, many of which re-imagine famous works of art using recycled skis. Says contributor Jess Leahay, “We are street artists, and these are our streets.”
BEST PARTY
On March 29 it will be time to party like it’s 1976. That’s the theme of an annual spring apès-ski party for 4,000 at Orford in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. This year revellers will try to break the world record for longest shot ski. Will they line up enough people to unseat Breckenridge’s record of 1,401 shots? Be there to find out—and help out.
BEST NEW USE OF AN OLD CHAIR
The Angel Express chair will be moving south down the Rocky Mountain range from Sunshine Village to Castle Mountain where it will be resurrected on Mount Haig. Castle will see its skiable terrain grow by 25 percent as it expands into what was formerly cat skiing terrain. Starting next season, visitors to Castle will be able to hop on a high-speed quad instead of a lurching cat to enjoy new intermediate and expert runs.
BEST USE OF A COLOUR PALETTE
In case you have ever doubted that aesthetics matter, slide back into the base area of SilverStar at the end of a day and be enveloped by the coordinated colour scheme of the restaurants, stores and lodges. The vibrant reds, blues, yellows and oranges are complemented by the natural white and green that surrounds this mid-mountain enclave. There is no mistaking this pedestrian village as anything but a welcoming winter idyll.
