Skiing in Canada

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by rousseau

And really, while Whistler certainly has a reputation for being one of North America's best ski resorts, close to Montreal you've got Mont Tremblant, Lake Placid, and other highly-ranked places in Vermont, etc. I gather that Lake Placid is maybe not as highly ranked as Whistler, but then again, from what I've heard from people who ski it's certainly a very comparable choice.

Hmm I'm going to have to completely disagree with this one. Skiing in the east simply isn't comparable. Full stop. There is no alpine, anywhere. It's like never making it past the first lift at whistler.

This is symphony bowl, one of about 7 or 8 lift accessible alpine bowls at Whistler. Everything you can see here is skiiable terrain complete with everything from green to double black diamond difficulty.


https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5216/5...f82b3785_b.jpg

Saying that even reotely compares to Lake Placid or anything east of the rockies is like trying to compare the heritage stock of Vancouver to Montreal.

[Acajack]

You're right of course.

But in terms of vertical drop, Whiteface at Lake Placid NY and Killington aren't too shabby compared to Whistler at over 1000 m. Whistler is around 1500.

Tremblant is around 700 m and Le Massif around Quebec City is around 800 m.

Of course, in terms of total skiable area (ha) Whistler dwarfs all of them. It's probably 10 times the size of Whiteface and 5 times the size of Tremblant.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

You're right of course.

But in terms of vertical drop, Whiteface at Lake Placid NY and Killington aren't too shabby compared to Whistler at over 1000 m. Whistler is around 1500.

Tremblant is around 700 m and Le Massif around Quebec City is around 800 m.

Of course, in terms of total skiable area (ha) Whistler dwarfs all of them. It's probably 10 times the size of Whiteface and 5 times the size of Tremblant.

I found that Whiteface reminded me a bit of Big White.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Of course, in terms of total skiable area (ha) Whistler dwarfs all of them. It's probably 10 times the size of Whiteface and 5 times the size of Tremblant.

It's actually 26 times larger than Whiteface and 13 times larger than Tremblant.

Whistler/Blackcomb: 8,171 acres
Mont Tremblant: 630 acres
Whiteface: 314 acres

Whistler is huge, like really huge.

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Whistler is huge, like really huge.

Yes it is ... though it's not my favourite yet . Maybe this coming weekend will change that ....

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by Acajack

You're right of course.

But in terms of vertical drop, Whiteface at Lake Placid NY and Killington aren't too shabby compared to Whistler at over 1000 m. Whistler is around 1500.

Tremblant is around 700 m and Le Massif around Quebec City is around 800 m.

Of course, in terms of total skiable area (ha) Whistler dwarfs all of them. It's probably 10 times the size of Whiteface and 5 times the size of Tremblant.

Acajack (and others) - not sure if you ski or not, however "paper" stats can be very misleading. I've skied every hill you listed (plus Stowe, Smugglers, MsA, Sutton, Bromont, Owls Head, Saveur, all the Ottawa hills), all the big hills in the Rockies, most of the interior (not Red though ) and now I'm getting to know Whistler.

Again, stats of paper cannot compare with real life. Case in point for Iceface, that 965m vertical is very missleading for while you can ski it, you will skate, cross greens, and many times die up top on the ice. As for Killington, the mtn has the 1000m vertical, but you can't ski it since its like a rollercoster. Massif is probably the closest, but even still, the steeps aren't the full height.

Don't get me wrong - I love skiing out east and have many great memories (Sutton is still the gold standard for glades) but I've never heard of anyone from Vancouver flying to Montreal to go skiing, whereas every day I've been to Whistler this year I've meet tourists visiting from QC, NY, MA, etc.

Anyway, this is a muggs game - we should all live where we want and enjoy the things that are available ... or move to a place that suits us better. Live is short and then you die. Arguing about which city is best won't change that.


PS> Acajack - not saying you were arguing, just a global statement.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by shreddog

Acajack (and others) - not sure if you ski or not, however "paper" stats can be very misleading. I've skied every hill you listed (plus Stowe, Smugglers, MsA, Sutton, Bromont, Owls Head, Saveur, all the Ottawa hills), all the big hills in the Rockies, most of the interior (not Red though ) and now I'm getting to know Whistler.

Again, stats of paper cannot compare with real life. Case in point for Iceface, that 965m vertical is very missleading for while you can ski it, you will skate, cross greens, and many times die up top on the ice. As for Killington, the mtn has the 1000m vertical, but you can't ski it since its like a rollercoster. Massif is probably the closest, but even still, the steeps aren't the full height.

Don't get me wrong - I love skiing out east and have many great memories (Sutton is still the gold standard for glades) but I've never heard of anyone from Vancouver flying to Montreal to go skiing, whereas every day I've been to Whistler this year I've meet tourists visiting from QC, NY, MA, etc.

Anyway, this is a muggs game - we should all live where we want and enjoy the things that are available ... or move to a place that suits us better. Live is short and then you die. Arguing about which city is best won't change that.


PS> Acajack - not saying you were arguing, just a global statement.

No worries. I know there's really no comparison. But that doesn't mean the skiing in Quebec and NE US is shitty and not worth it if you're in the area...

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by Acajack

No worries. I know there's really no comparison. But that doesn't mean the skiing in Quebec and NE US is shitty and not worth it if you're in the area...

the largest ski school in Canada is on Mont Saint-Bruno. right next to Montréal.

[lio45]

The title of this thread is grossly inappropriate, should instead read "Skiing within reasonable distances of Canadian cities". Out of all the nearby ski stations in Sherbrooke, my favorite place to go by far was Jay Peak (which back then was the gold standard for glades and had great bang for the buck).

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by lio45

The title of this thread is grossly inappropriate, should instead read "Skiing within reasonable distances of Canadian cities". Out of all the nearby ski stations in Sherbrooke, my favorite place to go by far was Jay Peak (which back then was the gold standard for glades and had great bang for the buck).

As I said earlier I have tried Jay many times and always had back luck. I did find it crazy though how it seemed more like the local hill to Montreal (at least in the 90's) than Tremblant. But then again, it was more the "resort" than the Giant back then (before the doctors sold out to Intrawest.)

I don't remember the glades there though - have you skied Sutton? I'm taking my son there this March and if Jay is better, we may try that. And please tell me they're better than the birch glades at Tremblant.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by shreddog

As I said earlier I have tried Jay many times and always had back luck. I did find it crazy though how it seemed more like the local hill to Montreal (at least in the 90's) than Tremblant. But then again, it was more the "resort" than the Giant back then (before the doctors sold out to Intrawest.)

I don't remember the glades there though - have you skied Sutton? I'm taking my son there this March and if Jay is better, we may try that. And please tell me they're better than the birch glades at Tremblant.

I've hiked in the Sutton range, but I have actually never skied at Sutton. I'm familiar with Orford, Bromont and Owl's Head (as well as smaller mountains - two of which are now defunct as ski hills, Montjoye and Mont Glen, but were great bang for the buck as they were both really cheap).

My peak years for skiing were in the late '90s and early '00s, and back then Jay Peak was the only place of all of these that was serious about glades (the mountain was full of them, there were comparatively few people in them, and they were generally densely wooded and full of challenges).

Even Sugarloaf (in Maine) where I skied a couple times did not hold a candle to Jay Peak's glades at the time, IIRC. Nor did any of the Townships mountains I listed.

~15 years is a long time for a ski resort, so everything might have changed though! Don't take my word for anything. If you know and like Sutton already, that's probably where you should take your son

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by lio45

My peak years for skiing were in the late '90s and early '00s, and back then Jay Peak was the only place of all of these that was serious about glades

I think you missed out my friend - Sutton was all about the Glades, even back then. It was really the only reason to ski there as both Orford and Owls Head beat it on vertical. Check out the pictures and it may give you enough reason to go.

As for Jay, maybe, just maybe.


Edit:
Just looked at some photos - had totally forgotten about Throbulator. Anyway, since Sutton is so entrenched in my mind it must have been something else.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by shreddog

I think you missed out my friend - Sutton was all about the Glades, even back then. It was really the only reason to ski there as both Orford and Owls Head beat it on vertical. Check out the pictures and it may give you enough reason to go.

As for Jay, maybe, just maybe.

Do they still accept the loonie at par? Back in my days, they did, and given that the exchange rates back then were about the same for currency as they were for speed limits, it was pretty advantageous (I always felt sorry for Americans who went there - didn't they get totally screwed, comparatively?)

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by lio45

Do they still accept the loonie at par? Back in my days, they did, and given that the exchange rates back then were about the same for currency as they were for speed limits, it was pretty advantageous (I always felt sorry for Americans who went there - didn't they get totally screwed, comparatively?)

Hey, that might be reason enough to go! Like I said before, in the 90's it felt like Jay was Montreal's local hill, I knew many people who has seasons there and not Tremblant.

Ever ski at Bolton Valley. Ok hill, but it was the "local hill" for the UVM kids, so weekends could be ... interesting. Ah youth ..........

[lio45]

Originally Posted by shreddog

I think you missed out my friend - Sutton was all about the Glades, even back then. It was really the only reason to ski there as both Orford and Owls Head beat it on vertical.

It's probably just random chance - I happened to discover Jay Peak before Sutton, so I adopted it as Glades Heaven and kind of lost interest in "the competition" (Orford, Owl's Head...) whose glades sucked.

If I had tried Sutton first, maybe things would've been different

[Calgarian]

Looking to go to Fernie this weekend, hope they still have a lot of that snowfall left! Never ridden Whistler (except on a mountain bike) would love to go there but it's likely not in the cards this season.

Do they do mountain biking at any of the ski hills out east in the summer?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am sure some of the more experienced skiers out there will tell me I'm full of it, but to me Whistler is more worth it as a destination you explore over several days, or even longer.

This is actually quite understandable, it's a very overwhelming mountain and you really can't appreciate it in a day or two. I would imagine the same is true of the alps, though I've never skied there.

This is why Whistler is such a great mountain to have at your back door though. I've been skiing Whistler literally since before I can remember and there are still runs I've yet to go down. There's always something new to explore even if you've been up a hundred times.

Originally Posted by le calmar

Edit 2: Looking back at the first posts in this thread, I must say that the one thing the largest mountains out East lack is the vast expanses above the tree line without any obstacle.

For most advanced skiers this is where they spend most of their time, the terrain is often much more technical open/liberating. This is is definitely my biggest gripe with skiing out east. The size of the mountains is tough, but I'd take a 500 acre mountain of pure alpine vs a 5,000 acre mountain of cut runs. When I'm skiing Whistler my day is about 90% in the bowls and piste and 10% in the groomers/tree line.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

For most advanced skiers this is where they spend most of their time, the terrain is often much more technical open/liberating. This is is definitely my biggest gripe with skiing out east. The size of the mountains is tough, but I'd take a 500 acre mountain of pure alpine vs a 5,000 acre mountain of cut runs. When I'm skiing Whistler my day is about 90% in the bowls and piste and 10% in the groomers/tree line.

Advanced snowboarders split our time between the high alpine and the trees off the cut runs, so a good mountain should have a mix of both. Just spent the weekend in Castle, and while they just get above the tree line, they have a couple great bowls that drop right into some really nice glades that tighten up into proper tree runs. Fernie is my favourite for this, we typically take the Whitepass chair up, hike up to the Knot Chutes, then traverse over to the tree runs, makes for about a 1 hour loop, absolute heaven!

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Looking to go to Fernie this weekend, hope they still have a lot of that snowfall left! Never ridden Whistler (except on a mountain bike) would love to go there but it's likely not in the cards this season.

Do they do mountain biking at any of the ski hills out east in the summer?

I have raced at Mont St Anne and Bromont in the past so I suspect they do.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Do they do mountain biking at any of the ski hills out east in the summer?

Bromont does for sure, it's actually pretty well known for that; I think Orford does too. Outside my neck of the woods (Eastern Townships), I have no idea.