Marmot basin

Hello to you all from the Scottish Highlands. Not much snow here at the moment so am planning a visit to Marmot basin February/March. Can anyone comment on it's suitability for a "terminal beginner" tele skier and his wife? Went to Fernie last winter and enjoyed cruising the greens.......does Marmot have more to offer in terms of easy slopes and snow quality? Any advice most welcome!
 
Hello David, <BR> <BR>Welcome to FTO and our Discussion Forums. Feel free to become a regular guest. <BR> <BR>One thing that struck us 2 years ago while we were in Fernie to do a story was its relative dearth of novice terrain. If you're a green circle skier, you're confined to relatively few options on Fernie's lower slopes. Then again, last year at Fernie this was probably one of the better places to be! <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/wink.gif"> <BR> <BR>Marmot, however, offers a wider range of easier terrain - both in the form of greens and moderate blues. Should be perfect for practicing those tele turns. You're also visiting at a prime time of year - January can be brutally cold that far north, but in late February and early March the days are warming and the snowpack is at its traditionally deepest. <BR> <BR>Have fun!
 
Marc, <BR>Hi. Many thanks indeed for your words of wisdom and for replying so quickly. If we make it to Marmot I'll let you know how it went. In the meantime I'll send you any notes about our local ski area at Cairngorm, Scotland which is just about to open up a funicular for transport to the top of the hill....only 3600ft but high enough and windy enough at this latitude! <BR>Good luck. <BR>David.
 
(I went ahead and changed the subject line of this thread to remain in keeping with the matters discussed - see "Cairngorm, Scotland" for the remainder of this thread.)
 
By the way, one thing that I forgot to mention - be sure to check out Kicking Horse Mountain Resort just across the Divide in Golden, BC while you're at Marmot. It's in its infancy as a major resort, for only 2 years ago investors bought a small local town ski hill (White Tooth) and expanded it to nearly 4,000 vertical feet by reaching up to the ridgeline. Most serious skiers in North America are just now finding out about it, and hardly any casual skiers yet have a clue at all. I was fortunate enough to be there for a story when the expansion was formalized, but haven't yet been lucky enough to return since the expansion commenced. If you're interested in the story from my visit, it's at <A HREF="http://www.FirstTracksOnline.com/kickinghorse.htm" TARGET="_blank">http://www.FirstTracksOnline.com/kickinghorse.htm</A>.
 
Marc, <BR>Hello to you again from Scotland. Hoped you might be interested in a recent skiing <BR>holiday my wife and I took at Marmot Basin. I followed your advice and yes you're <BR>right Marmot does have more terrain for wobbly skiers such as ourselves. Thanks for <BR>the good call on that. Was there during the last week of February and managed to hit a <BR>few days of great powder, and low temperatures. Even the locals admitted to having <BR>cold fingers which made me feel better as my feet were suffering in leather boots. <BR>Thought I'd never top the Highlands of home for beauty but the drive from Calgary <BR>took us through the most dramatic scenery either of us had seen. I know the long <BR>transfer puts folk off but it must keep Jasper much quieter than the fleshpots of <BR>Whistler for example. <BR>OK, so how do we go one better next year? Am I being greedy? Does L. Louise or <BR>Whistler have more to offer in terms of terrain for our limited ability, or should we <BR>think of somewhere else in Canada? <BR>Best, <BR>David.
 
Will let others answer for Whistler. Actually, I can't believe that no one else has jumped onto this thread. <BR> <BR>Lake Loo is very, very large, and thus has a lot of terrain for all abilities. Much of the stuff up high, though, is rather steep - the front side gradually steepens with altitude, and most of the back of the main mountain is very, very steep. The Larch area is gentler, but much smaller. Also FYI, it can get busy, especially when Calgary comes out for the weekend. <BR> <BR>What about Sunshine Village? Acres and acres of low-angle meadows await up top. Stellar scenery, and although there's the opportunity to lodge literally <I>on</I> the mountain, most beds are down in Banff. <BR> <BR>Consider also the BC interior: Kicking Horse, Sun Peaks, Apex, Silver Star, and Big White. Whitewater is somewhat spartan if you don't mind that, and Red is more challenging, more akin to Fernie's pitches.
 
For intermediate terrain and good snow, I'd vote for Big White first and Sunshine second (basically a refinement of Marc's recommendation). <BR> <BR>To appreciate Whistler, you need to be a strong intermediate in good physical condition. The runs are long, with varying snow conditions. While the steep terrain is the big attraction to most of us, all the alpine chairs have good intermediate runs too.
 
Tony and Marc, <BR>Many thanks for the suggestions. It is really good to chat to you and Marc on the other <BR>side of the Atlantic who know the ski areas first hand and take the trouble to reply. <BR>I have heard of Big White before and seen the reports this year of awesome skiing <BR>there with great snow depths. Never looked at the trail map in detail before though. <BR>Looks like it is well serviced with green terrain( important because my skiing is not too <BR>hot )....probably more than Marmot do you think? Can you tell me also how steep the <BR>blues are in comparison to Marmot. Otherwise it really looks like the place to go. Not <BR>sure if our favoured tour operaters, Inghams, have it on their itinary for next season <BR>though. Looks as if I will have to find another way of getting there! <BR>Regards, <BR>David
 
We should probably not be recommending areas like Fernie, Red, Castle, Whitewater and Kicking Horse in the context of this thread. The steeps and minimal grooming we value in these out of the way places are probably not what David is looking for (yet). Even Lake Louise (the groomers tend to have an icy snowmaking subsurface) falls into this category relative to most big North American mountains. <BR> <BR>If we take David's self evaluation at face value, he is a prime candidate for the vast groomers of Vail/Summit County, with enough harder stuff available if he improves over the week. Big White fits that same profile with much lower crowds and expense. I believe the quickest way to improvement at the early stages is to rack up the mileage at an intermediate mountain like Big White. And Big White does have short sections of trees, moguls and steeps available for experimentation. At a raw natural mountain like Kicking Horse he might burn out like I did last Wednesday.
 
Tony, <BR>Thanks for the reply. You're right, one of the reasons my wife and I are prepared to come all the way to Canada is for the excellent snow conditions and Vast Groomers are what we are looking for! Do you mean Vail, Colorado; and can you tell me where Summit County is? Unfortunately I came to skiing late in life and never seem to progress; I always have to take the steeper stuff in a series of survival tele turns. Never mind, I still enjoy the easier stuff and Marmot's gradients were just the thing. Next year it looks like we'll end up at Big White as first choice, or Banff. <BR>Best, <BR>David
 
A few recommendations: <BR>Vail is huge and the best intermediate mountain in North America IMHO. Intermediates can even handle powder in China Bowl. Go in January for best snow, lower crowds and possibly better prices. Vail is very expensive compared to Canada. <BR> <BR>Summit County, Colorado has 3 big resorts between Vail and Denver. I'm not a big fan due to lower snowfall and high crowds, but Breck, Copper and Keystone all have lots of groomed runs. Each of these is about the size of Big White. <BR> <BR>Aspen/Snowmass is a good choice in February/March, not earlier because of gradual snow accumulation. Crowds are much lower than Vail/Summit as it's farther from Denver. It's expensive, but rated tops for apres-ski by most reviewers. <BR> <BR>Park City, Utah also has 3 large intermediate-oriented mountains. These are not crowded despite Park City being a lively resort town. January and February are best. <BR> <BR>Mammoth, California is #2 to Vail in intermediate terrain IMHO. Mountain is outstanding but resort is a work in progress and it's a 3+ hour drive from the nearest major airport, Reno. Best February through April. Totally empty midweek, with some SoCal weekenders. <BR> <BR>Mt. Bachelor is another isolated excellent intermediate mountain with a local airport but 3+ hours from Portland. Town/lodging is 20 minutes from the mountain. Extremely uncrowded and best in March and April. <BR> <BR>Lake Tahoe, Calif. has numerous resorts to which one can commute. Best for intermediates are probably Northstar, Alpine Meadows and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Heavenly is outstanding but very busy on the weekends. Casinos in Nevada, generally good January to March.
 
Tony, Marc. Hi. <BR>In the end we took the line of least resistance and went to Banff and skiied Sunshine (as per your recommendation) and L Louise. Big White was too expensive in the end. Not so many tour operaters have it as a destination. Have to say I preferred Sunshine....easier slopes and better snow. Really couldn't get on with Louise being a bit steeper and as you said the icy surface from the snow making. Next winter looking at Sun Peaks or blowing the inheritance on BW! Thanks for the tips, <BR>Best, David
 
You did hit western Canada in a bad season (and during a dry spell if recently). Louise should be avoided in low snow years. All of western Canada (except Whistler, which still isn't that expensive given quality of both skiing and resort) is a bargain by the standards of most ski destinations. <BR> <BR>When the tour operators aren't giving you a decent deal, try to do it yourself. It's hard for me to fathom what would be expensive about Big White. However in my recent Canadian trip the locals were complaining about high airfares charged by Air Canada with its near monopoly on intra-Canadian flights. <BR> <BR>So I'm guessing that airfares are reasonable only to Calgary and Vancouver due to international competition. If so, the Okanagan is only a 4-hour drive from Vancouver, so that could be the way to get to Big White.
 
Tony, <BR>There are operaters offering BW as a destination, but cost is higher than Banff etc, I guess due to demand; don't think too many folk this side of the Atlantic have even heard of it, hopefully due to change soon though. MGS do a good package to BW for a little less than our recent Banff trip; but then I realised the air fare was extra!! Never mind I hope to make it one day. <BR>Skiing hopeless here (Scotland) at the moment. High winds and piste almost sheet ice. Even though it's been a dry winter for Canada the quality of skiing on offer was of a very high standard to what I'm used to here. <BR>Love the new format of FTL, <BR>Best Wishes, David
 
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