Liz and I flew to Calgary Feb. 19. Vaccine, test result and the ArriveCan QR code were checked at LAX WestJet check-in. Immigration in Calgary was by kiosk and quick, but luggage was slow and we were selected for a random COVID test. Thus we landed 5:00pm but were not on the road until 6:45. Dinner in Crowsnest Pass was at 9pm, with no mask regs as those had recently been lifted in Alberta.
B.C was different. The hotel in Sparwood had mask regs and breakfast was a very marginal sack of apple juice and small package muffin. Fernie is the first ski area I’ve visited to require vaccination to get a lift ticket. All of the RCR resorts plus Revelstoke, Sunshine and Norquay also require vaccination.
After Island Lake on Thursday the Fernie Fox Hotel required reservations to use the outdoor hot tub. By contrast Friday in Pincher Creek Alberta the indoor pool and spa at Heritage Inn had lots of families, as in Montana and Idaho a year ago.
Fernie Sunday was the busiest I’ve ever seen, as it was the start of a Calgary school holiday week. There were very long lines at tickets/guest services, but lift lines were no more than 5 minutes. It snowed all morning, starting as graupel so a few inches went a long way. I'm in a short pitch of new snow near White Pass lift here.
The next run in Currie Bowl was mostly powder.
Fernie still has these signs at lifts.
In Alberta Castle has this variation.
Fortunately common sense prevails at both areas, with masks being enforced indoors but no one was using them at the lifts except during some of the cold weather later in the week.
We had an early lunch Sunday at 11AM to beat the crowds. Fernie had not escaped the widespread mid-February western warm spell, so south exposures, low elevations and high traffic areas had firm subsurfaces. Temperatures were in the 20'sF in the morning but in the 10'sF after lunch as the predicted arctic high pressure was moving in.
Fernie's grooming has improved over the years. I recall Craig Morris in the 2000's would comment unfavorably upon the hard snow on White Pass' south facing groomers like Heartland, but they were in good shape on both Sunday and Thursday mornings. I later heard at Island Lake that the weekend storm may have started as rain below 4,500 feet, so that might account for firm snow on sheltered but low elevation runs.
After lunch we headed up the "old side" of Fernie to Lizard Bowl.
Lizard Bowl was more tracked than Currie as it can be lapped by the Bear HSQ. Snow was still soft so we took a couple of laps there on Dancer and Cascade.
Cedar Bowl was more powdery as it takes multiple chairs to repeat laps. Liz is in Cedar Glades here.
We took an extra lap and pushed farther out to Blueberry.
From the Boomerang chair I observed people in Deep Space skier's right under the lift so I skied that in smooth packed powder. Lower down Buck's Shot had a firm subsurface.
I skied 18,200 vertical Sunday including the first real powder turns of the season in Currie and Cedar Bowls. As this was my 22nd ski day of the season, that's mostly a commentary on dry conditions in most of the western US in January and the first half of February.
B.C was different. The hotel in Sparwood had mask regs and breakfast was a very marginal sack of apple juice and small package muffin. Fernie is the first ski area I’ve visited to require vaccination to get a lift ticket. All of the RCR resorts plus Revelstoke, Sunshine and Norquay also require vaccination.
After Island Lake on Thursday the Fernie Fox Hotel required reservations to use the outdoor hot tub. By contrast Friday in Pincher Creek Alberta the indoor pool and spa at Heritage Inn had lots of families, as in Montana and Idaho a year ago.
Fernie Sunday was the busiest I’ve ever seen, as it was the start of a Calgary school holiday week. There were very long lines at tickets/guest services, but lift lines were no more than 5 minutes. It snowed all morning, starting as graupel so a few inches went a long way. I'm in a short pitch of new snow near White Pass lift here.
The next run in Currie Bowl was mostly powder.
Fernie still has these signs at lifts.
In Alberta Castle has this variation.
Fortunately common sense prevails at both areas, with masks being enforced indoors but no one was using them at the lifts except during some of the cold weather later in the week.
We had an early lunch Sunday at 11AM to beat the crowds. Fernie had not escaped the widespread mid-February western warm spell, so south exposures, low elevations and high traffic areas had firm subsurfaces. Temperatures were in the 20'sF in the morning but in the 10'sF after lunch as the predicted arctic high pressure was moving in.
Fernie's grooming has improved over the years. I recall Craig Morris in the 2000's would comment unfavorably upon the hard snow on White Pass' south facing groomers like Heartland, but they were in good shape on both Sunday and Thursday mornings. I later heard at Island Lake that the weekend storm may have started as rain below 4,500 feet, so that might account for firm snow on sheltered but low elevation runs.
After lunch we headed up the "old side" of Fernie to Lizard Bowl.
Lizard Bowl was more tracked than Currie as it can be lapped by the Bear HSQ. Snow was still soft so we took a couple of laps there on Dancer and Cascade.
Cedar Bowl was more powdery as it takes multiple chairs to repeat laps. Liz is in Cedar Glades here.
We took an extra lap and pushed farther out to Blueberry.
From the Boomerang chair I observed people in Deep Space skier's right under the lift so I skied that in smooth packed powder. Lower down Buck's Shot had a firm subsurface.
I skied 18,200 vertical Sunday including the first real powder turns of the season in Currie and Cedar Bowls. As this was my 22nd ski day of the season, that's mostly a commentary on dry conditions in most of the western US in January and the first half of February.
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