Canada 1999 Week 3 Part 1

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Week 3 Part 1

The Road Trip:
Heading North from Whistler

Monday March 15, 1999 Heading up north through the Garibaldi Provincial Park towards Pemberton. This road had been closed for the previous few days while they hurled dynamite at snow threatening to avalanche. All the best spots to stop and take pictures had stern avalanche warning signs up, and stopping was forbidden.
The scenery was breathtaking, the road deserted, and quite snowy through a few high-ish passes. Driving on the wrong side of the road took some mental effort, the radio reception was terrible (but it was worse when it was good...I never want to hear that Shania Twain song again, it sure didn't impress me, either).

Then on to Lilloet, the land seeming a bit drier, but the mountains and gorges still awe-inspiring. This lake (to the left) really was turquoise! Just down a bit, there was a little channel for Salmon to get through, and they'd fenced it off to prevent people and bears from bothering (viz. pinching) the fish.
Eventually got to Kamloops (the land was even more dry-looking and stark, without the craggy mountains unfortunately) and found the HI hostel, which was an old court-house. They hadn't done much to it, and it was a bit cold and gloomy. The Dining Room was the actual courtroom, and they'd left it pretty-much as-was. One evening we were serenaded by a chap with a guitar, an Australian as it turned out, who was delighted with the acoustics. This is one of the best things about Hostelling; you have the most novel and unexpected experiences, maybe while doing something mundane like making dinner.

The top at Sun Peaks

Tuesday March 16 to Friday 19th
Sun Peaks! This resort used to be called Tod Mountain, and I'd long wanted to try it out. I should say here that I was using free tickets, and met up with the resort's media guy, Christopher. However, saying nice things about Sun Peaks is easy (the "facts" I have lifted from some media guff I was given, or I'd never remember it all). Facts: 17 feet of snowfall, 882 metres of skiable vertical, top lift is at 2080 metres, 6 lifts, 10 000 acres, 64 runs (plus "off piste"). Whew! Plus, they are expanding back into the range, so this place is going to be HUGE.

I was there during "kid week" so it was busier than usual, but they coped pretty well. Some largish queues at the base, where the two fast quads were fully subscribed, but plenty of options once you got up, to avoid the masses.
And despite the hordes, the friendliness from staff and skiiers alike was phenomenal.

There was a lot of fresh snow about, and I noticed that it was significantly lighter than the Whistler fresh. Also, there didn't seem to be such a big "avalanche problem", with the terrain more rounded, and less things looming overhead.
The Canadian Ski Team was training there for the week, and I saw Nancy Greene too!
Some of the best skiing was over on an old, slow, looong chair called Burfield...the runs were interesting, but they could have provided magazines to read on the way up. Crystal (slow) chair also had some interesting stuff to ski, and it was a bit shorter. Gosh it was cold! Sunny, but freezing.
I had all kinds of weather in the 4 days, and all kinds of snow.
The spirit of the place really got to me. Several times I rescued bits of kids and their stuff scattered all over the snow, and returned them to their worried parents down the hill. I had runs with people whose names I never even knew, very different from Whistler.

Some of the best fun I had was at their t-bar. It was deserted, never-groomed, and with snow so light I could actually ski it (on thin slaloms), with snow curling up around the tops of my legs. The pic to the left is of that area, and was taken from the hut pictured above. No one was there, had the whole lot to myself.

Meanwhile, the families teemed down at the base. I usually lunched (and sometimes breakfasted) at their el-cheapo daylodge setup, Bentos. It was an old demountable hut (or 2 or 3), no-frills, cheap and bloody cheerful! The food was good and normally priced, and the families were there to have fun. I ended up getting involved in a couple of un-related groups, just chatting. It was that kind of place. Sometimes they'd get you to watch their gear...other times they'd offer to watch your stuff, or offer you one of their spare seats. It was nice.

Bentos also had guest-use boiling water, and microwaves, and tons of free condiments. Every trail sign at Sun Peaks seemed to have these guide people, and if you read for more than 10 seconds, they'd try to take you on a tour! Failing that, they'd recommend runs. Taking advice, I went down Spillway, and found heaps of these ice-cream trees (they call them Ghost Trees, pictured left), and lots of ungroomed and no people...as usual! I seemed to be meeting people everywhere...it was a real holiday atmosphere. The racers were chatty, the patrollers were chatty, the holiday-makers and staff seemed to all be on happy pills. People kept thinking I was from England, so I guess the Aussie Onslaught hasn't happened to this bit of Canada...yet.
By the end of my 4 days, the fresh had turned to hard pack and ice, and even a bit sticky at the base, so leaving wasn't so hard. But consider Sun Peaks if you are heading to BC to ski. There are buses/shuttles linking them to Vancouver, Whistler, Kamloops, and also Big White and Silver Star! I found the drive from Kamloops every day a tad long (45 minutes), and would recommend staying in the ski village, which is purpose-built and extremely pretty. Lots of shops and eateries, and they put on stuff to keep people occupied.

My lasting impression was of a big-development resort, with small-town friendliness. The locals were proud of "their mountain". I hope to go back one day.

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