Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
$200. At all but the smallest municipal courses, club rentals, power carts, and lessons are
available, and at all but the most exclusive city courses, nonmembers are welcomed with
open arms. The mild climate and abundance of water create ideal conditions for the upkeep
of golf courses in the south of the province—you'll be surprised at how immaculately man-
icured most are.
Most of the developed winter recreation areas are in the southern third of the province.
Whether you're a total beginner or an advanced daredevil, BC resorts have a slope to suit
you. The price of lift tickets is generally reasonable, and at most resorts, you don't have to
spend half your day lining up for the lifts.
The best known of all Canadian winter resorts is
Whistler Blackcomb,
north of Van-
couver, but others scattered through the southern interior provide world-class skiing and
boarding on just-as-challenging slopes. The best of these include:
Big White
and
Silver
Star
in the Okanagan Valley;
Red Mountain
and
Whitewater
near Nelson;
Fernie Alpine
Resort
near Fernie;
Panorama
near Invermere; and
Sun Peaks
north of Kamloops. In the
north,
Powder King,
north of Prince George, lives up to its name with an average annual
snowfall around 12 meters (39 feet)—among the highest of any North American resort. You
can even go skiing and boarding out on Vancouver Island at
Mt. Washington.
Heli- and Sno-Cat Skiing and Boarding
Alternatives to resorts are also available. If you're an intermediate or advanced skier or
snowboarder, you can go heli-skiing and heli-boarding in the mind-boggling scenery and
deep, untracked powder of the Coast and Chilcotin Ranges, the central Cariboo Mountains,
the Bugaboos, and the BC Rockies. The world's largest heli-ski operation is
Canadian
Mountain Holidays
(403/762-7100 or 800/661-0252,
www.cmhski.com
)
, founded by Aus-
trian mountain guide Hans Gmoser in the Bugaboos in 1965. Today the operation has grown
to include almost limitless terrain over five mountain ranges accessed from 11 lodges.
Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing
(250/673-8381 or 800/661-9170,
www.wiegele.com
)
of-
fers heli-skiing and heli-boarding in the Monashee and Cariboo Mountains from a luxurious
lodge at Blue River.
Another, less-expensive alternative is to hook up with one of the many Sno-Cat opera-
tions in the province. Sno-Cats are tracked, all-terrain vehicles that can transport skiers and
boarders up through the snow to virgin slopes in high-country wilderness (similar to snow
groomers but capable of carrying passengers). British Columbia has been a world lead-
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