You can smell it in the air: winter is coming, and if you're looking for inspiration on where to ski, we have some ideas.
Kiplinger caught up with professional skier Alex Armstrong this week at a screening of the latest ski and snowboard film from Teton Gravity Research. The Jackson Hole-based media company has been immortalizing athletes' epic lines, triumphs and general stoke for almost three decades, and their new movie, Legend Has It, lives up to that hype with showcases from the peaks of Patagonia to Palisades Tahoe in California, and from the immense Karakoram Range in Pakistan to Alaskan heights.
Now, your ski and snowboard plans this winter may not necessarily involve taking a helicopter to a distant peak and careening off an icy cliff, but if you're looking for ideas, Armstrong has them.
Where this professional is skiing this winter
Armstrong was "born from ice originally," she told Kiplinger, in Ottawa, Canada. But she's since taken her talents out west, and most of her favorite places to ski are around British Columbia – sorry, Northeast skiers.
She lives in Squamish and is planning to spend a good amount of this winter skiing in Whistler, British Columbia, a quick drive up the road for her and an hour and a half drive from Vancouver. It has "such an amazing variety of terrain that I really can’t access anywhere else," she said.
In particular, her favorite ski resort is Whistler Blackcomb.
"The backcountry off it is amazing, but also the inbounds terrain is just a proving ground as well as a great training ground for myself," she explained.
Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski resort in North America, according to its site, with the two mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb combining for over 8,000 acres including three glaciers and over 200 marked runs. It gets 448 inches of snow annually on average. A day pass is currently $311 for adults, while an unlimited season pass is $1,014, although the site notes that prices are going to go up on November 19.
However, if you're looking for a particular ski town, Armstrong has another suggestion: "Shockingly, my favorite ski town is not where I live," she told Kiplinger with a laugh.
In fact, her favorite ski town is Golden, British Columbia, which is about a three-hour drive west from Calgary. The local ski resort there is Kicking Horse, which the skier sums up as "nice and steep, lots of dry powder and not too busy."
Kicking Horse calls itself the "Champagne Powder Capital of Canada," due to the ridges and bowls that protect snow for longer periods. It has over 3,400 acres to ski and 120 runs. A day pass for an adult is currently about $101 to $123, depending on the day of the week, while a full winter season pass is about $1,555 for adults.
Whether you're a backcountry legend in the making or just someone enjoying the ride down the bunny slope before a dip in the hot tub, there's plenty of options out there this winter. If you're heading to Canada from the U.S., remember to pack your passport (and check how long it takes to renew your passport) or NEXUS card. Happy shredding!
