xc skiing area near Vancouver ?

01 Apr 2008 20:55:49

mike

I might have to move to Vancouver from Ottawa, where Gatineau Park
with 200km of ski trail is less than an hour away. And we are still
skiing in April.

Are there any good cross country ski areas near Vancouver?

.... Mike H

01 Apr 2008 23:02:15

Re: xc skiing area near Vancouver ?

I think there's nordic skiing at the Olymnpic snowboard facility just
north of town, and Whistler Olympic Park is now open.
http://whistlerolympicpark.com/

mike <mike.hui@rogers.com > wrote:

> I might have to move to Vancouver from Ottawa, where Gatineau Park
> with 200km of ski trail is less than an hour away. And we are still
> skiing in April.
>
> Are there any good cross country ski areas near Vancouver?
>
> .... Mike H

01 Apr 2008 21:16:34

Re: xc skiing area near Vancouver ?

The Whistler Olympic park (Callaghan Valley trails) are about two and
a half hours north of Vancouver (from the airport at least) so not
exactly close. The trails are amazing though. The race trails all stay
within the stadium area and are great, wide race trails but the real
gems are the recreational trails that stray away from the stadiums.
I'm sure there will be good skiing for a few more weeks as there was a
ton of snow in Callaghan about 12 days ago.
I have also skied the Lost Lake trails in Whistler village (also about
2 and a half hours from Vancouver, and they are pretty nice too. Not
as challenging as Callaghan but good for about 20km of trails
(Callaghan has 50km).
Closer to Vancouver, there is Cypress mountain at the Hollyburn nordic
ski trails. I haven't been there but I am told they are decent enough
for something 30 minutes from downtown Van. Very hilly is what I am
told. I think there is 30km of skiing there.
In terms of finding something to compare to the Gatineau, I'm afraid
you will be hard pressed to find that out west. I'm in the Bow valley
(Calgary) and we have to drive at least an hour to get to the good
stuff.

Hope this helps.

Cyrus

02 Apr 2008 09:46:43

Re: xc skiing area near Vancouver ?

For someone moving to Vancouver, it pays to pick a location that allows
easy access to the north. For visitors, it's good to know that
Vancouver is poorly designed for getting through quickly from the
airport, which is on the south side of town, to areas north such as
Squamish and Whistler. It can take up to 45 minutes or more just to get
to the highway north of town, depending when one travels. For the
Olympics, they're building a cross-town subway that will go to a bus
depot on the north side, but for the typical visitor at other times I'm
not sure how much use that will be. They are also rebuilding the
highway to Whistler, improving the ride and adding a second lane here
and there. All of this is an outgrowth of central government funding
for the Olympics. That Sea to Sky highway has been heavily used by
natives and tourists for decades, but if you've ever taken it, you've
gotten a sense of how little investment has gone into infrastructure,
at least in BC. Sort of punctures the notion of liberal Canada.

rm

ckangarloo@gmail.com wrote:

> The Whistler Olympic park (Callaghan Valley trails) are about two and
> a half hours north of Vancouver (from the airport at least) so not
> exactly close. The trails are amazing though. The race trails all stay
> within the stadium area and are great, wide race trails but the real
> gems are the recreational trails that stray away from the stadiums.
> I'm sure there will be good skiing for a few more weeks as there was a
> ton of snow in Callaghan about 12 days ago.
> I have also skied the Lost Lake trails in Whistler village (also about
> 2 and a half hours from Vancouver, and they are pretty nice too. Not
> as challenging as Callaghan but good for about 20km of trails
> (Callaghan has 50km).
> Closer to Vancouver, there is Cypress mountain at the Hollyburn nordic
> ski trails. I haven't been there but I am told they are decent enough
> for something 30 minutes from downtown Van. Very hilly is what I am
> told. I think there is 30km of skiing there.
> In terms of finding something to compare to the Gatineau, I'm afraid
> you will be hard pressed to find that out west. I'm in the Bow valley
> (Calgary) and we have to drive at least an hour to get to the good
> stuff.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Cyrus