Revelstoke, Big White & Silver Star, BC: Feb 2016

First time poster. Thought I’d contribute some more western ski porn as an intro.

This was our first chance to really ski this season after a disappointing trip to Lake Placid at Christmas.

Traveling from Toronto we used Kelowna as a home base to ski Silver Star and Big White the first couple days (both are easy day trips within an hour's drive).

We were slightly concerned our ski jinx had followed us out west after getting hard, crusty conditions at Silver Star on day one and good snow but impenetrable fog at Big White on day two.

Fortunately our luck turned for the better over the weekend at Revelstoke. Despite only a few inches of new snow reported, we found good visibility and a fresh layer of powder covering the mountain, which got topped up with snow flurries both afternoons.

Our last day we went back to Big White after checking the weather and snow reports in the morning and were rewarded with a mostly clear, super fun day that was the perfect way to close out the trip.

Lake Okanagan


SILVER STAR
Thursday, February 11

View from Summit


"Chute 5"


"Canntastic"


Groomer on the Dark Side


BIG WHITE
Friday, February 12

"Talon's Grip"


Gem Lake Express


"Blue Ribbon"


REVELSTOKE

The Village Idiot


Gnorm


Saturday, February 13



"Tasty Glades"


North Bowl




"Snow Rodeo"


"Fast Fred's"


"Vertigo"


"Separate Reality"


Sunday, February 14

"Pitch Black"


"Upper South Side"


More Trees


BIG WHITE
Monday, February 15

Snow Ghosts off Alpine T Bar


Cliff Chair




"Bear's Paw"


Falcon Chair


"Playground"


Big White and Silver Star are comparable in size with Big White being a bit more built up, polished and family oriented. As intermediate skiers we found it to have really great, varied terrain and to be skiable virtually from boundary to boundary (at least when we could see where we were going). Both days there we parked at the Westridge Warming Hut which was super convenient as we basically had it to ourselves. That side of the mountain off the Gem Lake Express lift was a lot quieter and featured some really nice, long rolling groomers. Our second day we worked our way across all six peaks to the Black Forest section and back. And finished by lapping the Falcon Chair until they shut it down.

Silver Star apparently is typically the less crowded of the two and known as more of a locals mountain. It also seemed to have a bit more advanced terrain, especially on The Back Side (aka The Dark Side). We spent most of our time skiing off the Comet Six-Pack and Powder Gulch express and barely scratched the surface of those areas. Next time would definitely want to get more into the trees and explore Attridge and Silver Woods.

The scale of Revelstoke was really impressive and on another level. The way it’s set up you end up skiing the top of the mountain off two lifts (The Stoke chair on the front and The Ripper off the back) the majority of the time. Or at least that's what we did. On the occasions we took runs further down the conditions became more spring like the closer you got to Mid-Mountain. Even with the holiday weekend “crowds” there was so much territory it never felt crowded, other than a few choke points on some of the cat tracks that filter back to the lifts. Still we never ran out of good snow and it was never hard to find clean lines. In fact probably our best runs were our last runs from the top each day. Great little ski town too that has just enough but isn't over done.

Overall, awesome trip.

Overall awesome first post!



(Chute 5 FTW).

Wow

Some great looking conditions too. I had friends that went to Revelstoke and Big White last year - they loved it but, the Wet was wet and hot while the East had great conditions so, he couldn't wait to go back when the conditions were ripe out West.  Going to show my friend these photos..

So, these mountains good for families you say? In what perspective?

Nice!  Welcome.

Beauty TR.  Sure beats the East this year, eh?..,  always good to keep things in perspective.  

Oh, and welcome to the forum

Great trip report. It looks very crowded.

DAM... great TR.  Great shots at great spots

Welcome!!

Thats amazing.  I am flying out of Toronto in two weeks to go to BIg White for 6 days of skiing.  We got a March break special where we are paying $1400CDN PP including flight, tickets for 6 days, shuttle to and from Kelowna and ski in and ski out lodging at Big White.  I am so excited to go there.  I have not been out west in almost a decade.  We choose Big White for the family friendliness, lots of intermediate runs and lots of family activities.  Since I am going with my 8 year old I wanted something that was fun for everyone.

Claude

Great first TR , looks like you found the Mother Load , and welcome to the forum!!

OH CANADA!

Harvey wrote

Overall awesome first post!



(Chute 5 FTW).

Thanks Harvey, great site. Have really appreciated and relied on the reports here over the past couple seasons when planning our trips.

Skiray wrote

Some great looking conditions too. I had friends that went to Revelstoke and Big White last year - they loved it but, the Wet was wet and hot while the East had great conditions so, he couldn't wait to go back when the conditions were ripe out West.  Going to show my friend these photos..

So, these mountains good for families you say? In what perspective?

This was definitely a good year to go west.

Big White especially is geared towards families. We didn't stay on mountain or spend much time in the village but there seemed to be a wide range of accommodations and selection of restaurants, shops and other activities available. From what we saw and the interactions we had everything seemed to be pretty well run. From a skiing perspective there's plenty of terrain and it's varied enough to satisfy a range of abilities.

Silver Star is similar but the accommodations and village are on a smaller scale. For some people that might be preferable. Skiing is as good or better.

Revelstoke I wouldn't describe as a family resort. It's just not set up that way. More extreme terrain with less variety for those in the beginner-lower intermediate range. While the lodging, shops and restaurants that are available at the base are nice, the options are limited. If your kids are into cat or heli skiing though...

All great hills that are tough to choose between. Fortunately they're close enough together that it's easy to do a combination of all three or a couple of them on a single trip. For the average family though Big White would probably tick the most boxes and be the most convenient.

BigK75 wrote

Thats amazing.  I am flying out of Toronto in two weeks to go to BIg White for 6 days of skiing.  We got a March break special where we are paying $1400CDN PP including flight, tickets for 6 days, shuttle to and from Kelowna and ski in and ski out lodging at Big White.  I am so excited to go there.  I have not been out west in almost a decade.  We choose Big White for the family friendliness, lots of intermediate runs and lots of family activities.  Since I am going with my 8 year old I wanted something that was fun for everyone.

Claude

Sounds like a great deal. You'll have a fantastic time. Just be sure to pack some low/ flat light lenses for your goggles!