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Canada powder trip early 2025

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2.1K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  thecadgod  
#1 ·
Hey everyone: Broken ankle ruined my season but saved me some money for next year so planning to go to Canada from the Netherlands next season.
Going with 3 friends in january / february / march 2025 for about 10 days in search of lift accessable powder and maybe some heli drops.
Does anyone have some solid advice what is the best time to go and what places?
We like to stay close to the lifts (so we dont have to go by car or bus).
Japan is not (yet) an option...
 
#2 ·
Best time to go... I don't know next season's weather. Days get longer later in the season, but the best snow (in terms of quality) is often in the depths of winter. Expect to ride trees early season because the best snow's there and the visibility sends you there. This year early season left a lot of tree skiing "not filled in", but that can work both ways.

If you have to choose then Whistler probably is more reliable early season. Alberta maybe a better bet late season. The interior (the bit in between)... in between. This season Big White was probably best in December... but it was a low tide year (low down) and still is despite over a meter in the last week in most places.

I think you're saying you want "ski in/ ski out", in which case Whistler is the option with the biggest area which offers that. Banff does not. Golden and Revelstoke and Big White and Sun Peaks etc... are harder to get to (will require more flights/ buses) and have smaller areas, plus the towns and the hills are in different places (so the resort areas can lack "night life" if that's your thing).

If you have three buddies then you can form a single "group" in a daily heli A-Star machine. For that, my advice is to check the cancellation terms carefully. Expect to be cancelled, because if they don't have fresh tracks for you, or if the weather is not flyable, they will cancel you. You've a better chance of getting out late season (more sun, less cloud and snowfall). If you book your day(s) early in your trip, you have a chance to re-book if you're cancelled. If you book with an operator which also runs cats... there may be a cat fallback option (which will give you more vertical for less money and a longer day). First time heli boarders are an unknown quantity and won't be taken anywhere where their inexperience causes risk.
 
#3 ·
If you have to choose then Whistler probably is more reliable early season. Alberta maybe a better bet late season. The interior (the bit in between)... in between. This season Big White was probably best in December... but it was a low tide year (low down) and still is despite over a meter in the last week in most places.
I would say the opposite. Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Mt Norquay all open much earlier than Whistler, which suffered with a lot of rain this year. Reliable early season snow, the Alberta resorts are a better bet. That said, for best snow, I'd be looking at Feb/March time. Have had 3-4 months of snowfall to build up the base, and hopefully miss the -30 spells we often get in Dec/Jan. Typically March is the snowiest month here.

Staying close to the lifts I'd probably be looking at Revelstoke, Big White, and Sun Peaks. I'd go in February for those resorts. That said, the bus system in Banff is reliable, free, and simple. Lots of pick up locations and they run frequently. I'd go late Feb or early March for Banff, with heli options about 1.5-2hrs away towards Panorama and Kicking Horse/Golden.
 
#4 ·
Snow in the interior is way WAY WAY better than Whistler's coastal snow or man made snow.
Whistler is also very crowded and powder days last about 3 runs before it's tracked out.
Fly into Calgary for these resorts and skip Whistler all together.

Sun Peaks, Big White, Red, Revelstoke, Fernie, and Kicking Horse in BC
Can also do Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Mt Norquay in Alberta
For Cat boarding - https://baldface.com/valhalla/

BC is HUGE!
5 hours in the car in Europe is multiple countries, in BC, it can be the next big town.

Not much in the way of public transit to many of the resorts and across BC/Alberta
Really look at renting a car to maximize the trip.
if you rent a car, you open up so many options.

Research doing a "powder highway" trip?
You will have more options and a better time if you rent a car.

The heli / cat idea sounds great, but that requires you to book so far in advance.
"Maybe some heli" drops is tough.
If that's going to be part of your trip, you pretty much have to book your trip around those dates.
Heli / Cat trips in BC are very popular and fill up pretty quickly once the long term forecast for winter is announced.

Snow sure months are a crap shoot these days. This year is a prime example!
Mid Fed we often have a two week cold and dry spell. This year we had a warm and rainy one.
Right now we are getting dumped on, but that's not always the case in March.
No one knows what the snow will be like 10 months from now.
 
#5 ·
I've been to a lot of places in Canada (Lake Louise, Banff Sunshine), Whistler, Fernie, Sun Peaks, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke (and Red Mountain and Big Red Cats this weekend).

Fernie, Sun Peaks, Whistler were quite memorable.

I say before committing to an early trip 2025 - find out if it's going to be an El Nino, or a La Nina year next season (they usually know by late summer). If it's an El Nino year, I say may want to delay your trip a month or two. Or save some coin and go to Hokkaido for guaranteed snow early season or check out Alaska.
 
#6 ·
Thank you everyone, this really helps. Still have a lot to figure out. Starting with expanding my horizon and not staring blind at Canada. One thing is clear: booking the next few months is not so wise... which makes sense nowadays. Here in Europe one week is great and the other week sucks. Zero guarantees...
 
#7 · (Edited)
The powder highway is a good idea, could try to hit a couple. Some don’t have accomodations on the hill. Revy has some, but it‘s rediculously expensive. Big white does, but it’s not commercial, it’s all privately owned. If you book through central reservations big white takes 45%, so it’s cheaper to do Airbnb, VRBO or whatever, but quality is more variable. The good places often book a season ahead, so now is actually the time. Late Feb and early March are probably the safest bet for snow…

Image

As the days get longer it does really warm up. I think it was 18/19 that we lost over 100 cm during the 3rd week of March.

Our base is currently over 200 cm, though if it’s another El Nino year it’d be a good time to hit the Rockies.
 
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