 |
| Silver Star by Louise Hudson |
All ski resorts are by nature beautiful, with
the snowy white blanket smoothing out manmade imperfections and fir trees
adding dark perspective. But Silver Star near Vernon, BC, Canada, goes one step further
to postcard perfection: The whole town is gorgeous with bright colours and
pretty pastels adorning every building.
Influenced by San Francisco’s colourful rainbow row
houses, the Victorian-style architecture reminded me of Whoville (from How The Grinch Stole Christmas). Porches
and boardwalks, paned glass, cute window and door frames are all festooned in
every shade of a kids’ paintbox, making for a vivid contrast with the
monochromatic black-and-white of the winter backdrop.
 |
| Silver Star village centre |
It’s not just the town centre that creates a
rainbow effect. All the residences, hotels and delightfully different family
homes which speckle the ski slopes are multi-coloured to conform to an
architectural blueprint designed in the early ’80s. When you’re skiing, even
the lift stations stand out from the white in their cheerful oranges and
yellows.
And the skiing is as multi-faceted as the
facilities at Silver Star, with 115 runs over 3065 skiable acres, a progression
park, night skiing, Nordic and – brand new for the 2013/14 season – heli skiing
over 117,000 acres with pickups from the resort. Averaging minus-3 in winter, the Okanagan
resort is as temperate as European ski hills but with central B.C.’s dry,
champagne powder.
As a newbie to the terrain, I was guided around the mountain by ski host, Brett Barker, who showed me his favourite powder stashes, giving me a local’s
eye-view of the hill. I relished in the knee-deep snow on Gowabunga, one of the
hill’s toughest double diamonds. And I loved the backside of Silver Star, dappled
in black and double-black glades and bowls, accessed by the Powder Gulch
Express and Home Run Tee.
Silver Star’s daily ski partner service means anyone can join free guided tours of the mountain every morning and/or afternoon. Brett is just one of the team of hosts who show skiers and snowboarders the best places to ski for every level. He recommends Paradise Camp as a mid-mountain stop-off for breakfast and lunch. For fine dining at high altitude, take a cat-ride up to the restaurant in the evenings.
 |
| Courtesy Silver Star |
So what type of skier or boarder would love Silver Star?
Well, I do, and I am an advanced skier with a penchant for powder and glades.
The hill also appeals to intermediates and families with young kids. The
ability split is 15% easy, 40% more difficult, 35% most difficult and 15%
extreme. There are well-spaced, gentle glades in the Silver Woods for
intermediate skier progression. The area also boasts wide, undulating blues and
greens. All of the runs, right up to the 1915-m summit, are tree-bordered,
providing natural guidelines during snowstorms.
Staying on-hill doesn’t get better than at
Snowbird Lodge. Voted best new slopeside accommodation by Ski Canada when it
was first built, the two-bedroom apartments have every necessity and luxury,
including heated bathroom floors and huge decks overlooking the slopes with
private, roofed hot tubs.
Part of Silver Star’s attraction is its
compact community of dedicated staff working in an environment they love. Most
came to ski there in their youth, lured by the reputation for 700 cm of 100 % snow
per year, and found a way to stay. Under Australian ownership originally, 20%
of the seasonal staff annually is recruited from Down Under, giving a lively
multi-cultural panache to the customer service and merry après-ski. From the
helpful shopkeeper at Valhalla Sports to the bakers at Bugaboos, everyone is
cheerful and thoughtful of the guests — and without that robotic veneer
characteristic of textbook North American service training.
 |
| Courtesy Silver Star |
The compact village centre has every facility
a skier could need whether you enjoy downhill or Nordic or are just there to
take in the mountains. Silver Star communications manager, Tim Fitzgerald plays
ice hockey regularly on the village’s skating pond and takes his two daughters snowshoeing
around the town. He also loves the 58 km of Nordic trails which punctuate the
alpine area and are linked to the separate Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, which
offers another 40 km of international competition-level trails.
Three cheers for no chains, since all the
restaurants at Silver Star are individually owned and managed, with great chefs
and differentiating cuisine. The Den is calm and cozy early evening, when you
can tuck up on leather sofas by the fireplace and peruse the extensive exchange
library. As diners start arriving, the atmosphere evolves into animated party
mode with live entertainment and activities, such as Salsa dancing. The
blackboard menu changes daily with a mix of carb fixes, such as nachos and
wings, and culinary highlights, including paella, pork tenderloin and top-shelf
steaks. And, of course, wash it down with local Okanagan wines.
Visit www.skisilverstar.com or call
1-800-663-4431 for ski and stay packages. If you like ski safaris, combine it with a visit to neighbouring Big White.
