Canada Calling

My son, Fergus somersaulting at Lake Louise
Photo by Cam Sadler

I've just arrived in Canada: going to be skiing at Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Nakiska in Alberta and Kimberley in British Columbia over the next two weeks - bliss! The resorts of Alberta and the East Kootenays in BC are perfect for a ski safari. Even the driving segments between ski hills are gorgeous with all that national park scenery, towering mountain backdrop, Rocky Mountain sheep and elk grazing nearby (sometimes on the road) and usually not too many hold ups. Snow clearance is really good in Canada and there is never too much traffic in all that winter wilderness. I love stopping off a quirky rural townships and trying out community cafes - there's a trendy one in Radium called Meet on Higher Ground that has gluten free bread and cakes and organic lattes.

Showing off my Savory 7s at Snowbasin, Utah in Feb

As you read this, I'm probably in Calgary picking up my brand new Savory 7 Rossignol skis. I rented these at Sundance in Feb, and then again when I skied Deer Valley, Alta, Snowbasin and Canyons. And I really hated giving them back to Ski Butlers rental service! I had wanted to try out a fat powder ski to see if that was what I wanted to buy next. And, of course, they were fabulous in all the Utah powder and churned up fresh snow. What I was amazed by was how great they also were on the hard-packed, slick sections of groomers and on bumps. Hero skis!

Chatting with Calgary's Ian Hunter recently, I discovered the science behind my practical perceptions. Ian, Rossignol rep for AB and East Kootenays, told me the Savory 7 (and the Soul 7 for men) is a hybrid ski, merging rocker technology with camber and sidecut. The rocker components at tip and tail give the ski "super turnability and floatation in powder because of its water ski shape," he explains. The camber aspects in the middle of the ski give stability and a solid platform for harder packed, groomed snow. "If you have to have just one ski it should be the Soul (or Savory) 7," Ian says. And as Rossignol has exceeded its sales expectations for the 7 series by 400 percent, it looks like the general public agrees.

Silvertip Club Lodge

Another interesting Canadian snippet - a new heli ski venture launching next season. It's the Silvertip Club, a luxurious lakeside lodge in the Cariboo Mountains. Previously part of the Canadian Mountain Holidays portfolio before the Intrawest/Fortress takeover, the lovely lodge was bought by John Baker, an Atlanta architect/businessman who was introduced to heli by CMH's legendary founder, Hans Gmoser. "Getting out of the helicopter, the snow literally went up to my waist and we were on the skinny skis back then, 2 10s," John told me. "There were two guides but also this third guy. Just after we took off after the first run, the third guide came up and tapped me on the shoulder and said come with me. He figured if anyone needed help it was me! I ended up with a half day private lesson and it turned out to be with Hans Gmoser!"

Having been hooked on heli since, John's now seeking six select members for his own private heli ski club. Buy in is between $375,000 and $500,000, but members get an equity share of the business and choice of fully-staffed heli weeks and secluded summer vacations - complete with spa chalet - for life. After coughing up the initial membership fee, a private heli week will cost half of typical heli ski operations. And there's room for up to 22 friends for a heavenly heli house party - just remember to invite me along!

Heli Heaven at Silvertip Club

You can also find out how skiing keeps families playing together by checking out my article on Parallel Play in Canada's Big 3 ski resorts at: http://www.abcmag.co.uk/digital/default.asp (scroll to page 114-115).

If you've never skied, how about trying Ski Canada's Discover packages? Available at various resorts around Canada, these start at $30. Typical packages include beginner lift tickets, rentals and a one hour group lesson in your choice of skiing, snowboarding or Cross Country - www.skicanada.org. It could completely change your life and the way you spend your vacations.

And if elevated eating is more your cup of tea, check out my article in Eat Drink Travel at: http://www.eatdrinktravelmag.com/elevatedeateries/#more-4842 

Olympic Reflections

Sochi Closing Ceremony

With the Olympics dominating TV for the past few weeks, it comes as quite a let down when you can't watch world class athletes whizzing across the snow and ice every night at the click of a button.

But it also inspires a lot of people to get off the couch and onto the slopes. Even in the UK where there are no ski resorts, ski fever has been so intense that there's been a surge in attendance at the 60 or so indoor ski facilities all over the country. Visits to the Hemel Hempstead Snow Centre website are triple the level of the same time last year and on the day Jenny Jones won bronze for Snowboard Slopestyle, visitors quadrupled expectations. Skiplex saw a 160 percent website surge on "Jenny day" as well as hundreds of parent calls.

In Canada, Resorts of the Rockies (RCR) is reporting an increase in ski clubs booking training space at Olympic venue, Nakiska. "There's also been much interest in the Para Alpine events coming up with many clubs training in Kimberley, British Columbia," says RCR's Matt Mosteller. "In Fernie it is all big mountain and freestyle programs which are up in club participants over 20 percent." In the USA, Mike Jankowski - US Freeskiing and Snowboarding Head Coach - launched his ski career in Arizona Snowbowl in the 90s. The resort has seen record rates this season, partly due to their strong links with the Games.

Kelsey Serwa, Ski Cross Olympic Silver Medallist from
Big White

At Big White, BC, Kelsey Serwa's silver medal is inspiring parents to boost their kids' abilities. "Since Kelsey has won Olympic Silver Medal we have seen an increase in booking inquiries in our children’s after school program by 12 percent," says Senior VP, Michael Ballingall. "Interest in the race club is up but new bookings cannot be manufactured until next season. With this increase in activity especially in the children’s sector we are putting on an extra children’s camp for spring break."

I know how these wannabees all feel: I have the ski itch after watching the Olympics. If I hadn't already booked a ski holiday to Canada next week, I know I would be googling right now to book a trip! It's a great time to ski - March is traditionally one of the snowiest months of the winter, there's been a substantial buildup of snow over the past four months, and there's the bonus of warmer weather than early season.

During the fall, I managed to interview several Canadian Olympic hopefuls for a couple of stories I was writing - one for the Dallas Morning News and another project for the Calgary Herald. Tracking the interviewees' progress, I saw that one of them, Rosalind Groenewoud got seventh place in the finals of the Ski Half Pipe - a particular privilege to be there, she said, since this was the first Olympics to include her discipline. Although she didn't come away with a medal, Roz congratulated the winners on her facebook page, saying she was proud to be part of the female freeski community.

In between studies at Quest University near Whistler, Roz trains hard around Canada for freeski events and took precious time from her arduous schedule to talk to me about her home hill. Her formative years were spent at Castle Mountain in Alberta, Canada - still a haven for her when the pressure builds up. “My family has a double-wide trailer on site so it is a great place for family time, both on and off the slopes,” she told me. This is where she first got to grips with the punishing pace of moguls and big air. “The freestyle club's mogul course is now first-rate,” she said. “Many future Olympians have trained or competed there.” Her tip for Korea 2018: "I think it is a big possibility we'll see at least one Castle skier - maybe Davis Clement - going to the Olympics in moguls in 2018."

Jenn Heil (left) at Sochi

Jennifer Heil was one of the moguls analysts at Sochi. A former Olympian herself, I spoke to her early in the season about her home hill, Marmot Basin where she even has her own run - Jenn’s Run. “It is really special to me because Marmot Basin played such a critical role in both my ski development and life long passion for skiing,” she told me. Jenn also worked as a specialist in revolving issues at Sochi. Now she's looking forward to introducing her toddler to cross-country, skating and, of course, downhill skiing at Marmot. 

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, Marmot Basin has a big birthday bash planned for March 8 at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, a great place to combine sublime skiing during the day with fancy festivities by night. The Masquerade Ball includes a champagne reception, live music and dancing and four-course banquet. Ticket holders get a free ski day at nearby Marmot Basin with outdoor barbecue, family activities, music, prizes and lots of birthday cake. 

For memories of Marmot from the early days, check out Loni Klettl's blog. Loni was also an Olympic skier, still lives in Jasper and has never missed a year at Marmot since it opened.

Dave and Maya Duncan at Sochi

I don't know about you but I found the ski and boarder cross competitions the most exciting and most nerve-wracking events of the Games! Winning seemed more about survival of the fittest, last man standing, a bit like that Rollerball movie years ago. Canadian Ski Cross champ, David Duncan was a Sochi contender with high hopes. I interviewed him pre-Olympics about his love of Kicking Horse in British Columbia. “Competitive skiing can be a grind at times, so it was always nice returning home to Kicking Horse and remember why I love skiing,” he told me. “The mountain has helped keep the balance between racing and recreating.”  He said the best time to ski Kicking Horse was pretty much now: "after a fresh snowfall or sunny spring day."He missed medalling but you can read more about his signature Sochi experiences on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/duncanfanpage 

It's been a big week for newspaper publications for me. Here are the links:

To find out why mountain getaways are good for your health, check out my latest article in the Calgary Herald Travel section last Saturday: http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Mountain+getaway+options+that+also+good/9536390/story.html 

And for those who get really cold skiing (and are jealous of my heated boots, heated gloves and heated ski vests), please read my article in the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/life/travel/now-list/article/Ski-gear-that-will-help-you-stay-extra-warm-on-5252104.php. Being warm can make a huge difference in your skiing as well as your entire ski vacation.

If you're a new mum or know someone who is, check out my Dallas Morning News article about Lake Louise's daycare facilities for newborn babies: http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/travel/ski-snow/20140221-new-moms-can-hit-the-slopes-pronto-at-lake-louise.ece

Celebrity Skiing

I bumped into Conan O'Brien at Deer Valley the other day. Not literally, fortunately; he just happened to be in the same lovely lunch lodge as my ski group. We were having an amazing time, skiing light Utah powder and exploring all the glades. It’s funny, though, how having celebs hanging around adds instant cachet to the destination. Even though you know a ski hill is great yourself, it often takes someone famous to clinch it for you. 

Matt Mosteller with Chris Nolan at Nakiska

It got me thinking about “celebrity endorsement” in general. Hubby, Dr Simon Hudson is a tourism researcher and he loves researching subjects like that. Here’s a snippet of what he has to say on the value of celebrity patronage to a tourism destination:

“Encouraging celebrities to use tourism and hospitality products can result in considerable media coverage, and can therefore help to promote that particular product. For example, Richard Branson built Virgin Atlantic Airways with the help of a strong public relations campaign that included inviting as many rock stars as possible to fly on his airline. Destinations, too, can benefit from celebrity visits. The ski resorts at Whistler, BC, have a reputation for attracting high- profile film and music stars, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Costner and British singer Seal, as well as business magnates like Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Many consider the 1998 visit to Whistler by Prince Charles and his sons, Princes William and Harry, as the biggest thing to have happened on the Whistler celebrity scene.”

This is an excerpt from Simon’s book Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: A Global Perspective published by Sage and also available from Amazon (I wrote the case studies).

Robert Redford at Sundance by Kristina Loggia

Of course Utah resorts in the vicinity of Sundance (there are 11 of them within an hour of Salt Lake City airport) are regularly bestowed with the presence of film stars, producers and famous musicians. The Sundance Film Festival itself attracts hundreds of stars from all over the world each February – notably this year One Direction’s Harry Styles who caused much groupie groveling in Main Street Park City. And the spin off is that they often fall in love with Utah ski resorts much like Robert Redford did in the 1960s before he bought Sundance.

Like Redford, many of these celebs go a stage further, buying homes in the area. Will Smith, Katherine Heigl and Jeffrey Katzenberg have all recently invested in Park City, for example. Ski resorts don’t tend to exploit their star attractions, they prefer to give them privacy; but you can be sure that the chance sightings by media as well as general public reinforce their street cred.

Pierce Brosnan acting like a tourist at Sunshine Village

Another ski resort annually besieged with stars of stage and screen is Sunshine Village, near Banff in Alberta. Every January the Waterkeeper Alliance fundraiser is staged there by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, with a different celebrity lineup each year including stars like Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Michael Keaton, Kelsey Grammer. Alec Baldwin is a firm fixture, taking part in ski, snowshoe and toboggan races plus gala events over two days. Last year he ran into my ski buddy, Yana Doyle in the Java Lift café. “He started chatting with us because he was crazy about my daughter Sadie," she told me. "He said he wished he had had more children.” He was so nice and normal that Yana didn’t even think to ask for a photo but she wished she had afterwards.

Powder Matt with Ellen Page at Nakiska

Leonardo DiCaprio spent two months filming Inception in Alberta's Kananaskis area. While there, Matt Mosteller (Powder Matt) and his wife, Maureen did private ski coaching at Nakiska for all the actors including DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. They also coached Ellen Page (star of Juno). "It was an amazing experience to be able to share the incredible natural beauty of the Canadian Rockies not only on set at Nakiska but also when we shot some scenes for Inception in Fernie, British Columbia," said Matt. "Fernie really took their breathe away the backdrop of the Lizard Range wrapping around the spectacular Elk River valley." The Mostellers had a blast spending time with all the crew. "Especially Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy and Director Christopher Nolan as each was real down to earth and we shared some very special moments with each of them," said Matt. "Not very often that you are in the hot tub with an all star cast from a DiCaprio movie!" The Mostellers still keep in touch with their famous friends and often provide coaching tips to Hollywood stars.

Matt with Tom Hardy at Nakiska

When you think of it, skiing is the perfect disguise for celebs trying to go incognito: they can go out in public covered up with helmet, goggles, face masks and bulky ski gear with little fear of being recognized unless they disrobe in the lodge. Years ago, in Verbier, Switzerland, when my son Rupert was just five, we bumped into Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson (who was then married to Prince Andrew) on the slopes. I knew she was around because my ski instructor friend, Jo had been coaching her daughters. I said to Rupert: "Look over there, there's a duchess and a couple of princesses." He looked around madly but said "I can't see any." I replied "With that woman over there all in black with the red hair sticking out of her hat." "Oh," he said, disappointedly. "I was looking for someone in a princess dress!"

A regular royal resort, Verbier is also the destination where Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas were first spotted together. Princess’s Beatrice and Eugenie still visit with their former chalet-girl mother and Prince William has also been accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge. Princess Eugenie celebrated her birthday there at La Carrefour restaurant last year. Carrefour is a lovely restaurant just above Verbier village, where I've spent many a lazy lunch or apres ski session. We even used to go up there for evening parties if the drive was do-able. Verbier has always been a big celebrity hangout, with Richard Branson owning a chalet there and James Blunt, Lawrence Dallaglio and Carl Fogarty recently launching as restaurateurs. They opened a slopeside restaurant last year and later added the Cuckoo's Nest to their slope side repertoire, with a menu that includes 'Sarah Ferguson specialities'. Made in Chelsea cast members are known to frequent the mountain chic après ski bar, La Rouge. Others spotted around town include Pixie Lott, Jason Statham, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Diana Ross (who opened the jumbo ski lift back in 1987).

Although resorts don't like to intrude on celebrity privacy, I've persuaded a few more to admit to hosting the following famous skiers and snowboarders: 

Lindsey Vonn at Lake Louise Winterstart
World Cup

Lake Louise, AB, Canada - Every year the world's best downhillers assemble for the Winterstart event which launches the racing season. A great time to collect autographs. Lindsey Vonn was there in early December and she did a great job mingling with the crowds, happily chatting and posing for pictures.

Fernie, BC, Canada – Justin Timberlake snowboards there and has done catskiing and snowmobiling. Fernie also hosted crews and stars of Hot Tub Time Machine.

Canadian Mountain Holidays – Richard Branson heli-skied at CMH’s Valemount lodge this season: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/heli-skiing-in-canada

Silver Star, BC, Canada – Nicole Kidman (and sister Antonia) and Keith Urban spotted there for the past two seasons.

WhistlerBlackcomb, Canada – Gene Simmons owns a home here and is seen with his family regularly. Other famous visitors include Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz, Nas, Channing Tatum, Chelsea Handler, Usher, Queen Latifah, Lil’ Jon, Terry O’Quin, Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Black, Cindy Crawford, Richard Branson, Tori Spelling, Paris Hilton, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Tom Cruise, Heidi Klum, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Costner, Seal, Bill Gates, Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry,

Sundance, UT - This year’s festival lineup included Steven Spielberg, Keira Knightley, Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bradley Cooper, Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Nicholas Hoult, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kellan Lutz, Elizabeth Olsen, Bill Hader, Goldie Hawn, Aaron Paul, Rachel McAdams, Emile Hirsch, Anna Kendrick, Joe Manganiello, Melanie Lynskey, George Takei, Joshua Jackson, Diane Kruger, Elijah Wood and Michael Shannon.

Aspen, CO – Celebs are two a penny in Aspen – notables include Mel Gibson, Victoria Beckham and Mariah Carey. Home hill for snowboarding star Gretchen Bleiler

Breckenridge, CO – Lots of Olympians train there including Bobby Brown, Keri Herman, Shaun White. 

Vail, CO - Lindsey Vonn lives at The Ritz-Carlton Residences when she’s training and has also showed Tiger around the slopes. Michelle Obama and family skied there. Paris Hilton, Jessica Biel, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have also visited.

Telluride, CO – Tom Cruise, Oprah and Jerry Seinfeld own property there and Robert Redford and Ralph Lauren have visited.

Jackson Hole, WY – Dick Cheney and Harrison Ford own property; Tiger Woods, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jim Carrey and Sandra Bullock have visited.

Mammoth, CA – Being so close to Hollywood means multiple celeb sightings including regulars Arnold Swarzenegger, Cameron Diaz, Keifer Southerland and Tony Hawk. Paul McCartney has also skied there. 

SunValley, Idaho – Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams and Tom Hanks own houses nearby. And Bruce Willis used to own Soldier Mountain Ski Resort in Idaho, but in 2012 decided to donate it to the community.