Finally back to sensational SilverStar after about a decade! Once
seen always remembered with it’s remarkable rainbow-coloured buildings. There
used to be a five-colour minimum for exterior paintwork but, due to the rigours
of keeping that up, the requirement’s been dropped to three – but many still
sport more shades than that and the overall impression is of a beautiful
paintbox array of prettiness. These are the million dollar properties but there
are older condos around the resort that start around $100,000 – a fun opportunity
to do a rainbow reno!
If you want the best possible view right onto the home run,
then Snowbird
Lodge is definitely the place to stay. Seconds from the new Des Schumann
gondola, overlooking the bunny run, you see skiers whizzing past, making you feel
part of the view even when indoors.
I could picture myself sitting writing,
watching multi-coloured gondolas swing above equally brightly hued downhillers,
all offset against the sparkling white backdrop, from the comfort our three
bedroom apartment in Snowbird Lodge. Or perhaps, after a magical morning on the
mountain, watching the action from the slopeside hot tub on our panoramic patio.
This is exactly the kind of set-up on our winter wishlist for next season! We
had a sumptuous and spacious apartment, just a quick walk to the resorts top
hangouts such as The
Den Bar & Bistro, Silver
Grill and Red
Antler. Renting for the whole season is, apparently, going to be difficult, though, as there’s 92 percent visitor occupancy from the Christmas holidays to March 1
and then around 75-80 percent occupancy for March.
First day was a fast ski tour with Norman Kreutz, Technical
Director of Snowsports
SilverStar who’s been there since 1984. Bustling until mid-morning, the
slopes unexpectedly cleared out around 11. “It’s because Vernon is very much a
retiree town,” Norman explained. “Every morning the retirees come up for the
first lift and ski until 11 and then make their way home for siestas.” Same
thing happened the next day and we met a lot of said retirees on the
chairlifts, chatty and loving life. Vernon is around 20 mins drive and most
people connected to the resort live there.
 |
| Me with Norman Kreutz |
Norman is a level 4 ski instructor and a trainer for the
other instructors, traveling all over Canada with his work. “There’s a big leap
from level 1 to 2, bigger still to level 3 and really big to 4,” he says. “When
I passed level 4, it was only four of us out of 64. It is very expensive to do,
too, probably about $3000 factoring in lost income.” Lucky to have such an
experienced guide, we did a total resort overview that first day and found
bumps runs to finish us off.
 |
Simon showing off his Elan Ripstick 96 skis which helped him
keep up with Norman |
There was pretty much zero visibility that pm, but
Norman found us plenty of tree runs to give perspective and it was a jealous
joy to follow such an accomplished skier. When we asked him for one tip to work
on this season, he suggested we try to retract our upper ski a couple of
centimetres so that it was ready to initiate the turn earlier, making the edge
transition quicker and smoother. It felt odd, and I seemed to be turning my
toes up to achieve it – almost like we were telemarking! - but we worked on it
on and off our whole trip.
Next day we skied Mineshaft, Christmas Bowl, Big Dipper, and
the Back runs which had just opened, all in great soft snow, lots of bumps,
undulations, trees, and interesting topography – in the most glorious views of
course. The low cloud had lifted revealing lovely runs, interestingly intersected
by Nordic trails, and the most colourful cartoon-like picturesque houses which
dot some of the slopesides.
Lunch at The
Den Bistro included my favourite fare: home-made tomato soup with gluten-free
bread (actually tasty, a good one). There were plenty of vegan options for our
son, Rupert, too, who was amazed to find gluten-free vegan garlic
cheese bread – definitely a first. The Den is a cozy place for evening, too,
with its horizontal wood-clad walls, benches, high tops, sparkly bar with fairy
lights and live music. Here we met up with Hospitality Director, Jesse Crockett
who told us: “More of our team members are vegetarian, vegan or gluten free
each season. At Red
Antler, more than half of the staff, and the chef, are vegetarian. We have
vegan poutine in the café, vegan burgers in the Red Antler and vegan treats.
Our pastry chef has an emphasis on gluten free, including a popular chocolate
cookie and we’ve introduced coconut milk lattes.”
Jesse has worked at SilverStar
for eight years, commuting up from the Okanagan Valley. “We’ve got four kids
under 8, who have grown up skiing at SilverStar,”
says Jesse. “I went away from the area for university where I got a Hotel and
Tourism Degree, and then worked on Vancouver Island at the Fairmont where I started
as a bellman. That really taught me everything about service. As a bellman, you
hear everything, see everything, and learn everything from the bottom up.”
Over
a flight of whiskeys, we tried one from nearby Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery,
another hopped BC whiskey, and a single malt. “Okanagan Spirits is a local
family distillery,” says Jesse. “And we’re partnering with local BC wineries,
too. We already have most of their wines, and we’re talking about branding our
own SilverStar beverages. We want
to focus on the unique to represent SilverStar.”
Wineries are burgeoning in the Okanagan region, leading SilverStar to set up wine festivals
and educational Winemasters’ Dinners: “It’s all about learning why we pair certain
wines with which dishes, learning about the Okanagan wine scene,” Jesse
explains. “Most of these wines are very boutique – they make only 300-400 cases
of it.
This year’s spring wine festival – part of the Seismic
Spring Mountain Festival Mar 22-31 - has attracted the attention of David
Hawksworth: “He is Canada’s number 1 chef and he’s coming this spring to
our newest festival. We’ll have between 750 and 1000 wine tastings this March,
all outdoors around firepits. There will also be wine spirits, craft cider,
craft beer, and lots of competitions – 10 whole days of spring festival
activities.” These will include the Big Drop Competition, held just above Snowbird
Lodge. “It’s off a cliff, the first of its kind anywhere in Canada,” Jesse
enthuses. “They go in with little speed and it’s all about what trick they can
pull off in the drop 30ft drop - unique for the industry.” Another novelty is
downhill mountain bike racing on snow. Not on fat bikes, that would be much too
easy. No, this is a fun spectator sport, Jesse points out: “There are not many
things you get to watch with that much carnage. And they’re not falling on
rocks and sticks, but on snow which is kind of a luxury for the riders.”
Another popular eatery at SilverStar is the Coffee+ café
which Jesse dubs ‘Melbourne Plus’ due to the amount of Aussie workers who hang
out there. “Melbourne is apparently the coffee centre of the universe,” Jesse
explains. “We take coffee as seriously as our whiskey here.” The watering hole
for SilverStar is the Red Antler
where we had drinks and dinner the first night. Live music, open mics, pub
food, fun atmosphere – and the chef is vegetarian so there are lots of veggie,
vegan and GF options among the meaty menu.
Second night was topnotch dining at the Silver
Grill - think elevated and elegant,
intimate with just 34 seats and, if it is still light enough, beautiful views
over the Okanagan Valley. This is the sort of place where the chef comes out to
greet you and check on your meal. A mouthwatering menu
of specialty artisan options and posh pours from local wineries.
This is
where the Wine Dinner Series is held with dates in Jan, Feb and March – a great
excuse for locals to keep going back for more.
New this season is the Live Art
Experience which showcases Jaide
Fox’s powerful paintings. Jaide paints in front
of the audience, deciding spontaneously on her design direction based on music
and mood. Locally she is also known for "functional
art" which includes mugs and ceramics painted with ink.
During skiing on SilverStar’s
back side, we checked out The
Paradise Camp, perfect for a coffee break, leisurely lunch or afternoon
snack. With a western shack-style façade, it’s really cosy courtesy of a
cast-iron fire and, with great service, tasty cookies and huge cinnamon buns,
it was understandably pretty full.
This is where they hold high-altitude cat
dinners at night, with diners taken up in 15-person relays. Here we bumped into
Scott Sanderson, SilverStar’s
roving Executive Chef, who was supervising the first day of the season for
Paradise Camp. Also on-mountain is Lookout Café, an old forestry cabin measuring
just 10x10, serving fancy grilled cheese and latte at weekends.
This could also be a first in Canada (or anywhere for that matter)
– a season pass that also includes free access to Nordic,
snowshoeing, skating,
tubing
and night-skiing.
“With My1Pass
you get to try everything wintersports-related in the best place to do it, with
incredible views, amazing snow conditions, great grooming, and all these beautiful
colourful buildings,” says Jesse. “Cross country is starting to be sexy again –
it’s great for the health but gentler on the body.”
It’s actually pretty unique,
too, to have the cross country ski tracks intersecting the downhill trails - reminded
me of Courchevel in France which is
connected to Meribel
where I worked for a winter season
eons ago. I like the way cross country and downhill gets integrated in that
way. We didn’t get to do any this time – and anyway we’re absolute nuggets at
Nordic – but we did go for a few laps on the lovely rink
near Tube
Town. All the après activities are centred by Brewer’s Pond - the huge skating
and ice hockey rink - surrounded by cute colourful cafés.
Mountain Stats
Skiable Area
- 3rd Largest
Ski Area in BC
- 3,282 Skiable Acres (1,328 hectares)
Number of Runs
- 132 marked runs
- Longest run 8km
Total Vertical Drop
Variety of Terrain
- 15% Easiest + Silver Queen Beginners Area, with
Quad Chair lift access
- 40% Intermediate
- 35% Most Difficult
- 10% Extreme
Annual Snowfall
- 700 cm+ (275 inches+), 100% natural – no snowmaking
required
Average Daytime Temperature
Lifts
10 - with a total uphill capacity
of 14,000 skiers per hour
Nordic Skiing
- 105 km (60 miles) of trails including Sovereign
Lakes
- 4 km lit track for night skiing
- Lift access to upper trails
- 2 certified biathlon ranges
Night Skiing
- Fridays & Saturdays from mid-December to end
of March
- 4 km of lit trails accessed by the Gondola and
Silver Queen
Chairs
- 4 km of lit Nordic trails seven nights a week
SilverStar Terrain Park & Snow Cross
- 16 acres of beginner, intermediate and advanced
lanes with rails and jumps
- Course that can be tuned for regional, national,
and World Cup events
WHAT'S NEW FOR 2018/19
- New
Gondola Opens For Winter –
opening for its first winter season the new Gondola provides quicker
access to Alpine Meadows, Vance Creek and Powder Gulch. The Gondola will
also offer improved access for Beginners, and warm access to the
upper XC Trails. Dogs will also be welcome in Summer, however not Winter
due to limited Trail access. See Gondola Fast Facts for more info
- The
Lookout Cafe Opens for Winter
- In-Room
Aveda Spa Products
- Adventure
Centre Expansion Continues --
Gain an enhanced skiing or riding experience at the Adventure Centre for
kids with expanded magic carpet and new training tools
- Touchscreen
Check-in for Rentals --
Get on the slopes faster with new streamlined touch-screen electronic
rental check-in process
- New
Winch Cat Groomer Added
- Widened
Skiway Access -- Easier
access to the Comet Chair with the new widened Easy Street ski-way from
the village
- Night
skiing just got a
whole lot better with the prospect of a warm and dry ride on the Gondola
- The
Terrain Park -- 4 new
rail features this season
- New
Program: Master’s Monday –
a new weekly Snowsports Program running January, February, and March for ladies
and men 50 years of age and older (drop-ins welcome)
- A new Digital
Grooming Board added at the top of the
Gondola
- Increased
investment in Summer
Grooming enables enhanced early season ski conditions
- The
Zone Beginner Area is
now bigger and better for those new to the sport or for that warm-up run.
- New
Scanners at lifts added
to improve efficiency
- New
Snowshoe options -- a
new trail at the top of the Gondola and New Snowshoe Tours
- Improved
handicap parking access has
been added by the NATC
- New
Espresso Machine at Paradise Camp added, serving Cherry Hill
Coffees
- Silver
Grill now hosting two
Wine Masters Dinners per month
- Elevate
at SilverStar, the Aveda
Concept Spa, will have extended winter opening hours and offerings.
Awards
and Accolades
- Multiple
award-winner in Ski Canada magazine's annual
Best of Category: "Best Family
Resort," "Best Grooming," "Best Terrain
Park," "Best Sun," and "Best News for Tree Skiers"
- Voted the #5
cross-country ski resort in North America by USA Today's 10
Best. SilverStar and Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre were jointly nominated
by three former US Olympians
- Voted the Best
Ski Resort in the Okanagan region for the fourth consecutive
year, SilverStar was also voted the Best Family Resort,
Best Tourist Attraction and Best Place for an
Adrenaline Rush in the North Okanagan. Check out other
awards here.
- Awarded a TripAdvisor
Certificate of Excellence based on the number of positive
reviews. Check out TripAdvisor page here.
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