Interior slopes offer fun on or off skis

Four B.C. resorts serve up inventive programs for family fun in the snow

Chris Keam is a single parent who’d like to introduce his daughter to the joys of skiing—gently. “I’d really just play it by ear and see how she is responding to it,” the Vancouver video editor says. “If it wasn’t going well, I’d probably want to explore other things too…like tobogganing, which is easier with a five-year-old than skiing all day, every day.”

Four ski destinations in B.C.’s Interior have just the thing. Sun Peaks Resort (near Kamloops), Silver Star Mountain Resort (near Vernon), Big White Ski Resort (near Kelowna), and Apex Mountain Resort (near Penticton) serve up some very inventive programs that don’t require skis for kids, youth, and grownups.

Roger’s Pass and Me

A web-footed West Coaster ponders snow, slush, and sickening spins on black ice

I’ve lived in Vancouver for thirteen years and naively believed I’d left winter driving behind. It waited for me one December weekend at the crux of Yoho, Kootenay and Banff National Parks. Winter road report: packed, slippery in sections with occasional panic patches.

Toqued and goretexed, Jen and I bravely slushed into Revelstoke after a couple of hours of front-wheel driving along the Trans-Canada. While I concentrated on keeping the Mazda inside two furrows on the road, Jen ~ fresh from a stint in internet marketing ~ remarked how the endless flakes of alien snow looked like a screen saver flying into the windshield.

“When does snowmobile season start?” I asked a Chevron attendant, noting the parade of Ski-doo-toting pickup trucks gassing up at the pumps. “Honey,” the attendant drawled as she handed me a tourist map, “It’s been snowmobile season for two months“.

Heading for the Hills? Then Get on the Bus

Stress-free snow bus services to B.C. mountains for when you’d rather ride than drive

Mittens firmly in the 10 and 2 o’clock positions, I was driving behind a Greyhound bus one winter morning when an impatient driver turned a Celica from a side road in front of the coach, lost control on the icy shoulder, bounced off the side of the bus, and–shooting off fractured quarter panels and shattered glass–spun to a stop five metres in front of me. I realized then that I’d be better off inside the bus than behind it.

Ski-tour operators and bus companies agree. Moose Travel Network, Destination Snow, Canadian Outback, Snowclub, and even Greyhound have hit the highways with stress-free bus services to B.C. mountains. Cheap and flexible, the ski-bus trips are ideal for adventurous skiers and snowboarders–both locals and tourists–who’d rather ride than drive.

Unlike the SUV driven by your mom, boyfriend, or buddy, these vehicles are steered by professional drivers. Other benefits? They’re righteously HOV, they often include movies, giveaways, and discounts, and (ahem) they’re a great way to meet new people with similar interests.