Tag Archive for: BC Skiing

John Nelson

The Archetype Senior Skier? This Guy Sure Looks The Part

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74 Year Old Long Time Ski Host Books 120 Ski Days A Year At Big White. Jealous?

Ski Host Carlan Silha is fit and fortunate to ski so many days at 74.
Credit: John Nelson

It might seem strange that an American from the Spokane area knows this sprawling British Columbia ski resort better than just about anyone.

Carlan Silha has been serving as a snow host at Big White for 20 years, longer than anyone at the resort. The lanky 74-year-old still skis like a 24-year-old, kicking his heels when he takes a jump and issuing a frequent “Woo-hoo!” as he turns in powder.

The story of how Silha got to Big White starts in 1992, when he was a Boeing executive working in Europe. He and his wife Lin were looking for a condo at a ski resort, and a friend suggested Big White.

“We ended up buying because it was a great price,” Silha said. “Then we got here, and realized we really liked it.”

Silha eventually retired, moved from Seattle to the Spokane area, and then began spending every winter at Big White, where he became a snow host, showing visitors the ropes. Now he logs 120 ski days a year and relishes every minute.

“Let’s ski the Rat Trees,” Silha said as he showed around another visitor recently. The trees are so named because regulars have been hanging toy rats from a particular tree deep in the forest near Big White’s Powder Chair.

If you were Carlan, you’d have a big grin, too.
Credit: John Nelson

Silha then shot off, cranking precise turns through the trees in four inches of new snow. “Woo-hoo!” he shouted for perhaps the millionth time of doing this.

“Being outdoors keeps you young,” he said.

During summers, the Silhas spend their time fishing and camping, using Spokane as home base. They like to travel around the West, and Silha keeps fit by hiking and biking.

In winter, they hang out with ski friends who own condos at Big White, a large collection that includes Australians, Brits, Kiwis and, of course, Canadians. The snow host job—showing visitors around Big White’s 7,355 acres—keeps him busy and provides its own rewards.

“The main attraction is meeting people from all over the world,” he said. “And it makes you feel good to show people this mountain.”

John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Sun Peaks, BC, Senior-Easy Big Mountain

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When You’re No. 2, The Saying Goes, You Try Harder.

Skiers and snowboarders rise above the clouds on the Crystal Chair at Sun Peaks. Credit: John Nelson

That’s true of Sun Peaks Resort, Canada’s second largest ski area behind behemoth Whistler-Blackcomb 200-plus miles away in the coastal mountains.

This excellent resort near the British Columbia city of Kamloops offers three mountains to ski, a well-designed, bustling village and even a fair bit of off-piste, side country powder to hike. Add to that a sunnier climate, lighter snow and lower prices and Sun Peaks looks better and better compared to its rival to the west.

You’ll find bargains here as well. Seniors 65 and older receive a 20 percent discount on ticket prices at Sun Peaks, and that’s on top of the favorable exchange on the strong U.S. dollar.

A snowboarder shreds fresh snow on the Crystal Chair at Sun Peaks. Credit: John Nelson

Snow, terrain and more

  • Location: Sun Peaks is about 35 miles from Kamloops, a city of 85,000 in what’s known as “Thompson Country” of B.C.’s inland mountains. It is the closest inland resort to the Vancouver metro area (about five hours away by car), and the Kamloops airport gets several daily flights from major Canadian cities.
  • Snowfall: The mountains here receive far less snow than the coastal range, but Sun Peaks still gets more than 230 inches a year. Snowmaking helps keep some of the lower slopes covered.
  • Terrain, lifts: The three mountains at Sun Peaks serve predominantly intermediate terrain on its whopping 4,270 acres. About 68 percent of the resort is rated beginning or intermediate, and 32 percent is rated expert. The Gil’s Zone side-country area offers expert skiers the chance to find untracked lines after a short hike off the top of the Crystal and Burfield lifts.
  • Vertical: 2,893 feet from a village base at 4,117 feet. The hikable summit of Tod Mountain (7,060 feet) adds few hundred vertical for those willing to sweat for their freshies.

Lot to lift access

  • Parking: Parking is scattered in several lots near the bases of each mountain; in addition, accommodations generally offer heated parking garages.
  • Public transportation: A bus service operates on weekends from Kamloops. In addition, an airport shuttle runs from Kamloops to Sun Peaks, and an inter-resort shuttle operates between Whistler, Big White and Sun Peaks.
  • Accommodations: The village at Sun Peaks is well designed; you can ski among the shops, condos and hotels to the lifts. Several ski and stay deals are offered by the resort.

Culture

  • The vibe: This is the friendly interior of B.C., so you won’t find any of the Whistler-Blackcomb snobbery here. As with many resorts in Canada, a strong Australian presence is apparent nearly everywhere you go among workers and vacationers.
  • Dining: 22 dining spots are scattered around the resort and village. Several restaurants deliver great meals, including the excellent Voyageur Bistro and the rocking Bottoms Bar and Grill.
  • Mountain life: Winter activities abound, with Nordic skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and skating. Of the interior B.C. resorts, Sun Peaks has the best four-season set-up, with a golf course and excellent mountain biking during the summer.

Bottom line

  • Sun Peaks has a robust village scene that delivers a resort experience at the fraction of the cost of skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb..
  • Canada’s second largest ski area has ample terrain to explore over the course of a ski stay.
  • With 2,000 hours a year of sunshine, your chances of getting a goggle tan are pretty good.

Trail Map click here

Webcam click here

A well-designed village offers dining, shopping and accommodations at the base of Sun Peaks. Credit: John Nelson

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John Nelson is a freelance outdoors writer based in Seattle. Follow his blog at skizer.org.

 

seniorsskiing

Resort Review: Mt. Baldy BC Has A $19 Senior Season Pass! Seriously.

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A Small Area Enchants Seniors, Offering Bargain Skiing In Big Powder.

Mt. Baldy is small but powdery and friendly. Credit: Mt. Baldy

Mt. Baldy is small but powdery, friendly and inexpensive.
Credit: Mt. Baldy

Editor Note: This review was written by Jim Barber, a long time skier and ski business veteran.  He lives near Mt. Baldy and loves his retirement home in BC.  Here’s his story:  “My wife and I started our life together in the ski shop business at Hunter Mountain N.Y. in the seventies. We helped Lloyd Lambert set up the Hunter Mt Ski museum and the first 70 plus ski club.  We have no kids by choice so we have had plenty of time and money to ski all over North America. We moved to Washington state and got married in the late seventies. I worked for Weyerhaeuser in forestry research and my wife Marian taught Special Ed in a juvenile  institution. We knew we wanted to semi retire to a ski hill and the rest is history. Today our two homes are 40 miles apart in two different countries.”

Mt. Baldy Ski Resort is in British Columbia’s southern Okanagan, just over forty miles from Washington State and the Canadian border. We found it fifteen years ago while on a skifari to find out were wanted to spend our senior skiing years. We found it at Mt. Baldy, the last ski area we thought we would end up at after skiing at many ski mountains across North America.  We moved here from upstate New York’s Hunter Mountain.

 Mt. Baldy started in late 60s as a Cat skiing site. Soon, a t-bar was added and Mt. Baldy started to grow. It has the highest base elevation—5,800 feet—with all natural BC powder.  No snow making is needed here! Cat skiing without the cat!  One thing that sold us on Baldy was the number of seniors that own cabins and ski here. When we first started skiing here, there was a 90-year-old snow boarder. Need I say more?

We have two near by towns—Oliver and Osoyoos—with ample lodging and restaurants. There are countless vineyards in this region boasting BC wines. Oliver’s motto is “Wine Capital of BC.” If you love golf, you can ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon. On the mountain, there are cabins to rent and the Honky Tonk Hotel. There’s a ski rental shop and a great ski school. The lodge has a full cafeteria and upstairs is the infamous Baldy Bar and restaurant, staffed by top chefs from the wineries.  Baldy is a little out of the way, but if you are on a ski trip through the great Northwest, stop by a ski resort were everyone will show you their secret powder stashes, and you are valued and respected for being a senior skier/snowboarder.

 There is no rush at Baldy and no lift lines. No high speed lifts, because you need the time on the lift to rest and meet the locals. Eventually, everyone at Baldy becomes a local. Baldy is what skiing used to be and still should be.  That’s why workers from other resorts ski at Baldy on their days off.

Snow and Terrain:  This small area—there are only two major lifts—boasts of boundless powder, a meteorological fact of life in southern BC. There were 13 meters of natural snow on Mt. Baldy in the 2015-16 season. The mountain has 500 acres of skiable terrain with a total of 22 runs with something for every skill level. The Eagle Chair base is at 5,650-ft. above ski level, the highest base altitude of any resort in Canada. There’s also a terrain park.

Culture: Super friendly, lots of seniors, instant friendships and acceptance.  Less glitzy areas like Mt. Baldy breed great skiing relationships. Lots of slope-side accommodations make easy access. New owners have big plans for the helping Mt. Baldy achieve its potential.

Bottom Line:  We saved the best for last. Seniors ski for $19 a day, and guess what?  You can by a Season Pass for the same price.  Yup.  $19. That’s. A. Bargain. The season starts on Dec 1, 2016 and goes until mid-late April.

Trail Map: Click here for Mt. Baldy trail map.

Here’s a 2010 video of First Tracks on Mt. Baldy on a powder day.  Check the music and the skier whooping it up.