Our first stop after we crossed over the border was Fernie Alpine Resort outside of Fernie, British Columbia. We were not sure what to expect of the skiing at Fernie but when we pulled into the parking lot, we found the Canada we longed for when we were getting kicked out of parking lots in Utah. There was a whole camper row, complete with both crazy and modest rigs, van-lifers and one tiny house. We fit in perfectly!
We were a little skeptical of the conditions as it was raining in the parking lot the night we pulled in but we remembered from our first trip to Canada, rain down low meant snow up high. Our neighbors in the lot assured us the conditions would be great, as it had been snowing in the days prior to our arrival.
We fell asleep to the pitter-patter of rain on the RV vents and before we knew it, we awoke at 4am to loaders pushing snow in the lot next to us. It felt cold out but the highs were in the 30’s. This lower elevation climate is something that takes some getting used to!
The main lift in the base area is Timber Bowl Lift and so we headed up that to try and get our bearings. Looking at the map, Fernie seems like a very confusing resort and well, skiing I guess it still felt confusing but after a full day (with good visibility) it would be easy to understand.
Under the fog, looking south-ish.
Finding soft leftovers in Currie Bowl.
The visibility on this particular day was horrible! It was so hard to see at the top of the mountain, I had never experienced anything like it. The craziest thing was the inversion. In the base area we were frigid but 4 minutes into our lift ride, our goggles fogged and we got warm. Looking out over the valley you could see the line on the trees at which they were freezing. Surprisingly, the warm temperatures on top kept the snow in really good condition but down below the warm snow had frozen and gotten really crusty.
You seriously couldn’t see down the run at all.
Into the fog on the White Pass Chair.
Aside from not being able to see anything, we had a blast on the upper portion of the mountain. There are a ton of little chutes and steeps throughout the entire mountain. Fernie hadn’t gotten snow overnight but we still had fun in the soft snow that was left over from the days past.
Unfortunately, Polar Peak Chair wasn’t open and was not forecasted to open that day because of avalanche danger but it looked like incredibly fun terrain to ski. Difficult lines sidelined big open faces that you could fly through on powder days. I could only imagine the views from up there on a clear day.
You can just barely see the Polar Peak Chair on the right side of the photo.
We skied Timber Bowl and Currie Bowl before traversing to the other side of the mountain to check out Lizard Bowl and Cedar Bowl. Again, on a deep powder day, we could see ourselves barreling through these bowls and having the time of our lives. It was still fun to explore, though it had been pretty skied out.
Under the fog, looking out over Fernie.
Something I thought was really neat about Fernie is that you could head up with your young kids and get pretty high into the terrain and still be able to find a blue or green groomed route down. It would be such a perfect place to acclimate your kids to high alpine terrain, without scaring them to death. There’s a family feel to the resort with some intense, fun, and challenging high alpine terrain.
Another breathtaking view towards the town of Fernie.
As many people were, we could see ourselves camping in the parking lot of Fernie for days on end during the right storm system. The views at mid mountain (we never saw the views from the top of the mountain because of fog and clouds) were beautiful and overlooked the quiet town of Fernie. If you venture up to northern Montana, definitely make the short trek into British Columbia to check out Fernie Alpine Resort.
The trees here are huge.
With the MAX Pass, you receive 5 days of skiing at all 39 participating resorts! They even have options like add-on passes, which is what we did for our Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus. For more information, visit the MAX Pass website.
