I just need to say that we skied 5cm of fresh powder. OK, not a BIG day, as DDK would say, but it was not raining. We were at Big Mt on Monday, and it was raining when we pulled into the base lot. Even with our free ticket, we just could not ski in the rain. That would have violated Rule #1 – we don't ski in the rain, and Rule #2 – never violate rule #1! If you're a local, just say you skied at Big Mtn; only tourists say Whitefish.
It is an hour's drive to Fernie from the border crossing. We picked up our free tickets using our MAX passes and rode the Timber Bowl lift. They have 6 Bowls at the area – Siberia, Timber, Polar Peak, Currie, Lizard and Cedar. It has been 25 years since my last visit, and I now remember that they have steep terrain. Jill and I were skiing some “intermediate” terrain, and it was really steep. This is big mountain skiing! There was a cloud cover at the top 10% of the ski area and flat light for the rest. Those 5cm of powder covered icy terrain that was groomed. The bottom 20% of the area was spring snow while the upper terrain was icy and in the clouds. We need to return here in winter. It is spring at Fernie, although the ski conditions are kind of between seasons. We saw so many elk, we believe they have moved from the US to Canada. There are large elk herds all over the areas we've been in in Canada.
