Fernie VS. Red Mountain

Looking around at some good ski areas for a feb break with family.  Am thinking about  flying into to Spokane, Wa and drive
2hr to Red or 5hr to Fernie.  
Not against a drive in a new area - looks beautiful from the reviews I read on here and internet searches.  Basically, is fernie worth the extra drive?

about us:
I am a very aggressive expert skier.  Love skiing steeps, powder...
My wife is also aggressive but likes to ski really steep groomed trails.
Kids (2 and 5) are good for a few good runs.

How is the terrain?  Looks good on the map and in the pics.
How will the snow conditions be in February?
Is the snow light powder of heavy cement?
How are the crowds?
We'll probably have 5 days to ski and then explore.  Maybe even head up to the Olympics for a very long day or overnight trip.  How is this area for off-piste opportunities?

Any other thoughts?

ps. I wrote earlier on here about flying to sea and going to crystal.  This is still an option but Red and Fernie look great as well.


thanks,

asland

Better check your geography, it's a long way to Vancouver from these places.

I like both of these places; they have arguably the world's best lift-served tree skiing.  If you only ski groomers they are both somewhat limited, 2-3 days maybe.

Fernie is bigger, but Red is tougher.  Fernie has alpine above the lifts that results in terrain closures after storms for avy control. 

January/February is recommended as elevations at both are low so the sun can get at the snow in March.  If you go to Fernie, you go right through Sandpoint, home fo Schweitzer, worth a stop.

You could make a very nice 3 area loop out of this with a little after skiing driving. 

Look at your map Spokane to Red about 2 hours in good conditions and no real passes.  Ski it a day or two at Red your wife may be ready to see something else after 2 days.  It is a great mountain but a bit limited for groomers, but world class tree skiing.  Consider, this a good enough area to produce a World Champion, Nancy Green.  The snow is not Utah but way better than the Cascades or Sierras. 

After 2 days pack up the babies and head to Nelson, BC home of Whitewater Ski area.  Would be well Worth a day, this little mountain is a jewel.  It is very much like skiing Alta 30 years ago, same kind of vibe and can be the same kink of snow.  It is a neighborhood ski area that has some amazing side country, but again not a lot of steep groomers.  It is the kind of an area you will remember for years.   If you have the time about 30 miles out of Nelson are some amazing hot springs, Ainsworth if memory serves me right; you would probably all enjoy them.  Now you are headed back to the States 3 hours or so should put you in Sandpoint. ID. 

Everyone should like Schweitzer, personally think it is one of the most under rated ski areas in the West.  Very good grooming, some steeps, fine trees and side country, and good lifts.  When the weather is clear fabulous views.  This is a good sized mountain that will keep all of you entertained for several days.  From Sandpoint you are only a bit over an hour to Spokane. 

Crowds should not be too major of a problem at any of these areas, Schweitzer will have the most people but it has the lifts to handle them.  Enjoy your vacation where ever you choose to go.

They are both really nice areas.  Fernie is a much longer drive from Spokane, but easy from Kalispel. 

It's been a while since I've been to RED,  but Fernie had much nicer lodging choices right at the base and that's important with little ones IMHO. Lizard Creek condo's are ski in/out with a pool.  

Fernie is on the other side of the mountains making the drive from Spokane questionable if a snow storm is hitting.  5 hours is how long it will take in the summer.  It will take longer in the winter and much longer if the roads aren't in good shape.  Personally, I wouldn't want to be driving with children in those mountains when a storm is hitting.

Red Mountain is accessible without crossing any major passes.  It is a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive in the winter.  The problem with Red is its really a destination for diehard skiers and doesn't have much to do there but ski, eat and drink.

I'd look at sticking around the Spokane/Northern Idaho Area.  49 Degrees North & Silver Mountain are both worth visiting for day or two and Lookout Pass is definitely worth visiting if its snowing.  Schweitzer is definitely worth a few days and has much to do in the area.

I skied Fernie a couple of years ago and I hit it during a period the people at the hotel said was probably the worst conditions they had in 10 years. Freezing rain the week before and it had not snowed in over two weeks. Probably very a typical for Fernie. To make matters worse they had an electrical outage and on my first day there (Sat) only half the mountain could operate so it was pretty crowded.

So conditions were lousy, lift lines becasue of the power issue. All that being said it sure looked like it would be a great place with powder.

The Red/Whitewater/Schweitzer circuit is worth considering.  I've stayed at Ainsworth too.

Asland,   Done the loop many times.  The following are only my opinions/not fact.  Leave Spokane airport drive E on 90 to Kellogg, ski Silver Mt. Some really great off Piste terrain and never crowded.  Leave Silver drive to Whitefish (3 1/2 hrs drive) ski there.  Leave Whitefish and drive to Fernie (little over 1 hr) - I like Fernie, Lizard Bowl area has some great off piste, tree and mogul skiing. (Newfydog here on Epic was a patroller there and guided us around).  After Fernie you have a option of  1) stopping at Whitewater/Nelson,  2) Red Mt. Rossland,   3) Schweitzer.   Just depend on your time/shedule etc.

If you get to Silver let me know and I can show you around.  Need a guide if you want to ski off piste or you'll never find the good stuff. Lot of options here in the inland PNW.  Skied tahoe for 20 plus years and generally our snow is better.  The real plus is NO crowds, cheaper lift tickets and just very affordable.

If you decide on doing something like this PM me and I can fill in the b lanks for you.  Can even give you snow report etc. Local weather guy who is usually pretty accurate says winter/snow eetc. will arrive here starting Nov 16th.

Spokane is the best airport for Red, but if Fernie is your primary destination, Calgary (3.5 hr drive), Cranbrook (1 hr drive- with flights from SLC), or Kalispel (2.75 hr drive) would be better choices. If you land in Kalispel, you should definately ski Whitefish. Castle would be a good option from Calgary.


But if you want to hit both of hills, it can be done. When I lived in Halifax, I had did a trip from Calgary that included Fernie, Red and Whitewater. The Creston to Salmo Highway can close, and is often snow covered, but as long as you budget a little bit of extra time into your trip, you should be okay. Spending an extra day on either side because of a storm isn't all that bad!

 Also, while Red's reputation for steeps is well deserved, the area served by the paradise chair has excellent intermediate tree skiing.

We went to Fernie last year. Seriously cold -27deg Celcius at the base + wind chill say -40 up top brrr!

Spectacular alpine like scenery.

Very slow antiquated lift system poorly joined up on the old side; go up a bit, traverse, go up a bit more, go across a bit more, go up a bit more; you spend most of your day sitting on a lift, drops are relatively short with some long traverses back to the lift (and an annoying little drag lift to get out of one of the better areas) but lots of good steep terrain. The new side lifts were out for a week so that area was severely limited.

Would I go back? No

Give me Utah or Jackson any day. (Returning to Jackson for our 4th time this year)

While you will get the occasional cold snap in Fernie, they aren't all that common. I tend to be more concerned with things getting too warm.

Totally right about the traverses and short patches of steeps. It is one of the reasons why some people prefer Castle. Although the Fernie situation isn't any worse than Alta.

As for lifts...the Elk quad is a PITA, but the Boom Chair serves up some excellent skiing right from the top.

I've done the REd, Schweitzer, loop.  Schweitzer is a crowd pleaser-a "nice mountain" no complaints, has that decent resort feel, when I was there the snow was good and we had a great day.

Red is Unique.  I loved it, You can really explore the whole 360 degrees of the mountain.  Here's a typical run:  Follow some tracks into a stand of trees, find your self in some seriously steep, thick glades working every turn, pop out into open, powder-filled chute (usually with a few rocky kickers if you're so inclined), rap off twenty good turns, re-enter thick glades, find another little used powdery chute.  If you like to explore, bushwhack a little, get surprised (by good things andsudden challenging things) Granite Peak is hard to beat.

Red is very limited for groomer seekers, however, the south facing chair serves up acres of widely spaced, intermediate level glades that are a great way to get an intermediate into the joys of tree-skiing.  Red is VERY mellow in terms of services/ resort feel-which I love, but I know a lot of folks may not love.

Red is steep and expert, no question about it-however, it does lack some things other notable 'expert' meccas have: It does not have any of that High-Alpine, Big Exposure, way above tree-line steeps (ala Jackson and snow-bird and Alta and taos) that many big mountain skiers crave-my skiing companion found that a deal-breaker for future visits.  The place feels kind of small when you ski it-it's a decent size, I'm talking about feel.

The Spokane aspect was real easy-from a distance traveler point of view.  I liked the dusty-rusty feel of Rossland, too.  Give it shot!

Liam

I'd also bring into the mix the possibility of doing Red, White, and Revy. The driving distance from either Rossland or Nelson to Revelstoke is comparable to that of Fernie (note that you have to take a ferry across Arrow lake 60 km south of Revy so build it in to your schedule). Think 5000 ft vertical steep groomer (Snow Rodeo top to bottom) plus trees, steeps, and cat skiing out of the resort base. I'm planning on hitting all four resorts at some point this season, and have just spent 45 minutes trying to see if I can parcel it out into 3 manageable 8 day trips from Calgary (trying to work the Okanagan resorts in as well as Kicking Horse and Castle).

Just as a side note, 3 very nice developed hotsprings are located between Nelson and Revelstoke--Ainsworth on Kootenay Lake and Nakusp and Halcyon on the way to Arrow Ferry. All are worth a visit.