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Big White? Silver Star? Panorama? - Which one is the best

post #1 of 10
10/15/01 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
This year I am planning to go to one of these 3 resorts with my friend, Big White, Silver Star or Panorama. We live in Toronto, and have never been in B.C. before. I would like to hear your recommendations on which resort is the best, if you've been in any of them...
We are planning to go early in January, like Jan. 2 - Jan 10.
Thanks

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ October 15, 2001 08:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, by orkhan ]</font>
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post #2 of 10
10/15/01 at 9:25pm
Hi Orkhan
I have never been to Panorama or Silver Star, but was at Big White last year. First time in BC and the second time in North America. I don't know what level of skier you are. I am in my late 40's and starting to get into the black runs. (I need to ask the question about crud and powder on the technique forum.) I really liked Big White, a big mountain (but I am used to the smaller New Zealand fields),groomed runs for cruising, trees, glades and big moguls (which did the knees no good), more than enough to keep me happy.

Nice compact village with good ski-in/ski-out (which again is differnt to NZ), range of places to eat from pizza to fancy, mainly Canadians, Brits and Aussies. Be interesting to see who is there this year when we go back.

Don't know what anybody else has to say but I liked it. Wherever you go, have fun.
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post #3 of 10
10/15/01 at 10:06pm
Big White , no question....Silver Star second ....Panorama's third.
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post #4 of 10
10/16/01 at 8:06am
What are you doing skiing in Jan??? Its colder than a witches teet. Snow is usually a bit sketchy at that time of the year for the decent terrain at panorama. Big white sounds like the best bet for that time of the year.
But..,, Golden is only about one and a half hours from invermere. Watch the snow reports for kicking horse, it would be worthy of consideration.
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post #5 of 10
10/16/01 at 8:43pm
Leeroy,

I've been to both Silver Star and Big White but not Panorama and I'd agree your ranking of those two. What is it about Panorama that makes you rank it below Silver Star? I've always wanted to go there but the liftlayout looks quirky and i hear annual snowfall is low.
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post #6 of 10
10/17/01 at 9:25pm
D.dawg , It's not that Panorama is a dog of a mountain (no pun intended) but just north you have Golden with buckets more snow and south you get more again at Kimberly and Fernie. Panorama is and has become a great family area ( rep. for ice still holds true )but I feel it hasn't got the volume of terrain of Silver Star and nowheres near what Big White has to offer. This is not even looking at the snow that the Okanagan areas offer. The glades at Big White are hard to even compare with other areas , kind of a secret some of us wish never got out!
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post #7 of 10
10/17/01 at 10:57pm
Leeroy
It was the magic of the glades at Big White that promted my post in the Techniques Forum on crud and powder.

I won't tell anybody about them if you won't, but I found it a terific area to enjoy. If I can improve my technique, I will get even more out of them this year.
Heres hoping!
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post #8 of 10
10/18/01 at 8:29pm
Thanks Leeroy. I've been to Fernie, loved it. Loved all the resorts in SE BC as a matter of fact. Next Canada trip for me will hopefully be Banff areas and Kicking Horse. How is the skiing/terrain at Kimberley when compared to Big White/Silver Star/Red Mt. etc. I love coming to Canada for the skiing, I also have relatives in Bragg Creek and Calgary so that has brought me North to your country many times.

In Mar 2000 we had a trip planned for Kimberly, Panaorama, Fernie and Castle Mountain but we bailed out to W/B at the last minute due to what we considered marginal snow conditions. With the opening of Kicking Horse, the Canadian Rockies are looking more inviting than ever.
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post #9 of 10
10/19/01 at 7:48pm
Never been to Panorama. Snow conditions are usually great on Big white and Silver Star. One problem with Big White is that it can be foggy for much of the winter months. Some of the locals call it Big Whiteout.
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post #10 of 10
10/22/01 at 8:52pm
Skied Panorama a couple years ago. Needed new snow but has a great fall line. Convenient Heli ski opportunities as well as snowmobiling. Skied Sun Peaks last season. Amazing snow. Great food. Big White and Silver Star were pretty sparse last season. Sun Peaks was a good choice.
You cannot match Whistler. Their Ski Esprit programme is terrific for newcomers.
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