Canadian mountain resort SilverStar is lauded for its unique village setting, family vibe and varied ski terrain. But is there a side to this mountain suited to skiers after steep and deep? Mike Scott went to find out.
I arrived in Canada’s British Columbia (BC) with one big goal - to ski as much powder as possible.
BC’s interior mountains are famed for fluffy snow so light and dry the skiing is a hushed float.
To get my powder fix my family and I are based ourselves in the Okanagan Valley - I am lucky enough to have family living in the area.
The Okanagan is positioned between British Columbia’s moist West Coast and its eastern border of the high, rugged and cooler Rockies.
The valley is similar to New Zealand’s Central Otago. Both regions share frigid winters and hot summers with pristine lakes reflecting the mountains and hills graced with stone fruit orchards and vineyards and many Canadians are flocking there to set up home.
SilverStar Mountain Resort is positioned above the small city of Vernon, at the northern end of Lake Okanagan, and markets itself as a family friendly resort with true ski-in, ski-out accommodation.
Our Saturday evening arrival at SilverStar felt unique thanks to the village charm which is akin to a Western town. It houses 13 cafes and restaurants and of course the ticketing offices, guest services and equipment rentals.
From our accommodation at Lord Aberdeen Hotel, we stepped out the front door onto the main street and into the action - a rail slide competition, night skiing, fine dining and people mingling.
Night-time was alive and happening when we caught up with SilverStar’s communications specialist, and Kiwi, Megan Sutherland.
“Of course, I’m a bit biased but I reckon the resort’s got everything,” she said.
“Terrain-wise the skiing is incredible. We have terrain for progression.
“The village is unique, it’s like a wonderland and there’s a real fun vibe and the kids can’t get lost.
“We have a resort for everyone.”
SilverStar has 1328 skiable hectares, 760m of vertical drop, and gets 7m of snow each winter. It’s one of the bigger fields in Canada.
Looking at the resort map you’ll see the mountain comes in two parts - the front and back sides.
The village sits mid-level on the front side with a gondola and three chairs. Easy green trails access all parts and are latticed with long blue intermediates and a sprinkle of black diamonds in a mix of steep cuts and tree skiing.
The back side is known by some locals as the Dark Side.
Serviced by the long Powder Gulch Express chair, it is a huge part of the resort and is a matrix of long single and double black diamond runs that will challenge experts.
My family and I arrived at the resort on a bustling Saturday night with light snow falling a couple of days after a decent dump.
We warmed up on the front side. Most of the powder had been tracked out by the time we hit the slopes, but we still scored some floaty patches among the trees.
We were on our way.
I had been worried because the El Nino weather pattern had delivered a low snow start to the BC ski season.
However, we timed our Canadian visit nicely with two significant and very cold storms which had dumped enough snow for most ski resorts to be opening up most of their runs.
After the warm-up, my daughters and I excitedly headed to the back side. Through braggadocio I sought out some real steeps, mostly getting spanked, but had a blast.
Between the front and back sides, it was obvious there was something for all skill levels and all ages.
However, for us, there was one thing missing - time.
My family had three days on the mountain and wanted more. It would take weeks for us to improve our skills to tame the back side’s steep runs with any style.
SilverStar truly was a mountain for progression.
Kiwi Gareth Galloway had only had one day of skiing when we had dinner at the Den on day two of his four-week visit to SilverStar.
Earlier my partner had got chatting with him on the ski lift and made the invite.
The adventurous 70-year-old had never heard of SilverStar before booking his ski holiday. He’d asked his travel agent for a new resort to visit, that had to be uncrowded with ski-in accommodation, good conditions and atmosphere.
The agent suggested SilverStar and booked a 13-hour direct flight from Auckland to Vancouver, a short connection flight to Kelowna, the largest city in the Okanagan and a shuttle bus to take him the final 65km to his accommodation on the mountain.
While he had only had one full day of skiing, Galloway was impressed with the friendly service and attitude he had experienced organising his ski equipment, tickets, and accommodation.
We experienced the same. There were around 700 staff working on the field during peak season, many of them Australians and Kiwis, yet the resort town felt intimate and small.
By our third day we were saying ‘howdy’ to people we’d met while walking the boardwalks of the western village.
Like many of the larger Okanagan ski resorts, SilverStar pushed its family appeal, being a mountain for everyone.
It does appeal thanks to the terrain; numerous on-field accommodation, training, and lesson options; children’s programmes; and extra activities like tubing, night-skiing, ice skating and the numerous restaurants and takeaways.
And the uncrowded runs were real – the longest lift queue we experienced was about two minutes on a Sunday.
But did it have my coveted fresh powder snow?
Just in time, yes it did.
Our final night delivered a decent dump of freshies with snow continuing to fall throughout the morning.
We headed straight for the front side slopes.
Weaving and floating through the trees as best we could, smiling and panting, thighs beginning to burn down to the lift, grateful for a break but ready to hit the next slope.
We snuck around to the back side, scored some freshies and let the legs get the full burn.
“Yeeow” - job done.
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Vancouver with Air New Zealand non-stop in 13 hours. A connecting flight from Vancouver to Kelowna International Airport takes 50 minutes.
DETAILS
The writer was a guest of Destination British Columbia.
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