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David Chaus

David Chaus

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I am so thinking about next year....

Awww...thanks @Christy - it was so much fun to ski with you! It was great to ski with all of you, and to meet you all. Perhaps the western Canada gathering is not such a bad idea - we could definitely keep it up!


Maybe Marmot next year - maybe a little powder road trip? Castle/Fernie? Or if Valemount has something open, maybe Valemount/Marmot...as long as there's snow!

Hope I can make the Canadian Gathering next season....
I got the Ikon Base, and while the Big 3 & Revelstoke would make the most sense, I am dying to try out Kicking Horse and Whitewater as well..I know they are in opposite directions...

k

Whitewater and Red Mtn are about 1 and a quarter hours apart and Schweitzer ID is not far away either.

At the Utah Gathering JohnL and GarySkier and Ski3po were asking me about the feasibility of flying to Spokane in mid or late January and doing it and if I was interested in joining them. My answer was Yes and Yes....so just sayin B.C. and Idaho, eh?

Well, if we consider Schweitzer to be at the southernmost end of the Selkirks, which it is, and that the Selkirks are primarily a Canadian mountain range, then Schweitzer can be safely considered part of a Canadian Gathering.

And since both Schweitzer and Whitewater are included in the Powder Alliance and included with my season pass to Stevens, I have no objection to Red/White/Schweitzer. You might have to twist my arm, but minimally. Go ahead, twist my arm......
 

DanoT

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Firstly, should the Great White North Pugski Gathering be a rotating destination or an annual Springtime in the Rockies, (aka Banff) Gathering.?

One of the big things that Banff has going for it is that the resorts stay open throughout April after the B.C. interior resorts close for the season, so it would be a season extender for most. And in addition to being on the Ikon Pass, there is AFAIK still a Lake Louise-Sunshine Village Spring Pass.

One of the advantages of Red-Whitewater-Schweitzer is that for most, flying into Spokane will be less expensive than flying to Calgary. Also, southern B.C.-Northern Idaho is drive to for many in WA and OR..

:popcorn:
 

Mike Rogers

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Lake Louise and Sunshine offer separate spring passes, but there is no Big 3 spring pass.

The pass makes sense if you plan on skiing either hill 5 or more days.
 

Jenny

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My vote - Springtime in Banff, always Banff. Can't guarantee we can make it every year (airfare is a bit pricey), but @DanoT is right, we would use this as a season extender.

Yesterday and today were just glorious. I'm so glad that I could spend this week here, even though I couldn't ski.
 

Posaune

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I vote for the southern B.C., Idaho venue. We can drive to that one easily. It's a bit more hassle to get to Banff.
 

Pumba

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I’m going through impending end-of-season depression, so I’m happy to see this 2019 planning thread!....

I Loved our Canada trip this season and am determined to make it back. I’m all for a banff centric mid-late April or even early May.

I’m also interested in a powder highway week in mid January, maybe week of mlk day to minimize the number of vacation days I’d have to take off....anyone interested? Being on the ikon base, revelstoke should def be a stop. Also want to hit kicking horse and whitewater...but not sure how those logistics would work....maybe combine kicking horse with late season banff gathering instead?....

This is all dreams for next season.....ahhh...when’s winter coming???
 
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David Chaus

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It’s a bit more money to fly to Calgary than drive to Sandpoint, I don’t know how much of a hassle.
Flying to Calgary: arrive at airport parking 2 hours before flight, 1 1/2 hours in the air, 30-45 minutes for customs and baggage claim, a bit of a schlep to the car rental centre, and 1 1/2 hours to drive to Banff.
Seattle to Sandpoint is about the same amount of time, just driving the whole way. Yes, simpler for sure.
 

Jenny

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We might even try to come. Still skiing here but I could pry myself away for a week if banff was the locale. :)

Heal fast Jenny
I'm doing really well - been out of the boot all week and into real shoes. Have walked a ton, probably more than the doc anticipated. Did the Bow River Trail, Fenlands Loop, and the Bow Falls Trail, as well as up and down Banff Ave. about 1000 times. All seems to be good . . .
 

noncrazycanuck

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Banff is day skiing from my daughters house in Cochrane but I always prefer stops while coming or going at my buddies in Revelstoke and Golden
lots of choices but your options start getting a bit more limited in April.
Even Castle Fernie Whitefish is only a day's drive away from Vancouver, less from Seattle, just as fast as going to Red.
But not sure i would want to do a drive for skiing late April unless it was Banff, other areas either get warm fast or shut down early
Whistler is better in April - although many would disagree
.
 

albertanskigirl

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Love Banff in the spring! I think early/mid-April in the Rockies is a great time for a gathering. Switch it to 1st week of April and everyone could also hit up Kicking Horse, or Castle and Fernie. I likely wouldn't be able to make it to Schweitzer/Red/Whitewater in January - it would be a difficult time for me to get time off. But you never know...
 
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David Chaus

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A summary of the thoughts expressed thus far, and a few other observations:
  • Banff makes a good spring time destination. And it works for MCP and Ikon pass holders.
  • Banff makes sense as an annual fixed destination.
  • There are lots of other great places in Canada, including Marmot, and pretty much all of BC, that others would like to travel to on a rotating basis. Having a rotation also allows the occasional wild card, such as if Valemount ever opens.
  • Some locations would be easier to get to, which may be a deciding factor for many. The advantage of a destination that is a reasonable day drive from a large metro region such as Seattle, for example, is there would a larger pool of people (and by that I mean Pugskier-type lunatic fringe people) who might be interested in attending.
  • Timing is an issue. Banff early in the season is very cold. Lower elevation resorts after mid-March are potentially subject to less ideal snow conditions. Obviously every year is different and conditions could be great at Schweitzer or Fernie in Mid March to early April.
  • Many resorts close in early April, I guess because there aren’t enough of the lunatic fringe who ski as long as there is snow to ski.
  • The other timing issue is avoiding scheduling too close or overlapping with the other Gathering(s).
  • On that last item, given that the Big Sky Gathering is Feb 24-March 2, the convention thinking is to go at least a month later, so early - to -mid April as we did this year.
I had the radical notion that we could plan the Canadian Gathering at Banff the very next week (March 4- 10 or something like that) so that people (and by this I again mean the Pugski lunatic fringe) could extend their ski trip. That said, said lunatic fringe seems to feel obligated to add on Jackson and SLC to Big Sky trips. I guess that’s the conventional lunatic fringe; I don’t know how many would really head to Banff or BC after Big Sky. So never mind, I’m just talking out loud.
 

DanoT

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I am in favour of an annual Spring in Banff April Gathering and sort of like Mother's Day at A-Basin, Banff would not conflict with a late Feb.-early March regular Gathering or any January B.C. regional Gathering.

It is the season extender that mid April in Banff that wins it for me.
 

Mike Rogers

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If you are looking to do the rotation thing, AND Jasper is on the radar, it might be good to wait until Valemount get's running. Jasper isn't really close to anything, but it's only a 90 minute drive to Valemount!
 

DanoT

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If you are looking to do the rotation thing, AND Jasper is on the radar, it might be good to wait until Valemount get's running. Jasper isn't really close to anything, but it's only a 90 minute drive to Valemount!

Waiting for Valemount:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:Could be a long wait. If any construction was going to happen this summer it would have been announced by now.

Valemount has all support and approvals that they need except for the most important one....a financial backer with deep pockets and more money than brains.:duck:

I just checked the Valemount website. the "Latest News" is over a year old.:nono:
 

Mike Rogers

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Waiting for Valemount:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:Could be a long wait. If any construction was going to happen this summer it would have been announced by now.

Valemount has all support and approvals that they need except for the most important one....a financial backer with deep pockets and more money than brains.:duck:

I just checked the Valemount website. the "Latest News" is over a year old.:nono:

So you're saying there's a chance!

I can't see this taking off either. Valemount is too remote and Epic and IKON seem to be getting most of the destination skiers these days. If I had the money(and I don't!), I wouldn't invest in a ski area...especially one in remote BC.

I'll check it out if it ever gets off the ground though.

Fortress Mountain near Calgary is perpetually 2 years from opening too. Again, looking for a (or many) financial backer(s). At least fortress is close to a big market!
 

albertanskigirl

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I think Fortress has much more of a shot than Valemount thought - Valemount is just too far from anything, and there are lots of great heli skiing operations in the area for those who want to spend the money to get there. Fortress is close to Calgary, and an airport.

I was checking the Valemount website too and I just don't know if anything is going to happen there... but Marmot and Valemount would make from a great week long trip.
 

noncrazycanuck

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The safest bet is a gathering in Golden prior to mid March , then take your pick based on conditions
 

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