Whistler-Blackcomb. There. Might as well get it over with, right off the lift. Just about every list of top Canadian—or North American, or international, for that matter—alpine ski resorts gets capped off with Canada’s crown-jewel ski destination, located in British Columbia just a short drive up from Vancouver.
There are some 150 other ski resorts in Canada, however, among which there is no shortage of ski hills that qualify as world-class.
Relatively new entrants into the rarified air of top ski mountains include Revelstoke Mountain Resort, BC, in the Selkirks, just coming into its third season of operation. With 1,713 m (5,620 ft) of vertical descent, it bumps Whistler-Blackcomb for most lift-served vertical in North America.
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, outside the town of Golden, BC, and just two-and-a-half hours from Calgary, AB, has also seen impressive recent development.
Now well-established British Columbia ski towns that see regular visits from slope cognoscenti from around the world include Fernie and Whitewater near Nelson, BC.
Venerable ski mag Ski Canada has rated Whitewater to have the Best Deeps, Best Bowls and Best Glades in Canada (add to that an incredible café, which produces food worthy of preserving in two popular cookbooks).
Of course, not all the skiing in Canada is in the mountains of British Columbia. Just across the border into Alberta, Banff / Lake Louise (actually three resorts: Mt. Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Mountain Resort) has one of the longest ski seasons in North America (November to early May), is a stop on the World Cup circuit and is renowned for unparalleled views.
Quebec’s Tremblant, the first resort to open in Canada, is perhaps the most well-known in the east and is just over an hour away from chic Montréal, QC.
Le Massif, a 70-km (44-mi) drive from Québec City, QC, has the highest vertical in eastern Canada and is the only alpine training centre for Canadian athletes east of the Rockies. It’s also home to one of the most challenging women’s downhill trails in the world, the steepest pitch on which is a 64% grade.
Marble Mountain near Corner Brook, NL, makes full use of the copious amounts of snow that coats the area, maximizing its 519 m (1,703 ft) of vertical and 90 ha (225 ac) of terrain.
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