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In the southeast corner of
British Columbia, about as far south and east as you can get and
still be in BC,
lies the mining town of Fernie. A place that has a reputation as
a powder skiing resort. But this season
has been hurting for snow….or so I was told. With a reported
49cm of new snow on top of another
recent snowfall I headed south.
It’s a long way from Banff to Fernie –
over 4 hours. Luckily we had friends we could stay with at Castle
Mountain, only an hour or so out of Fernie so we could break up
the journey. I would have loved to have stayed and skied Castle
Mountain but due to this winter's weird weather it was already closed.
 As
you pull into Fernie you notice it's still quite industrial rather
than a resort. But the skiing is actually at Fernie Alpine resort,
not Fernie town. Five minutes beyond and up a bit is Fernie Alpine
resort, looking not unlike Belle Plagne in style.
Not a huge ski area, but not tiny either, it is
much wider than it is high. Only 2000 vertical feet but a couple
of miles east to west. Skiing here reminded me much of Les Gets
or Morzine, tree skiing with cliffs above very reminiscent of Avoriaz.
 When
we arrived it was snowing, when we left it was still snowing, it
did let up occasionally so we could see the views. The snowfall
doesn’t detract from the skiing as almost all the area is in
the trees. But unlike trees of Sunshine Village there is a lot more
room to play. You can pick almost any line and work your way to
the base. The trees do get a bit thicker towards the base but not
impenetrable.
 In
the upper reaches of the ski area there are some interesting short
steep chutes. With the snow cover being thin they have come up with
some novel ways to make the area accessible…a covering of car
tires tied side by side to cover the rocks. Tires give you grip
and won’t wreck your edges if you hit them through the snow
:)
All in all this trip was fun snow on a fun hill.
And here is to hoping for a better season next year. But they didn’t
really have a bad one this time round.
Words and Pictures from Tom Greenall
- Natives Senior Resort Reporter
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