|
 Bighorns
everywhere
About 2 and a half hours west of Banff, just
beyond Invermere in the rocky mountain trench lies the resort of
Panorama. Heavily guarded by bighorn sheep, this is a palace that
has been around since the 70's, but almost an unknown until it was
bought by Intrawest who in 2003 upgraded the lift system and expanded
the skiing and base facilities.
 Largest
drops in Canada
At first glance it is a single mountain with runs cascading back
down towards the village at the base. Hidden from view are some
quite obvious ridges, but also on the back is Taynton bowl. This
bowl is huge and full of well spaced trees - it used to be part
of a Heli Ski operation but now its part of the ski area.
When you start catching the lifts to get to the top - three consecutively
- you quickly notice this is not a small hill. It has some of the
largest vertical drops in North America, which comes as a big relief
after you pull into a muddy parking lot and are confronted by rock
hard pistes in the base area.
Fresh powder and tree runs
Getting off the top chair we discovered to our surprise, three feet
of fresh snow. First order of business was messing bout and jumping
off things, as powder has been in short supply in the Rockies this
season. The tree skiing was like nothing I've skied in Europe, but
very reminiscent of Whistler.
 With
waist deep powder fun was had - the only problem with all this fun
is you have to ski down a flattish road for a few km to get back
to the lifts. The last 500m before you rejoin the frontside runs
was rock hard ice in the morning and deep slush in the afternoon!
The frontside, while hurting a little for snow, has a multitude
of runs and with large vertical there's plenty of ways to get your
legs burning. Something I haven't seen in North America yet but
is found in many European resorts is small restaurants and snack
bars scattered around the hill - Panorama has them. The village
itself is fast becoming a faux European affair, very Whistler, but
then it is built by Intrawest.
 Panoramic
views
Not the biggest resort I've skied this winter, but far from the
smallest. And luckily for me some of the best turns I've had in
a while. This resort does live up to its name - with a huge 'Panorama'
of peaks visible from the summit. Pity it closed the weekend after
I skiied there...
Words and Pictures
from Tom Greenall - Natives Senior
Resort Reporter
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