World-class skiing lies outside the city at the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort, 110km (70 miles) north of Vancouver. However, you don’t have to leave the city to get in a few runs. It seldom snows in the city’s downtown and central areas, but Vancouverites can ski before work and after dinner at the three ski resorts in the North Shore mountains. These local mountains played host to the freestyle and snowboard events in the 2010 Winter Games.
Grouse Mountain Resort (6400 Nancy Greene Way, North Vancouver; tel. 604/984-0661, or 604/986-6262 for a snow report; www.grousemountain.com) has four chairs, 26 alpine runs, and a Magic Carpet for beginners. The resort has night skiing, special events, instruction, and a spectacular view, as well as a terrain park for snowboarders. All skill levels are covered, with 3 beginner trails, 15 blue trails, 6 black-diamond runs, and 2 double-black-diamond runs. Rental packages and a full range of facilities are available. Lift tickets good for all-day skiing are C$58 adults, C$45 seniors and children 13 to 18, C$25 children 5 to 12, and free for children 4 and under. Lift prices do not include your gondola ride to the summit.
Mount Seymour Provincial Park (1700 Mt. Seymour Rd., North Vancouver; tel. 604/986-2261; www.mountseymour.com) has the area’s highest base elevation; it’s accessible via four chairs and a tow. In addition to 39 runs for day or night skiing, the facility offers snowboarding, cross-country, and tobogganing as well as 10km (6 miles) of snowshoeing trails. The resort specializes in teaching first-timers. Camps for children and teenagers, and adult clinics, are available throughout the winter. Mount Seymour has one of Western Canada’s largest equipment rental shops, which will keep your measurements on file for return visits. All-day lift tickets are C$53 adults, C$39 seniors, C$45 children 13 to 19, and C$25 children 6 to 12. Nighttime skiing (4–10pm) costs less. Shuttle service is available during ski season from various locations on the North Shore, including the Lonsdale Quay SeaBus.
Cypress Bowl (top of Cypress Bowl Rd.; tel. 604/926-5612, or 604/419-7669 for a snow report; www.cypressmountain.com) was home to the 2010 Winter Games freestyle skiing (moguls and aerials), snowboarding (half-pipe and parallel giant slalom), and new ski-cross events. In the leadup to the Games, Cypress opened nine new runs for intermediate and expert skiers and snowboarders, a new quad chairlift, and a new day lodge. Cypress has the area’s longest vertical drop, challenging ski and snowboard runs, and 19km (12 miles) of track-set cross-country ski trails. Lift tickets are C$62 adults, C$40 seniors, C$46 youth, and C$25 children.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
