Kootenay Ski Safari Photo Gallery

I just finished up the photo gallery for our recent Kootenay Ski Safari along the "Powder Highway." Eight of us went for eight days. We all met up in Salt Lake City where we boarded Delta's Sky West to Cranbrook, Canada. We rented two vans and headed for our first stop in Golden.Kicking Horse—
The first day we had a bit of snowfall but it cleared up in the afternoon. The skiing was an adventure. The runs are so unbelievably long. Monday it snowed and visibility was pretty low on top. The best meal we had was contemporary Canadian Cuisine at the Kicking Horse Bar and Grill.

Panorama—
We left Golden early in the morning and drove through rain and snow to Panorama. But by the time we had our lift tickets, the skies were beginning to clear. Panorama had less than an inch of new snow but there was powder still to be had. We met for lunch at the Picnic Deli and had the best ever Ruben sandwich which we all ordered.

Kimberley—
We drove from skiing in Panorama to Kimberley through rain, sleet, snow and cows for a two night stay at the Trickle Creek Lodge in two bedroom condos. We ate both nights as Kelsey's which had some very good food. It was here that we discovered the "free" birthday treat. Since Elissa can not resist dessert, hers was the first "birthday" we celebrated. The skiing was a mixed bag. I took the day off to work. JoAnn and Arnie learned that the groomed runs were pretty icy in the morning. Everyone else discovered deep caches of fresh untracked powder in the trees at the top.

Fernie—
Looks like we saved he best for last. The skiing was unbelievable here. The ski gods granted up more than 18 cm of fresh dry powder giving us three incredible powder days. And one of those day we were treated to gorgeous blue skies. The food in Fernie was incredible. We loved Slopeside for lunch, but our best meal was at the Lizard Creek Lodge. We stayed at the Wolf's Den Lodge, just a few steps from the slopes.

Later.

Week Nine: Photo a Day 2009

Here is WEEK 9 of my "Photo a day" project. We've been having a great time skiing the various resorts in the Kootenay range in B.C. Canada with Pacific Rim Alliance Snow Sports Club. We are now headed for our last three days in Fernie where we expect more new snow and lots of powder. The large photo on the layout is of Panorama. The views are breathtaking.
Paper and elements from Digi-Designs by Nicole’s “Fresh”. Template by Lauries Scraps.

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Ski Canada with Pacific Rim Alliance

Pacific Rim Alliance Ski Club has two snow ski trips going to Canada in 2009. There are still openings on both trips and air has not been cheaper in a long time. And because flying into Canada is an international flight, you get to bring two bags, one of which can be ski equipment (boots, skis, poles), for no additional charge. In addition, the dollar has gotten a bit stronger than the Canadian dollar so if it holds, the cost of the ground portion will decrease.

* All air prices quoted are for round-trip and includes all taxes and fuel charges.

You can download a one-page information sheet here.

To sign up for these trips you need to get your own air and then send Pacific Rim (10818 Viacha Dr., San Diego, CA 92124) a $200 deposit. Final payments will be due soon. We are in the process of finalizing the costs and should have them in a week.

Big White—
April 5-12, 2009 or April 6-13, 2009
These dates are flexible. You can elect to stay April 6-13, 2009 to take advantage of the lower air price of flying on Monday. Ground price of $650 includes 7 nights in hotel room (dbl. occ.) with microwave, refrigerator & fireplace, 5 days lift tickets, round-trip transfer from Kelowna airport, nightly cocktail parties and one dinner. Air costs on January 10, 2009 for one stop flights were as follows.

• Alaska changes planes in Seattle.
• Air Canada changes in Vancouver.

Mon-Mon: April 6-13, 2009

• Alaska: LAX from $425*.
• Alaska: San Diego from $522*.
• Air Canada: LAX from $334*.
• Air Canada: San Diego from $334*.

Sun-Sun: April 5-12, 2009

• Alaska: LAX from $627*.
• San Diego from $612*.
• Air Canada: LAX from $334*.
• Air Canada: San Diego from $541*.

Kootenay Safari—
February 28 - March 8, 2009
Ground cost of $1,299 includes 3 nights in Fernie, 3 nights in Golden, 2 nights in Kimberley (dbl. occ.), 7 lift tickets (3 Fernie, 2 Kicking Horse, 1 Panorama, 1 Kimberley), transportation from Cranbrook and to each resort, and nightly cocktail parties.

Air is on Delta through Salt Lake City into Cranbrook. Prices from San Diego or LAX are currently $305*. Check the Delta web site for other cities.

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Big White Snow Play

It snowed on and off all day at Big White yesterday. When the sun peaked out we were able to watch the "kids" walk up and hill and slide down on skis, snowboards, sleds and platters. This young lady was most entertaining as she did a header as she went off the run. It's suppose to snow again tomorrow with the mountain opening on Wednesday. We can only hope and pray. At least it's cold enough.
We have been putting our time here to good use. We are headed down to Kelowna later today to buy stuff to fix our vacuum and dish washer. Good thing we were here when they broke.

Our ski club, Pacific Rim Alliance, is running a ski trip to Big White April 5-12, 2009, when the skiing and weather is at it's finest. Click here for the details.

Pac Rim also has a ski trip to the Kootenays (Fernie, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley) Feb 28 - March 8, 2009. Click here for details.

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Big White Snow

We've been in Big White a week now and it just really started snowing today. It's frustrating that the mountain has not opened yet but we've enjoyed the peace and quite. The mountain is hoping to open on Wednesday but we need colder temperatures and more snow for that to happen.

Here's the view of falling snow from our unit looking towards the main Village Center. Although it's been snowing and blowing all morning, not much snow is expected. We continue to pray anyway.
Our ski club, Pacific Rim Alliance, is running a ski trip to Big White April 5-12, 2009, when the skiing and weather is at it's finest. Click here for the details.

Pac Rim also has a ski trip to the Kootenays (Fernie, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley) Feb 28 - March 8, 2009. Click here for details.

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Pac Rim Argentina Photo Gallery

It's been a long time coming but I finally have Pacific Rim Snow Sport Alliance's Argentina Photo Gallery up and available for viewing. I will be working on the DVD for participants and hope to have it done by the time I return to the states.

It's been a bigger job that I had anticipated. Collectively, our group took more than 9 GB of digital photographs—that's more than 6,000 shots! Don't worry, they are not all on this web site. To make viewing more manageable, slide shows consisting of about 50 - 100 photos have been created for each day. I tried to pick the best of the best and concentrated on the people. Hope you enjoy. It was a truly great trip.

Our ski club, Pacific Rim Alliance, is running a ski trip to Big White April 5-12, 2009, when the skiing and weather is at it's finest. Click here for the details.

Pac Rim also has a ski trip to the Kootenays (Fernie, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley) Feb 28 - March 8, 2009. Click here for details.

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Big White Announces Exciting News

We are still on the road. Spent the night in Yakima, WA and should arrive in Kelowna in time to hit the Costco. Just before we left San Diego, Heinz, a Pac Rim member, sent us an article on Big White that appeared in the December 2008 issue of SKI by Ken Castle. Interesting.

What we did know is that a 17-story hotel-condo-casino-convention center is being built at the bottom of the Ridge Rocket Chair and is expected to open in 2010. The construction at Big White looks to be outpacing many other destination resorts, and the real-estate boom could soon be matched by an equally ambitious skiing expansion, tentatively called East Peak. According to this article, the resort is about to unveil a master plan that proposes the addition of 2,000 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain on leased provincial land, with construction of the first lift on East Peak to begin in 2010. Plus, the plan makes room for a second-base, another residential community and even a golf course. Even more interesting.
You can download the complete article in pdf format here.

Our ski club, Pacific Rim Alliance, is running a ski trip to Big White April 5-12, 2009, when the skiing and weather is at it's finest. Click here for the details.

Pac Rim also has a ski trip to the Kootenays (Fernie, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley) Feb 28 - March 8, 2009. Click here for details.

Later.

Price Drops on Pacific Rim's Trip to Kootenays in Canada

I have some news on Pacific Rim's trip to the Kootenays (Fernie, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberely). Fernie, pictured below, and Kicking Horse are known for their powder skiing. Kimberely and Panorama are fun resorts also.


Just checked Delta's flights to Cranbrook and with all that's been happening with gas and the world's economy, air ticket prices are coming down.

The flight on 2/28/2009 from LAX to Cranbook, BC, Canada is now $420 roundtrip with a return on 3/8/2009. The flight from San Diego is now $480!! These prices include taxes.

In addition, the US dollar has been steadily gaining on the Canadian dollar. Yesterday it was 1.28. Which means if the exchange rate holds our trip cost could decrease by about 25%.

It's not too late to sign up. Just book your air and send Pacific Rim Alliance a $200 deposit.

Hope you can join us. For more trip information go to Pacific Rim Alliance.

Later.