Mountain Collective Canada Ski Tour
- Day 1: Kelowna
- Days 2-3: Sun Peaks
- Days 4-5: Revelstoke
- Days 6-7: Panorama
- Days 8-9: Lake Louise
- Days 10-11: Banff Sunshine
- Day 12: Calgary
One pass, one legendary multi-resort trip
Mountain Collective’s multi-resort ski pass gives 12 days affordable access to six major BC & Alberta ski destinations. If you’re one of many that snagged a pass for this upcoming ski season, you’re in luck. We’ve put together the ultimate ski trip, visiting every iconic Mountain Collective ski spot in western Canada.
Arriving in Kelowna
You’ll start your trip by flying into Kelowna International Airport. For those who were expecting to start your trip in a bigger regional hub, like Vancouver or Calgary, don’t be put off by this! Kelowna is a great regional airport, with a $90 million government budget for expansion. The airfares are similar to the bigger airports.
Our FarOut team will meet you for a vehicle handoff. We’ll walk you through the ins and outs of the vehicle, and send you on your way up to Sun Peaks, the trip’s first stop!
It’s about a 2hr45m drive up to Kelowna. You’ll drive through Kamloops, a fun BC mountain town, on your way to slopeside accommodation at Sun Peaks. We recommend stopping at the Noble Pig for dinner! It’s great mix of brews and bites makes it a popular après-ski spot in town. Might as well get the après fun started before you even hit the slopes!
Sun Peaks
Welcome to the first ski spot on your multi-resort Mountain Collective Canada Ski Tour! By skiable acreage, Sun Peaks is the biggest ski spot you’ll visit on this trip, boasting 4,270 acres of terrain. It’s beloved for its short lift lines, as its sheer size and fairly remote location keeps the crowds away. You can always have a run to yourself on this mountain!
Sun Peaks is also a perfect warm up mountain to start your multi-resort trip on. Sun Peaks is known for being family-friendly, with every one of its three peaks having long, rolling groomed runs. This is a good way to get your legs under you.
Advanced skiers, you’ll still have a blast! Head up the Burfield and Crystal chairs to rip through the bowls below. You’ll also want to traverse over to Gil’s to take advantage of its awesome gladed skiing.
The majority at Sun Peaks is slopeside and reasonably priced. We suggest spending your first and second night here, and driving over in the afternoon on Day 3. The slopes close between 3:30-4PM, so you’ll have plenty of time to make the three hour drive over to Revelstoke.
Revelstoke
Welcome to 5,620 vertical feet of heaven. Revelstoke (Revy, as locals call it), boasts the highest skiable vertical in North America. This mountain is quickly making a name for itself as one of the world’s best, being named the best mountain in Canada in 2021. They’ve got plans to surpass Whistler in size and reputation, and you’ll see why when you’re there!
Most advanced skiers start their day by lapping “The Stoke”, the highest alpine chair on the mountain’s front side. If you feel like doing something dicey to start the day, you can ski back down under the Gondola to the base, an notoriously difficult run called “Kill the Banker”.
Once the alpine opens, you have three choices for bowls, Separate Reality Bowl and South Bowl on the Frontside, and North Bowl down the back. The gnarliest chutes and drop-ins are in the North Bowl side. If you’re looking to take it a level up, you can pop your skis off and hike up to the top of Sub Peak to experience every foot of vertical Revy has to offer.
There are fewer options here for rookie skiers, so take it easy if you’re new to skiing! Luckily, skiers of all levels can enjoy the 5000+ feet of vertical by skiing the Last Spike, Revy’s longest run.
There’s a variety of places to stay in Revelstoke, both slopeside and in the town nearby. You’ll spend nights 3 and 4 here. On day 5, we recommend driving in the evening again and spending a night at Radium Hot Springs. There’s a few couple of amazing natural hot springs on this trip, and you’ll want to make the most of them.
Panorama
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Panorama is deep in the Kootenay Rockies, almost 4 hours away from any major city! You’ll notice the mountains will start to get a bit taller and a bit more epic, you’re nearing the heart of the Canadian Rockies at this point on the trip.
Taynton Bowl, on the backside of Panorama’s summit chair, is where advanced skiers will want to spend their day. This is a former heli-skiing route that’s been brought into the resort, offering the best glade skiing you’ll see all trip. You’ll find all sorts of fun ways to drop into the bowl from the ridges above.
In addition to this epic bowl, there’s tons of good front side skiing. Panorama pitched itself as a family resort for years, but introducing the Taynton Bowl definitely added to what the resort can offer. You’ll find all sorts of good groomers if you’re looking for a day to rest your weary legs.
The hot springs here are a huge highlight. Panorama Springs Water Park offers two expansive slopeside hot tubs, open year-round. You can also check out nearby Fairmont Hot Springs if you’re looking to spend a night away from the slopes.
Lake Louise
Welcome to the heart of the Rockies. Lake Louise Ski Resort, nestled in Banff National Park, is the third biggest ski resort in Canada and one of the best stops on this trip. You’ll want to get to the slopes a bit earlier here, especially on a weekend. Lake Louise is only 2 hours from Calgary, making it one of the most popular day trips for skiers from that quickly-growing city.
The Top of the World Express is a must-ride lift for any visitors. Every lift at Lake Louise has a green run or another easy way down, so you should get up to soak up the breathtaking views of some of the area’s iconic mountains, like Mount Temple.
On the backside of the Top of the World is Lake Louise’s expansive bowls. The bowl skiing is completely wide open at Lake Louise, unlike some of the gladed bowls you were skiing at Revelstoke and Panorama. There’s all sorts of gullies and chutes you can drop in from if you’re looking to mix it up. You can also ski partway down one of the groomed tracks, and leisurely enjoy the open skiing further down the bowl.
A bit more luxury accommodation starts to creep its way in at Lake Louise. If you aren’t able to find a spot at one of the more modest hotels, we highly recommend HI Hostel Lake Louise’s private rooms. This hostel adheres to Hostelling International’s standards, so it’s always clean and well organized. You can book a private or family room if you’re looking to cut costs for a couple nights.
Banff Sunshine
Photo by Davidgsteadman/CC BY 4.0
You’ll be staying in the Banff area for the next couple of days on your Mountain Collective Pass, shredding Banff Sunshine. We’d recommend staying in nearby Canmore while skiing here, it’s our favourite mountain town in the area.
Banff Sunshine has the highest elevation of any ski resort in Canada, topping out around 9,000 feet. It’s made up of three neighbouring mountains: Goat’s Eye, Lookout, and Mt Standish. These are good days to get to the slopes early again, as you may find yourself fighting some weekend crowds being only 90 minutes from Calgary.
The top of Goat’s Eye Express Quad will boast your most advanced in-bounds runs at Banff Sunshine. You can hike a bit further up the slope to drop into some gnarly double blacks, a great way to cap off all the advanced runs you’ve found on your trip.
For those with backcountry experience and avalanche training, you’ll want to do some research into the free-riding areas on the mountain like Delirium Dive. They look like a blast, but our team is more the resort-skiing type!
Day 12 (Options!)
If you’re ready to pack it up for your trip after 10 days of skiing, Calgary Airport and your trip-ending vehicle handoff with our team is only 90 minutes from Banff Sunshine.
But wait! There’s one more mountain in the area you have access to through your Mountain Collective Canada Pass. Three hours north of Banff Sunshine is Marmot Basin, the main mountain in the Jasper National Park area. It’s one of Canada’s iconic playgrounds.
There’s no airports within 4 hours of Marmot Basin, so you will have to drive back down to Calgary after visiting to wrap up your trip. If you’re determined to use every day on your Collective Pass, heading up to Marmot Basin will be worthwhile!
Does this sound like your type of trip? We’re here to help you plan your adventure. Contact us or book a call with one of our team members here, and we’ll help you map out an epic Mountain Collective Canada ski trip you’ll never forget.
