ALTITUDE 3,500ft (1,068m)
Golden Ski Award(s): Most Improved Resort of the Year +

Hotel of the Year (Lizard Creek Lodge) +

Resort Restaurant of the Year (The Wood Restaurant)
Beginners: Intermediates: Advanced: Snowboarders:
Best for: Off-piste

Situated in the remote, south-east corner of British Columbia close to the Alberta border and just 40 miles from Montana, Fernie is, for the present, still one of the great secrets of the Rockies. Indeed, many of its growing band of supporters around the world believe it to be the finest resort north of the 49th parallel and a hot contender for Whistler's successor as Canada's - if not North America's - premier resort.

Until the mid-1990s Fernie was a little-known and unfashionable ski centre, which opened its first lift in 1950 above the little Victorian railway town of the same name for the benefit of its inhabitants on winter weekends. Its unexpectedly good terrain and exceptional snow record - an average 29ft a year - provided superb skiing, but the lack of a modern lift system and the difficult winter three-hour drive from Calgary did little to attract outside visitors.

But all that changed in 1998 when the ski area was bought by Charlie Locke, the owner of a portfolio of Canadian resorts including Lake Louise. After a CDN$100 million injection of cash in lifts and accommodation, Fernie is ready to come of age as a world-class resort. In the life cycle of ski resorts, economic necessity dictates that the 'window' between commercial success and mass-market saturation is an increasingly narrow band of seasons. Already the resort has sufficent lifts and mountain facilities to justify the 12-hour journey from Britain. Catch Fernie now, in all its raw beauty.

The old town, three miles below the resort, provides an alternative bed base and a modicum of off-slope entertainment. Despite its colourful mining heritage, this is no Telluride or Crested Butte. Fernie likes to call itself unpretentious - and that it is. The centre has considerable Victorian charm that remained intact throughout the twentieth century and has as yet barely been touched by the twenty-first. However, the gentrification process of some of the old buildings has begun, and each year more boutiques, restaurants and bars are opened.

Day-trips or overnight excursions to other resorts are possible. Panorama and Big Mountain across the US border in Montana are both a two-hour drive away. Kimberley is a 90-minute drive or a short heli-taxi ride with Bighorn Helicopters. Kicking Horse is three hours away, while Schweitzer in Idaho, Banff and Lake Louise and Red Mountain are all four hours away; 4x4 rental is advisable to all these resorts and the distance between petrol stations can be considerable.

ON THE SNOW
top 6,316ft (1,925m) bottom 3,500ft (1,068m) Fernie now boasts ten lifts including three quads that serve 2,504 acres of skiing in what lays claim to be the fourth largest ski resort in Canada: 'I just wish they could have put perspex covers on the main mountain access lifts. Temperatures in mid-winter can be dire'.

One reporter described the terrain, with its impressive vertical drop of 2,811ft, as 'like Argentière minus the glacier and minus the crowds'. Certainly the five bowls offer a variety of challenging skiing that, with exceptions like Jackson Hole, is more reminiscent of the Alps than North America. Officially the ski area is classified as 30 per cent beginner, 40 per cent intermediate and 30 per cent advanced. In reality, it is geared towards the upper intermediate with plenty of high-altitude powder-skiing for experts. Another reporter described it as: 'some of the best terrain I have ever skied anywhere - perfect groomed pistes and a seemingly endless variety of steep, off-piste descents through the trees. The real joy was that even in February there was virtually no-one else there, and I have never come across such friendly lift staff'. Mountain access is by two quad-chairs from either end of the town of Fernie.

Beginners

Three beginner lifts serve more than 20 green trails. However, a few of them are quite steep for novices. The Mini Moose and Mighty Moose lifts are where first-timers start, while the Deer and Elk chair-lifts access some wide and gentle slopes. Fernie is a good resort for learning to snowboard, with plenty of suitable trails.

Intermediates

The shape of the mountainside lends itself to plenty of long, rolling runs - a playground for cruisers - but the terrain rarely allows you to relax your concentration. Reporters rated the trails off Timber Bowl high-speed quad as 'superb'. The trails off Elk chair-lifts are good warm-up runs, followed by taking Boomerang chair to Cedar Bowl. Most of the runs in Cedar and Lizard bowls are intermediate.

Advanced

Fernie boasts 12 double-black diamond trails, including Siberia ridge, and a cluster of four adjacent gullies off the spine between Lizard and Currie bowls. Boomerang and Boomerang ridge, reached by the triple-chair of the same name, also provide plenty of challenge along with Bootleg Glades. Beware of the notorious Face Lift handle-tow, or 'meat-hook', at the top of the Great Bear Express quad. It serves some worthwhile skiing in Lizard Bowl but reporters warned: 'if you don't get on properly, let go and don't let it drag you up by your arms - it could put your back out'.

Off-piste

Fernie is famous for its massive snowfalls, deep powder and tree skiing. The five bowls of Cedar, Lizard, Currie, Timber and Siberia spread along the south-facing slopes of the Lizard mountain range, and snowcat-skiers and -boarders will be in their element. Several companies will arrange trips, including Island Lake Lodge and Powder Cowboy, with their 7,000 acres of terrain six miles farther along the valley, and Fernie Wilderness Adventures. The back-country guiding operation is called Mountain Pursuits.

Terrain parks

Fernie's terrain park is on Deer trail, and the half-pipe on Bambi trail, both of which are close to the base area.

Tuition and guiding

Fernie Alpine Resort Winter Sports School gives lessons in skiing, snowboarding and a variety of other courses including telemarking, women's ski clinics, Powder & Crud, Turn & Burn, teen skiing and race camps.

Mountain restaurants

Gourmet lunching on snow has yet to reach Fernie. Bear's Den at mid-mountain is an open-air snack bar. The alternative, preferable on the average chilly day, is to return to the village. Lizard Creek Lodge provides fine dining, while the Daylodge Cafeteria serves burgers, soup and sandwiches. Kelsey's in the Cornerstone Lodge in the village centre is warmly recommended ('wonderful English-style fish and chips and Mexican dishes').

OFF THE SNOW

Accommodation

The rapidly expanding base area includes condominiums and an assortment of brand new chalets and town houses, all of which can be booked through Fernie Central Reservations (250 423 9284). Lizard Creek Lodge is the prime place to stay ('superb accommodation with excellent service'). It has a gym, an outdoor hot-tub, a swimming-pool, a comfortable lounge with a roaring log fire and a gourmet restaurant. Its large and comfortable condos contain well-fitted kitchens. Snow Creek Lodge has smaller condos than Lizard Creek, and no restaurant, but the lodge is in a good location with an outdoor heated pool, gym, fireside lounge and underground parking. Cornerstone Lodge lies at the base of Deer chair, but was reported to be 'noisy because it overlooks the resort's communal café area, and is above Kelsey's Restaurant and the Mean Bean'. Five minutes' drive away in town, Park Place Lodge is 'spacious and modern' and serves 'epic breakfasts' but with 'disappointingly impersonal service', while the Old Nurses Residence is a B&B with large Victorian rooms. The Victorian-built Royal Hotel has considerable atmosphere and is under new ownership.

Eating in and out

Lizard Creek is warmly recommended: 'has the finest food and service in the ski village', while River Rock Bistro in Park Place Lodge is praised for its 'sumptuous steaks and bacon-wrapped rainbow trout'. The Wood Restaurant in the town of Fernie heads the growing list of new restaurants springing up to cater for the more sophisticated palates of out-of-town visitors ('quite superb. Big city food at small town prices'). The Royal Hotel Saloon and Steakhouse exudes the ambience of San Francisco in 1900 ('great sushi and seafood pasta in a delightful dining-room') and a comprehensive bar menu.

Après-ski

This is a resort suited to families and individuals whose priority is skiing rather than a lively nightlife. On the mountain you can enjoy a barbecue around the fire at Bear's Den before finishing with torchlight skiing down the Elk run. Alternatives include snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog-sledding, ski-jöring or taking a sleigh ride. In the old town you can swim, go ice-skating and curling, or try the indoor climbing wall. According to one reporter, 'the best bar in town is in the Royal Hotel, where the locals drink'.

Childcare

Daycare is available in the Cornerstone Lodge between 8.30am and 4.30pm daily for children from newborn to school age. The children's ski programme is extensive: Ski Bunnies for three- to four-year-olds, Ski Wizards and Surfers for children between five and 12 years of age, including supervised lunch, and a Freeriders Programme for experienced skiers up to the age of 17. Kids' Activity Nights take place between 6pm and 8pm for ages six to 12 years.

TOURIST INFORMATION

Tel 1 250 423 4655 Email info@skifernie.com Website www.skifernie.com

The Good Skiing & Snowboarding Guide 2003 Peter and Felice Hardy
Featuring over 600 ski resorts this Guide is an essential book for anyone planning and skiing or snowboarding trip. It includes information on transfer times from the nearest international airport, lift pass prices, accommodation and facilities, as well as food and nightlife. Contact details for resort hotels and ski schools are provided. The Guide also contains full-colour piste maps.

Includes half-price, one-year membership of The Ski Club of Great Britain.