Fernie Alpine Resort

Our Take

Fernie is what the Canadian Rockies look like before real estate developers get involved. The town of Fernie sits in a valley so steep-walled that locals call it the 'Snow Trap' -- storms funneled down from the north hit the surrounding peaks and dump, then dump some more, creating a snowfall average of 349 inches that has made this Resorts of the Canadian Rockies property a legitimate pilgrimage for powder seekers who've exhausted the obvious options. The resort has five alpine bowls -- Currie, Lizard, Cedar, Timber, and Siberia -- each with its own character, aspect, and likelihood of holding untracked snow 48 hours after a storm. The bowls are accessed by a combination of lifts and short hikes, and the smart play is to work the tree skiing in the Lizard Bowl glades on storm days and save the open bowl terrain for when the wind settles. The mountain has 2,504 acres of terrain but skis bigger because every run funnels into tree zones with multiple lines. Fernie's base area has a real ski town underneath it -- the town proper has restaurants, bars, and a cultural scene built around skiing and not around the skiing.

Nerd Stats

Fun Facts

• Fernie averages 349 inches of annual snowfall -- the Snow Trap topography channels Pacific and Arctic systems directly onto the resort.
• The resort has five named alpine bowls, each with distinct character and aspect -- you can spend a week here and barely repeat a line.
• Fernie was a coal mining town before skiing. The Elk Valley mine still operates nearby. The town has real blue-collar bones.
• Resorts of the Canadian Rockies owns Fernie, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, and several others -- all Independent-pass properties with serious terrain.