OS Options for Family Stay
We’ve had some advice that coastal Canadian (eg. Whistler) and US resorts are more subject to wet weather than inland resorts. Any comments?
That’s exactly true mud. The snow will often be heavier in coastal resorts than inland resorts due to the amount of water in the snow.
By all means that doesn’t mean bad (and can mean a lot more snow) but it’s not the same champagne powder boasted by the inland resorts.
If you’re going all the way to Canada, I suggest hiring a car and getting out to a few of the other resorts. A 2 week holiday could easily be 5 days in whistler, then hire a car and go Sun Peaks, Revelstoke, Big White for 2 days each and back to Vancouver with no more than 4-5 hours driving between each. With a group of people in a large car, this would probably not even cost too much and you’ll save $30 per person per day on lift tickets alone. (Whistler $115+, Others around $75-80ish.)
And if you go to Sun Peaks, give me a heads up and I’ll let you know where to go to find some awesome parts of the hill 
We’ve had some advice that coastal Canadian (eg. Whistler) and US resorts are more subject to wet weather than inland resorts. Any comments?
this is my issue with Whistler…
Its the Thredbo of Nth America…
Yes when its on it on… but too high a risk for me to have it as my only resort for a ski trip of a lifetime!
It has never been a concern of Tahoe resort’s it is far enough inland and surrounded by dessert so the air tends to dry up a bit. Of course not as great as Utah dry powder but it does have a chance to dry up somewhat.
And actually I have only ever heard of it being an issue at Whistler. And East coast resorts.
With a group of people in a large car, this would probably not even cost too much
Oh yeah this’ll work cause his ‘big group’ is actually he wife and kids who are all going to chip in with their pocket money 
We’ve had some advice that coastal Canadian (eg. Whistler) and US resorts are more subject to wet weather than inland resorts. Any comments?
Yep, it does rain in the village!!!!!
But that rain equates to snow up the top part of the mountain as well!!!!!
Whistler (Just like Thredbo) has a big elevation and a low lying village, and coupled with a higher water content in the snow (due to it bein close to the coast) the pow will be heavier!!!!! But it’s still gonna be pow, and at an average of 15 meters (I think), you’ll find the snow won’t be a problem!!!!!
If ya don’t make Whistler your base, at least go there for a few days, as the amount of terrain is truly mind blowing!!!!!
And the variation of it is probably on par with none????? There’s long cruisy cat tracks that literally go for kilometres, to leg burnin blues that are even longer, to an abundance of gelded areas for you to dodge tree wells, to cliff drops the size of apartment buildings, and then there’s also a few slushies down in the lower areas near the village where ya can practice the things that have potential to hurt on the harder stuff!!!!!
Not to mention the village!!!!! If the weather’s crap, you won’t get board cause there’s plenty to see and do right at the doorstep!!!!!
There was a reason why they chose Whis for an Olympic Games, and that’s cause it can cater to pretty much any scenario!!!!!
Ok, I just read the whole first page and realised that my response wasn’t what you really wanted. Considering your Sun Peaks option:
PROS
- Sun Peaks is definitely a decent option if you want 2 months over there.
- 2nd largest resort in Canada
- Good variety of runs for the whole family
- If you head over in Mid January you could possibly rent a place for the rest of the season pretty easily and it would be tons cheaper. But you’d have to wing it and arrive in Canada with possibly no accommodation to do this or arrange accommodation like a week or 2 before arriving. A nice 2 bedroom place could go for $1000 a month though which would save you HEAPS! Just have to wait it out and go in as if you’re a local wanting to rent for the rest of the season. (Could end up being 2-3k rather than 7-10k)
- This being said, a lot of staff leave after Christmas and New Year and property owners would likely be overjoyed to fill their place for the remainder of the season if people packed up and went home
- Season passes would need to be pre-purchased or they are stupidly expensive
- Sun Peaks is really close to a lot of other major resorts if you want to do a day or overnight trip it’s totally feasible.
- Still some night life so it’s not totally dead if you do want to go out for dinner or for drinks at the pub
- Easy to make friends if you’re there all the time. Being at the bottom of Burfield before the lifts open on a powder day would mean you could totally meet the locals.
- Pretty much everything is ski in / ski out now.
Cons
- Mountain is massive but at the same time you can do all the runs in a week and the tree runs aren’t as good as other resorts (Revvie / Whistler / Big White)
- Easy to get lost in the back country if you don’t know where you are and/or try to go too far
- No on hill shopping and if you don’t have a car, it can get really expensive (hitching a lift is pretty easy though and I could get you in the facebook group to find rides easily to Kamloops if you needed.)
- If you rent an apartment, are you going to be able to make friends to ride with? Or are you and your family ok with riding alone for 2 months. I say this because at hotels you can meet people in the lobby / spa / breakfast etc. When you’re in a house, do you make an effort to make friends.
- If you rent a place near staff, are you (and your kids) going to get kept up all night. Is this why people moved out mid season.
Sorry about wall of text, I’ve just been rambling things off while at work 
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Overall, personally I’d go to the USA and go to like Tahoe or Colorado so you had multiple resorts to choose from and options to stay in the major city like Denver etc Prices will be cheaper and you could likely do the same rent for the rest of the season option as Sun Peaks (or say you want to rent for the rest of the season) Take from this what you will and ultimately it’s your decision but I’m sure you’ll have a blast no matter where you go
With a group of people in a large car, this would probably not even cost too much
Oh yeah this’ll work cause his ‘big group’ is actually he wife and kids who are all going to chip in with their pocket money
Yeah posted before I read about it lol. See new post.
But that rain equates to snow up the top part of the mountain as well!!!!!
Which is great for us big kids…
But maybe not so great for a young family?
Wet (which then equals miserable) kids is not fun for anyone!
Speaking of the kids.
Mud another thing to look at is the kids programs that each resort has.
Not the normal tourist kids ski school but the development programs.
Might be worth doing a bit of research. You are going for such a long time that the kids spending every Saturday on snow with the same instructor for 2 months will be amazing for their skills.
Something to start with
http://www.skiheavenly.com/ski-and-ride-school/kids-ski-school/child-development-teams.aspx#/Ages47
http://www.coppercolorado.com/winter/ski_and_ride_school/youth_seasonal_programs/scooters
http://squawalpine.com/skiing-riding/lessons-rentals-teams/teams?tabs_container_1=2
http://www.sierraattahoe.com/rippers
I think the smaller resort would be a better idea for these. Might be worth an email to ski school for more details if you can’t find stuff online for the smaller resorts.
But that rain equates to snow up the top part of the mountain as well!!!!!
Which is great for us big kids…
But maybe not so great for a young family?
Wet (which then equals miserable) kids is not fun for anyone!
Nobody likes bein wet?????
That’s why we buy the correct gear!!!!!
And you can pretty much walk to the Gondola undercover for most of the way too!!!!! (If staying in the village)
And even a common occurrence in Whistler is to experience an inversion, where it’s rainin in the village, yet blue sky up top!!!!!
Thanks for the detailed info, all. I’ve been flat out with the chaos at home due to home renovations and returning to work after holidays.
We were planning to put this trip off to end of 2016 or 17, but we’ve had a rush of blood and booked it for this coming season! After some deliberation we’ve settled on Sun Peaks for a combination of reasons, including cost effectiveness of AUD vs USD vs CAD, family friendliness, development programs/ski school, size of resort. We’re looking to head over from 4th Dec (will have to pull kids out of school a little early) to 24th Jan. Flights are booked as of today, still nutting out some accommodation but have some good options available. 
Crap, I totally missed the facebook reply (reception for me lately is spotty to say the least)
Hearthstone is a decent lodge. Close to the lifts and relatively nice if you can get a good deal.
Cahilty is a good option too for cheapish yet still decent (from what I’ve seen from the bottom)
Delta is the posh hotel. Probably a bit overkill if you’re away for so long.
Heffley I wasn’t too fond of (Owners are super nice to customers but can be asses to their workers.)
Hope this helps a bit.
If you want a guide on where to hit up, let me know and I’ll tell you all the good runs / groomers / tree runs etc to search for.