On Sunday afternoon, Theodora and I were very concerned that we’d made a horrible mistake in deciding to make an impromptu visit to Vernon’s premier ski area, Silverstar. We were high-up on the Coquihalla Highway and were crawling along at 20 km an hour as a blizzard turned the slushy highway from hazardous to downright terrible. On our right, we crawled by half a dozen cars and buses who were stuck spinning their tires in the hard pack snow. Pretty soon the entire car was enveloped in foggy snow. Visibility was down to 10 meters. My white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel could have cracked a walnut.
Half an hour later we were cruising along the highway under blue skies at 110 km. We joked that we felt like a party of hobbits who’d successfully dodged Saruman’s curse and made it over the Misty Mountains. After a brief bathroom stop in Kamloops (we decided to take the northern route to Vernon following Highway 5 to Merritt and then Kamloops) we headed along Hwy 1 then along a meandering small 97 into Vernon.
Courtesy of okanaganvacationguide.com
The next day we woke early in our Vernon hotel to motor up to Silverstar. It was a hop, skip and a jump up the Mountain (nothing like the Misty Mountain experience).
That morning I was convinced by the Australian ski renter guy (is there a per-capita rule on mountains to hire a certain number of Aussies) to spring for the high level skis costing an extra $10 a day.
Over the next six hours, I skied like I’d never skied before. Clothed thanks to the thoughtful lending of my friends John Horn (long-johns – pun intended! and gloves) and Julian Christians (ski-pants). Thank goodness for the winter-wear as without it, I’d still be an icicle. Despite the phenomenal powder, the wind made skiing without a fully covered face an act of masochism.
Throughout the day, we enjoyed Silverstar’s 12 lifts. Highlights was tree-skiing off of blue runs. Dodging trees is like dodging balls (or wrenches) – very fun and very rewarding. I also loved the Whistler-like variety and the very non-Whistler like lack of crowds. That plus the cute little ski-village at the base of the mountain. Talk about quaint.
There’s a lot more to say, but I’ll leave it at that today. Stay tuned for a new dispatch in the coming days.
Header image courtesy of Visions of Domino