Yin meets Yang - Silver Star
If ever there was a resort that embodied the principles of yin and yang it’s the canadian skifield of Silver Star. tucked away in a quiet valley in the far flung reaches of british columbia, it delivers a hell of a lot of bang for your buck. not only is it the central okanagan’s largest ski area, but behind the beginner and intermediate slopes on the front side lies a wonderfully challenging network of double black diamond runs filled with interesting twists and fall lines. Bronwen Gora reports.
© robb thomson/silver star
This yang side is even more of an eye-opener given the face Silver Star presents to new arrivals. If this ski resort was to have a face at the entrance, it would be something like the one that fronts Sydney’s Luna Park: a big, colourful effigy belying the fact that behind the smile and gentle rides are surprises to test your mettle.
It would be a perfect fit for Silver Star’s pretty village of brightly coloured faux Victorian buildings. Depending on your age (or level of jetlag), it’s either like landing in cartoonish Toontown or the surreal Twilight Zone. It bewitches children and adults alike. Last December Silver Star had added one of the tallest Christmas trees in Canada, a 12 metre-plus high extravaganza covered in shooting lights and topped with an enormous star.
Excellent early snow had attracted many customers, too. Powder snow blanketed the resort making it look even more like something out of a storybook. The atmosphere here is genuinely friendly: people love a chat, dogs romp in the street, and the place is intimate enough to feel like a home away from home.
And that it is for many Australians. Tucked away in condos behind the main village centre, several Aussie families choose to live here all season, not only for the downhill skiing but also the cross country. Silver Star is renowned internationally for its extensive cross country ski trail network, over 100km of groomed tracks winding through extraordinarily pretty terrain, snow laden trees and log homes hidden in the forest. This network is drawing not only cross country skiers and snow shoers but increasing numbers of people bitten by the skate skiing bug, a sport just as addictive as long distance running thanks to the exhilaration produced by all the endorphins it creates. People who take this up become as fit as triathletes, and there is hardly a better place to try it than Silver Star.
Not only do you have oodles of groomed trails, but you can sign up for a lesson like Snow Action did with one of Silver Star’s top instructors Guy Paulson. Guy is something of a legend in his own lifetime in ski instructor circles for being so highly qualified in the areas of teaching not only cross-country and skate skiing (Nordic) disciplines but also downhill, telemark and ski racing.
Another good reason to sign up for a skate skiing lesson – or any Nordic lesson for that matter – is that it’s included in your lift ticket. In a clever move, Silver Star’s lift pass covers not only the downhill lifts but all sorts of other activities. This means you can click out of your downhill skis and wander over to the skating rink, tubing park, cross country centre or hire some snow shoes and not have to pay any extra. Access is free and unlimited, so should the mood overtake you to slide down the hill in an inner tube instead of on your boards you can.
Snow Action though only had time to try out the cross country skiing – and for someone who is an advanced downhill skier, learning to skate ski was hugely enjoyable and satisfying once I mastered the knack of the glide. It was also just as much fun as tackling the steep terrain that exists just a few kilometres away over on The Back Side at Putnam Creek. If you love some pitch to your runs, then the area off to skier’s right of Paradise Camp café is your place to feast.
Last year’s early season meant by December 11 the double black diamonds in this area were almost totally skiable, allowing me to try some of Silver Star’s best – Chute 5, Kassanova, Rusty Whistle and Head Wall, all covered in fluffy fresh snow. They were just the ticket to get the legs moving within 24 hours of leaving the confines of an international flight.
© robb thomson/silver star
All the black diamond runs down the backside to Putnam Creek lead to Powder Gulch Express, a high speed quad that whisks everyone back up to Paradise Camp café. If you need a break from double black bumps the answer is conveniently found on skier’s left of Paradise Camp where some of the black diamond slopes will have been groomed, perfect for fast giant slalom-style turns. Like most of the runs on the back side these aren’t just straight shots but are full of banks and corners that keep it interesting, before wrapping back in to skier’s right as the mountain funnels skiers back to the chairlift.
Heading home to the front side and village is easy with a quick trip up the Home Run T-Bar and then a fast schuss down the Milky Way green slope back to civilisation.
The front side presents just as much fun for beginners and intermediates, and most of the runs lead, as all those in good family-oriented ski resorts should, straight back to the village and a shop selling hot chocolate. This means it’s possible to ski right to Bugaboos bakery for a coffee and croissant, to the pizzeria for a Supreme, or virtually right inside The Goody Box, a dedicated sweets shop stocked with virtually every form of lolly known to mankind. Silver Star also prides itself on having Canada’s only ski-in ski-out bowling alley, Pinheads.
Silver Star’s layout means everything you need is a short stroll away. The base lodge and main cafeteria for instance are side by side, and ski rental is downstairs. Also in the same building is the premium restaurant, the Silver Grill, and the more casual but popular Den Bar and Bistro. Opposite is Long John’s Pub, where there’s often a burger eating contest, a small supermarket and gift store. In between is a snowy courtyard where the horse drawn sleigh pulls up, local dogs play and skiers wander through.
Bring the whole family, but know that you could well spend the rest of the year being asked, ‘when are we going back?’
the ticket
getting there Air Canada one stop to Kelowna only 45 mins away www.aircanada.com
resort www.skisilverstar.com
tourist info www.britishcolumbia.travel
vacation homes www.SSVH.com
www.snowcapped.com.au
www.travelplan.com.au
© robb thomson/silver star
