Ski Canada Buyer's Guide 2022

EDITOR “I can’t remember prices from last season let alone decades ago,” Mike Howard admits when I ask if he thought skiing really is more expensive nowadays. Mike has owned iconic Sepp’s Skis & Snowboards in Kingston, Ontario, for more than a decade, but he started as a weekend high school student when the shop opened in 1972, the year after Ski Canada started publishing. By the time I’d graduated university in 1984, he’d sold me a favourite pair of Dynastar Omeglass, Explode-a-Matt Marker bindings and some used Franz Klammer World Cup Do-Not-Fits. “Equipment, I don’t know, but I’m inclined to think lift tickets have increased in today’s dollars,” says Mike, “but it’s difficult to compare when the majority of skiers now are on multi-day or multi-resort passes.” We banter…

Bricks or roses, we love hearing from readers on anything in the magazine, just try to be concise: mac@skicanadamag.com. Write “LETTERS” in the subject line. No sex please, we’re ski patrollers Upon my previous complaint about other photos in your magazine, which I found lewd, the response I received from the editorial staff was that most readers liked it and that sex and skiing go together. I disagree. It appears that my views and tastes about what gets published in Ski Canada differ widely from the editorial staff of the magazine. I found the comic section of “Withnail and I” in the December 2020 issue distasteful. Having grown up as a member of the Canadian Ski Patrol, any lewd behaviour on my part while wearing the Canadian Ski Patrol uniform…

PUSS IN SKI BOOTS We know all about snowcats, cat tracks, even CARCA avalanche rescue cats, and of course everyone knows of cat-skiing. Until we found this particular grey and white feline named Gary, though, we’d never seen a cat ski. At his home hill, Nakiska, Gary rides with his own season pass on the shoulder of his human James Eastham. Porter Eastham also maintains Gary’s super-popular Instagram and TikTok accounts @greatgramsofgary. Gary started alpine skiing a couple years ago after gaining confidence on a cross-country ski trail. With good grooming and gradual conditioning, Gary has trained Eastham to carry him on all kinds of outdoor adventures near his home in Canmore, Alberta. And it’s been downhill purrfection since. _RYAN STUART PRIX FIXE IN THE CHARLEVOIX Long before our little…

Club Med St. Moritz, Switzerland January 21-29, 2022 SOLD OUT! Alternate Swiss resort to come... New trip! Chamonix, France, March 4-12, 2022 Join Editor Iain and Instruction Editor Nigel in the shadows of Mont Blanc and the striking alpine surroundings of the birthplace of alpinism. › 7 nights’ accommodation at the historic, hip and ideally located Gustavia Hotel › 7 full breakfasts › 5 full dinners › 6-day Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass with more than 1,000 km of pistes! › 40% discount on rentals at trip sponsor Intersport by Pitte › local hotel taxes and gratuities BONUS: everyone’s a winner from generous swag sponsors Bollé, Buff, Glerups, Gogglesoc & Swany! Choose from 10 ski domains each day including Grands Montets, Brévent-Flégère, Le Tour, Les Houches, Aiguille du Midi and…

For good reason, most people remember Mike Wiegele for his renowned heli-ski operation in Blue River, B.C. I remember him as my coach, mentor and inspiration during the years I worked at the Lake Louise Ski school. I was at the Lake Louise Ski Club meeting the day Mike was introduced as the new ski school director. He had arrived in Canada only a few years earlier, so although his English was challenging the Austrian looked very professional in his ski sweater and jet-black hair—and that’s what mattered. The year was 1965. It was Mike’s guidance and example that set me on the path to a lifetime career in the ski teaching business. The beginning was inauspicious. His wife, Bonnie, had hired me to work in the ski shop, but…

Life’s no holiday so when you finally take one this winter, choose the best—Switzerland. Skiing in and among Europe’s highest mountains never disappoints in a country speckled by glittering 4,000m peaks, snowsure glaciers and charming car-free villages. Top quality, superb service and a complete range of styles and prices are on the Swiss menu: from affordable two-star family hotels with breakfast and dinner included, to ski-in/ski-out high-mountain huts, to blow-out grand hotels. Whatever your style or budget, raise a fork to fondue in a weather-worn wooden barn, a sparkling glass to five-star decadence with a level of service the world’s still trying to emulate, or an après-ski cup of the most delicious hot chocolate on earth. Magic? That’s Switzerland! Valais-Matterhorn Region, Portes du Soleil Looking for a big bang for…