Has anyone ever done any Spring skiing in Canada?

[bcafe]

We are wondering about average temps and snowfall in April. I think we are interested in Whistler, Banff, Lake Louise area. Thank you!
Hoping to get our vacation pinpointed. :)

[MarisaSF]

Yes, we went to Whistler in March/April (can't remember which) a couple years ago (before baby). If you haven't been, it's an absolutely super fun place -- great restaurants especially. The mountain is terrific, but honestly the snow was horrible when we were there. It was freezing on the top and windy, so they closed the upper half of the mountain. The lower half was slushy. I don't regret the trip at all, because we stayed in the village and made the most of our apres ski time.

Are you in the US? Or Canada? Or other? My fave place for spring skiing is Tahoe.

We visited here a lot before our trip: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm

DH checks individual mountain sites a lot, but I'll ask if he likes a certain comparison site.

[bcafe]

We usually ski in Colorado, but Spring break is late this year due to Easter being later. Our spring break starts on Good Friday which is April 14. Ususally it is too warm in CO to ski that late in April. We thought Canada might be cooler at that time of year. Hmm, I would hate to haul 4 kids and not ski! I better do some more research. Thanks!

[MarisaSF]

It's gonna be semi-slushy anywhere, but, from what I'm remembering... the base of Whistler is pretty low. The altitude rise is enormous, which makes for awesome long trails IF the top is open and the bottom isn't too slushy! :)

Can you get to Tahoe or Mammoth? We love it here in CA ... http://www.mammothmountain.com/plan/#

Both would either require a long drive or a flight into Reno and then a drive. Probably not ideal either. I'd love to go to Banff.

[steph2003]

We usually ski in March - mid March or late March. One year CO got dumped on right before we got there so we had great skiing.

Last year we went to Whistler & they were having the worst year on record for snowfall ALL YEAR. So there wasn't much we could do about that. That said Whistler is simply beautiful & the skiing still challenging enough for us with the runs that were open. Most of the bottom half of the mountain was not open & you had to download via ski lifts. Still I'd go back to Whistler in a heartbeat - great food & European village feel!

[bcafe]

So, Tahoe has good spring skiing? I am frustrated that the kids have break so late in the year :( I really want to ski somewhere though! We are in Wisconsin, so we ski all winter. Anyway, thanks for the info.

[psophia17]

I don't know about skiing, but my sister went to Banff on her honeymoon a few years ago, and there are lots of pictures from their hiking adventures with snow in them, and that was in late July. They probably have snow in April.

According to my DH, who worked for a resort in Whistler for several years, they have glacier skiing all summer, so I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have skiing in April, although like the PP said, it might not be as thrilling as you hope.

I'm not a skier at all, but Whistler is a fun place to go regardless.