In the SE corner of BC lies Fernie Alpine Resort, one of my favourite mountains in the world, and that’s after busting two ribs there. Great Ski Patrol too!! Thanks guys.
The mountain stats speak for themselves. 142 runs, 2500 acres, 5 bowls, 3500 feet of vert and an average 30ft of snow per year. What the stats don’t tell you is the variety of terrain. You can send it over cliffs, hit chutes, bomb down the glade runs, hit open groomers and go big at the terrain parks. Fernie has all the variety you want.
If you get an on mountain job, you get a pass giving you access to all Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) mountains but in reality, you don’t really need to leave. But hey, road trips are fun too so check out Kimberley and the mighty Kicking Horse as well.
There’s also the Fernie Effect. This is when cold air meets Pacific moisture trapping storms in the Lizard range creating way more snow than forecasted.
Predictions of “flurries” often end up as deep powder days. A few year ago we were in town for Griz Days (a community festival) and the forecast of “flurries” turned into back to back 30cm + powder days. The town had a little celebration when the season snow tally hits 10m and that year the party was in very early March.
The 22/23 winter season involved a difficult housing situation. A major gas pipeline construction project brought 600 workers into town which filled up rooms over summer. Many of the workers stayed for the winter because the project is still going on this summer.
Unfortunately the affordable housing crisis continues in Fernie. New affordable units are going up, but way too slowly to keep up with demand. Also cashed-up mining workers in the valley can outbid ski bums on the private rental market.
People wanting to work the winter in Fernie should seriously consider arriving in the spring or early summer to give themselves the best chance of securing a long-term rental.
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