Ski Where the Euros Do: Favourite Western Canadian Venues

Note: This article has been corrected to omit the Salt Lake Olympic venue from the list of places that several interviewed skiers haven’t visited. 

Most skiers dream of skiing like a World Cup racer.

Okay, one article can’t change your VO2 max, your last eight years of training and your technique. The next best thing is skiing where the WC Euro-stars like to ski. FasterSkier asked a few at the recent World Cup in Canmore, Alberta.

Here’s what they had to say. It’s worth noting there are almost as many favourite places as there are skiers. Also, assume that everyone loves their hometown and their “home” training centre.

North America

There is a lot of what Joran at StatisticalSkier would call selection bias here. All of the favourite venues have hosted WC races. Most of the skiers interviewed aren’t old enough to have skied at Lake Placid, N.Y., or Thunder Bay, Ontario. While Quebec City throws a great party, none of the skiers got to the permanent ski areas outside the city.

— Kristin Størmer Steira (NOR):

“I must say Canmore, it is so beautiful although I also raced in Vernon/ Silver Star and that’s a beautiful place, and of course the Olympics in Whistler was great, but this scene with all this beautiful mountains, it is great. … [Canmore] is a great course.”

— Anna Haag (SWE):

“It is hard; I really like Canmore. It was the first place I saw in Canada. For sure, it is special. But then Whistler, I have my Olympic medal so that is special. But I like it over here, I like to compete in Canada. … [Sovereign Lake/Silver Star] was really nice. The amount of snow was amazing and I think we had like almost 50 centimeters of snow during the time we were there and the conditions were perfect. [Courses] are really tough over here, especially here in Canmore. I think [Canmore is in] the top three of the toughest course I ever skied, especially with the altitude it gets even more tougher. But they are really nice and they are really fair, and that is really important for competition.”

— Tobias Angerer (GER):

“Canmore. I was many times here and I love this area with the nature, with this mountains, and the track is perfect. It is so wide, and yeah, you have place for skiing. It is really good and the atmosphere is really good. I think every year more and more people are coming and the atmosphere is better every year.”

Whistler Olympic Park:

• Elevation: 900 m. Annual snowfall: over 4 m (13 feet). Trails: 56 k. Season: Mid-November to mid-April.
• Events this year: Nationals (cross country, biathlon, nordic combined, ski jumping), Payak, BC Cup.
• Past Events: 2010 Olympics, 2010 Paralympics, 2009 World Cup, 2008 Nationals.
• Funding: A mixture of Legacy funding and user fees.
• Short story: If you want to ski a 50k/30k/15k race without worrying if there will be snow, try the Payak. This is a place with a lot of snow at low elevation, with an average 1.9m snow base by February, and much more in April. The season length is limited more by post-Olympic mandate/funding constraints than snow. Accommodation is at Whistler or Squamish. The 2010 Olympic season was by far the worst snow in the short history of the venue.
• Skiing: The Olympic loops are fairly easy by WC standards, with easy descents that allow recovery. Despite this, big pack finishes were rare. The Olympic loops flow through many transitions and are fun to ski at easy pace. There are also 42 k of recreational trails.

Sovereign Lake/Silver Star/Vernon:

• Elevation: 1600 m. Annual snowfall: 7 m (23 feet). Trails: 50 k + 60 k. Season: mid-November to mid-April. There is often a May re-opening for team camps.
• Events this year: NorAms, BC Cup, Sovereign Lake Loppet.
• Past Events at Sovereign: 2011 World Masters, 2005 World Cup.
• Past Events at Silver Star: 1991 World Cup.
• Funding: Sovereign is a non-profit club: one third season passes, one third day passes, the rest is event fees, fund raising and government grants. Silver Star’s nordic financials are blended in with the resort.
• Short story: Although appearing as Vernon on the FIS results, this is actually two interconnected trail systems. Vernon is a town of 30,000 people (20 minutes drive and 1200 m below the skiing). Sovereign Lake is a ski club of 1,700 members that hosts races, and Silver Star is a ski resort (alpine, nordic, and village with accommodation). Most visitors buy the dual-area pass and never notice the area borders.
• Skiing: The 3.75 k World Cup loops used in 2005 are fairly easy, as World Cup trails go, and were designed to be skied by club members between races. The lower (skate) 2.5 k loop and upper (classic) 5 k loop look FIS moderate on the course profile, but feel harder at race pace. Pacing an individual start on the upper 5 k is particularly challenging. Upper world cup 5 k has one challenging hairpin, otherwise descents are easy and allow recovery. The Master’s World’s 15 k loop is very flat and easy skiing. The recreational trails are only hard in the sense that climbing to the viewpoint at 1890m elevation can leave you breathless. Luckily, a dual-area pass includes one chairlift ride to the top viewpoint.