Hi,

my wife and I will be in Canada mid February to early March next year. We are unsure how to divide our time between Silver Star Ski Resort and Fernie. We were thinking seven days in Silver Star and five in Fernie but are now wondering if we are better of splitting the time more evenly. Could anyone please advise us. Also is two nights enough in Lake Louise? Any suggestions much appreciated.

Are you also planning to ski at Lake Louise? If so, you will want more than 2 days.

As to Fernie and Silver Star, I would lean to more time at Fernie.

Thanks for your reply. Much appreciated. Are Fernie's green runs reasonably easy? I snowboard and can cover most of the mountain, but my wife is not a very confident skier. Do you know how long it would take to drive from Silver Star to Fernie?

Hi Paul,
Armed with Google, http://www.mapquest.com and a desire to answer a question, rather than ask one (for once!) I have found that it is 385 miles between Vernon (Silver Star) and Fernie, with an estimate of 7.5 hours driving time.

However, being a Brit who hasn't been to the Rockies (yet) I could well be wrong!

Claire

Fernie's "true" green runs off the Deer chair are relatively easy but also fairly limited to one side of the mountain. If she gets adventurous and wants to ski other parts of the mountain, there are always the groomers or cat tracks if she needs to bail. Probably good to do Silver Star first if you can and then she'll be better prepared for Fernie and maybe even some blue runs! 12 days is alot of skiing and you might want to think more about splitting it 1/2 and 1/2. I'm not 100% certain how long it would take but I would think the drive from Silver Star to Fernie would be at least 9 hours, depending on the weather.

Thanks. I think we will do just that and stay six nights at Silver Star and six at Fernie. It sounds like a long drive. We might be better of flying.

Hi folks, as I was reading your comments, I'm just even more exciting as I will be at Fernie in the beginning of March. I Have still some questions. Is it possible to rent a car one way to Fernie without paying an extra drop off fee? Is the shuttle available around 11hPM at Calgary Airport? Personnaly, I would prefer the flexibility of the car. Any suggestions for lodging is appreciate ? My main needs are close to the mountain and clean.

Thanks in advance

i'm still unclear if you are skiing in lake louise. i personally think 6 nights in fernie and 6 nights in silver star are a little much. if you plan on skiing in banff/lake louise, i'd plan on at least 4 nights there. you don't have to ski everyday as there is plenty of other things to see in this area.
if you are not in a rush, you might want to consider breaking up the drive between silver star and fernie. if the roads are good, it's an enjoyable drive in the summer. but in winter, maybe consider staying a night a few hours outside of fernie. then you can get up and be at your fernie hotel early afternoon and enjoy the drive more. have fun.