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Fernie resort snow
Lat Long: 49.46° N 115.09° W
Ski Canada - BC

Fernie Resort Reviews

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Issued: 11 pm 30 Apr 2026 (local time)

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Visitor reviews for Fernie Ski Resort

Fernie Ratings

Overall: 3.7. Based on 55 votes and 59 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.0

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Fernie is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.6

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Fernie has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.1

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.4

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.4

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Fernie

Public Transport: 3.3

  • There are no buses or taxis to Fernie
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.4

  • No places to stay in/near Fernie
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.7

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.1

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Fernie

Ski in/Ski out: 4.3

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.7

  • There are no child care facilities at Fernie
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.3

  • Fernie relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.7

  • There are no snow groomers at Fernie
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Fernie are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.7

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Fernie is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.9

  • If snow conditions are poor at Fernie, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.4

  • Fernie usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.1

  • The staff at Fernie are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Fernie are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 4.0

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.6

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.1

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.7

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.1

  • No intermediate terrain at Fernie
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.6

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 2.6

  • Not even a kicker at Fernie
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.8

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Fernie
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.6

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Fernie has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.4

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.5

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.6

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 2.9

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.2

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.5

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.1

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.3

  • Overall, Fernie is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.4

  • Overall, Fernie is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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April 05, 2011
big d
Fernie is not dependent on snow conditions. When it's snowing heavily, don't go! They'll close the whole place down. A good 5-6 days after a snowfall is good time, they usually start opening terrain at that point. Now if it's on a weekend then definitely go. RCR loves to open areas when there are tourists around and screw over the locals, closing terrain, during weekdays. I was there a few weeks ago. Hadn't snowed in 5 days and they just opened one of the bowls (of course on a Saturday). Man the locals must be p1ssed. Oh yea and some other thoughts: Dayticket ~ $90 Lifts are slow Rains a lot Weekends get very, very busy No jumps, only rails
April 01, 2011
ryan
Fernie is one of the best hills I have been on in the last ten years and I keep coming back season after season and loved it every time. The only problem with the hill is RCR.
March 11, 2011
Louise
Would you rather get caught in an avalanche? Deal with it, closures are for your own safety!!
March 10, 2011
realistic
RCR are money grabbers, when it does snow like the last couple of weeks they keep parts of the mountain closed for up to 8days, it is sad because it is a good mountain with nice terrain. RCR say they keep things closed due to avi danger but they are over cautious(what other mountains in the world would shut most of the mt and keep chairlifts closed on after 10cm or more! Plus, while you're waiting for the lift to open, ski schools are being let on and tracking the mountain before you can go up the lift. The last thing I have to stick to RCR is the way you open little area's at a time, it gets tracked so fast and it's a fight for fresh line. Today I went up for first lifts and waited in the rain until 11 - 2hours late. Fernie, when it's not raining, is sweet! Go to Revelstoke!
February 23, 2011
Steve
I am a Fernie regular for the past 7 years. For context, I have skied most of the major resorts in North America, both in the East and the West. I regard Fernie as unique. First, the snow quality: aside from a few lucky days in Utah, I have never found such high quality and bountiful snow as I have in Fernie. The snow can be so light and deep that you can dig your pole into the snow to the grip, not find the bottom, and stir around without resistance. Hit a mid-week dump, and you can be making fresh tracks up to your last run. When it is snowing, there is genuinely no better place in North America. When it has not snowed for a while, there can be wear spots in a few specific areas (noteably on the sun facing side below the Elk Chair). Even so, the tree skiing holds, and the unique scalloped configuration of the mountain ridge means that stashes are out of the sun and well- preserved. It does rain at times in April. I hate that. To look for a positive, the storm patterns seem to also make late season skiing some of the best (e.g. 2-3 days of heavy snow, followed by lower mountain rain). The mountain design works for the adventurous. Contiguous bowls mean lots of ridgeline skiing between the bowls. Lines: you have got to be kidding. Aside from predictably busy ski days, lines are simply not a factor. Better still, you can always venture out into all sorts of in-bound places and be completely on your own. Equipment: yup, updates will be welcome. Good enough, though laps in some areas can be a multi-lift chore. Locals will say that it helps to keep areas from getting tracked out. I see it from both sides. Town: I love this place. It is a good idea to stay off the hill. Cost is dramatically less, and the trip in is so short. Much more to do in town post ski than on the hill. Closures: well, they do rope areas off when it snows, Usually areas open over the course of the day. Wish they had a better system of announcements. If you are a real skier, put Fernie high on your list.
February 18, 2011
James from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Having skied Fernie, I'm not sure what the last few people were on about. Fernie gets more snow than most resorts in Canada, and half the amount of people that Whistler or Banff would get. Just had an epic day of fresh pow. Lets just say those people were there on a not so good day. Fernie gets bad days too, but a lot less than other resorts around. The less people there the more pow for us who stay! Enjoy.
February 18, 2011
cyrus
I've been to Fernie several times and would definitely agree that it is not a family hill, as a lot of the terrain is quite steep. Last year (2009/2010) was a very icy year but the terrain in the Curry Bowl always seems to have good snow. This year, even after a snowless week or so, there was powder to be had! Very good terrain with snow, although it turns into moguls fairly quickly. Bottom line: with some base: awesome! Without, you may be buying yourself some new skis...
January 21, 2011
Peter
Having skied Fernie for the past 20 years, along with every other resort in Western Canada, I agree that Fernie is not one of the better hills. Rain, closures, poor facilities and crowds. My suggestion: stay away.
January 13, 2011
Frank Jones
Skied Fernie for a few days and was unable to ski most of the terrain. Locals have said that most of the hill closes due to avalanche potential after 5cm of snow. Even after morning avalanche bombing, bowls remain closed until the weather breaks and a heli can be brought in. Very disappointed.
January 05, 2011
Seb
After 5 years in Fernie my review sounds like this: -When you got a dump its champagne -Lifts are an incredible access to sick backcountry runs -No waiting during the weeks -No park -headwalls and cliffs are permanent closure area ex:hellsgates -Staff and patrol try hard but I think that RCR is the problem. (Why try to make a family resort with a terrain like that ?)