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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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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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November 22, 2010
heelside
Fernie is an awesome ski hill. Unlike so many hills closer to Calgary, Fernie actually holds powder for more than one day. The bowls are epic and it is in your best interest to know where the closures are and when they may open. On a good year Fernie can churn out a foot of snow per day for what seems like the entire season. I am sure that Europe and Colorado mega resorts have better bathrooms and lifts. In Canada,what you do get is lots of room to roam and often whispy fresh tracks. I have been down every hill in western Canada and Fernie is surely one of the best.
February 21, 2010
Mick
If you don't like Fernie and think Europe is the bomb well go off back to Europe, because I think you are better off there.
January 19, 2010
John Brown
Fernie: Bowls at closed after a few centimeters of snow. Lifts old and slow. Bathrooms not part of the expensive lift ticket. Management of the hill need much improvement. Rains alot.
December 18, 2009
Kevin Lee
Fernie is one of the most awesome areas around. With the wide open bowls there is virtually endless terrain to ski. For those that are complaining about short runs, I challenge you to ski Skydive or the Boomerang bowl non-stop top to bottom. If you can do that you belong on the Olympic team. Fernie has many, many areas of steep long challenging slopes. It's the only area where I actually literally needed a snorkel. Powder shots over the shoulders every turn and occasionally over the head, and in the face. Fernie is da bomb. Plan it after a good snow fall and you'll be talking about it for the rest of your life. PS. I don't even remember the resorts I skied in Europe, very non-eventful, poor snow, millions of people.
December 14, 2009
Adrian Slade from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I have noticed that there are a few negative reviews about Fernie for 2009. Well a valid comment here is that 2009 was not at all a typical year for snow at Fernie at all. It in fact had about two thirds of its usual snow fall and the depth at mid only reached about 2.2 metres at the end of the season, However the skiing was still pretty good. I was there in 2009 skiing for 65 out of 75 days, the conditions did vary over this period depending on how long it was between dumps and there was a week when it got a bit icy due to unusually high temps and freezing at night. I would point out that having been to Fernie for 7 years it usually gets brilliant conditions and if you are lucky enough to be there when it dumps and dumps then it is hard to beat. This year so far the snowfall is beating all previous records for the past 37 years. So consider the negative comments carefully. With respect to it being busy at weekends and holidays then this has to be taken into perspective. The ski area is a reasonable 2500+ acres and is all in bounds with 5 bowls. The mountain peaks at around 7000 people a day in the busy periods and when you compare this to Whistler that average 40,000-50,000 on 6800+acres then the Fernie ratio is much lower. Whistler has similar densities to those in La Trios Vallee in France. So I suspect those commenting have no experience of a really busy resort. In fact in Fernie in the week the average number of people on the ski hill is around 1000-1500 a day and there are always empty runs. I have seen no one at the base or on lifts in January at 9:30am. With respect to the lift ticket prices: they are not cheap, but this is mainly due to the exchange rates and if you compare to a major resort in EU then there is not much in it. Do not be put of, it is a great ski hill and does get very good powder snow when it snows hard. If you go and the conditions are as they are usually you will not be disappointed and it has a lovely feel and charm.
April 03, 2009
Pat Brown
Stayed for 2 weeks at Fernie. The resort got snow, however, most of the hill was closed. After a few centimetres they closed most of the upper runs. Locals said that each year the management of the hill gets worse then the previous year. When they do open parts of the hill the powder has settled and mostly, is heavy, etc. This year they have added a lot of rope which has created a very dangerous situation when skiing in low visiablility. Ski tickets very expensive. No washrooms on upper hill (a lot of out houses) And the lifts at Fernie need to be upgraded.
March 10, 2009
steve M from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
My 10th year in Fernie has just passed. Don't believe the hype any more than you would anywhere else but if you like it steep and sometimes deep, you have hit it lucky as Fernie is the happiest place to be. It's not all about the ski hill, it's about the feel of the whole valley. So freindly and laid back but serious about its winter sports. I go for the vibe and for backcountry and it has it all in Fernie. Cat sking or hiking after a dump is amazing, try Ferne Wilderness cat skiing or, if you're able to get in, Powder Cowboy for the day. It's even got what is regarded by many as the worlds premier cat ski operation at Island Lake and it is something to do in your life if you live to ski/board. The weather on the whole can be changeable but no different to Europe until it snows, then it really snows. I miss the restaurants on the pistes of France but it is Northern America so things are done by going to the base for food. The food is good and pretty cheap compared to Europe but the lift passes are in the orbit of approximately £48 a day (work that out for 10 days). You don't get a big ski hill at Fernie either and there is no park. The Face lift is closed with most of Cedar bowl when it snows most of the time. I can't recommend Canadian Powder tours chalet enough. It's the best place to stay in Fernie by far. Check it out but don't go by the 80's website. Suffice to say, after 10 years I'm still not bored with Fernie and will probably never be. It's not just about the ski hill here.
March 02, 2009
Dave T from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
After riding in Europe for the last 17 years, why did I chose to come to Fernie for my first season? Legendary Champagne Powder, awesome terrain and no crowds. Well after spending 4 months here I can tell you that Fernie thrives on hype. The legendary champagne powder is no better than anywhere else and is frequently replaced by rain that is apparently the norm for Fernie, but is conveniently never mentioned. The awesome terrain is there but the runs are very short and are very quickly tracked out when they're not closed; this is more often than not. The crowds at the weekends or after a dump of snow are quite impressive to say the least and once the powder is tracked out (very quickly) there is no park (small one with a few rails) as jumps are banned. It is apparently RCR policy that you can hurt yourself on jumps but not on steel structures. Is this due to the fact that they fear being sued for injuries or that it's cheaper not to have a park to maintain? Who knows. While here I've been to Castle Mountain, White Water and Red Mountain - all of which are small but enjoyable for a short trip. To sum up - It's a small area (8 lifts - including the two drags serving the beginner area). It rains quite often. The Canadian Powder is no better than powder anywhere else. Fernie has good terrain but the runs down are over very quickly - 20 min laps for 10 turns. It gets tracked out very quickly. Areas remain closed for long periods. Fernie suffers from crowds at the weekend and after a dump of snow. If you are used to the big European resorts then I'm afraid you're not going to be very impressed - North American resorts just don't compare in any way what so ever.
January 31, 2009
Keith Turner from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just got back from a week boarding in Fernie. Stayed at Stanford Hotel mid-way between the town and the mountain. Conditions were really cold for 5 days (-26 degrees at Bear's Den on Sunday and with -40 windchill - thank goodness for the fire there.) Then 3-4cm of snow-making the last day provided fun between the trees and pylons on the lower part of the mountain. Unmarked run from bottom of Great Bear chair between 43 and 45 was good and could be lapped in <15 mins. Last day was first to last chair solid. The bowls and chutes at Fernie were mostly too icy to do much more than a tour and recce. Would go back, but the legendary powder failed to show :-(
January 17, 2008
Andy Griffiths from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just came back from a great weeks skiing in Fernie. Stayed at the Riverside Chalet where our host Julie made the most delightful cakes and biscuits, if only Chris knew how to turn on a dishwasher??? :-) Snow was fantastic, people were great, even took in a hockey fight (oops, I mean game). All in all, one of the best skiing experiences I have ever had. Bonza (in joke at chalet).