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Fernie Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Fernie Ski Resort

Fernie Ratings

Overall: 3.6. Based on 43 votes and 57 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 4.0

(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Fernie is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 4.4

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Fernie has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 4.1

(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.

Scenery: 4.5

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 3.4

(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Fernie.

Public Transport: 3.3

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Fernie, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 4.4

(1) No places to stay in/near Fernie, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 3.6

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 4.2

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Fernie.

Ski in/Ski out: 4.4

(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.

Childcare: 3.7

(1) There are no child care facilities at Fernie, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 2.9

(1) Fernie relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 3.7

(1) There are no snow groomers at Fernie, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Fernie are groomed daily.

Shelter: 3.7

(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Fernie is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 2.8

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Fernie, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.

Regional rating: 4.4

(1) Fernie usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.

Lift Staff: 4.1

(1) The staff at Fernie are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Fernie are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 3.9

(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.

Ski Schools: 3.6

(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.

Hire and Repairs: 4.1

(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.

Beginners: 3.8

(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.

Intermediates: 4.1

(1) No intermediate terrain at Fernie, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 4.5

(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.

Snow Park: 2.6

(1) Not even a kicker at Fernie, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 3.8

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Fernie, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 1.6

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Fernie has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 3.4

(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.

Eating: 3.5

(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.

Apres-Ski: 3.7

(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.

Other Sports: 2.8

(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.

Entertainment: 3.2

(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.

Winter Walks: 3.4

(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.

Ski Pass Value: 3.1

(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.

Value (National): 3.2

(1) Overall, Fernie is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.

Value (Global): 3.4

(1) Overall, Fernie is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

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November 28, 2011
Kim Fuhrman from Ski Canada Canada
I was weary of going skiing Nov 26th (preview weekend) as the snow was sparse at the bottom of the hill. Am I ever glad I ventured out, the snow from mid mountain up was great. Fresh tracks to be made on Blueberry, Dancer, Boomerang and Bear. Promises to be another great season if this keeps up!
February 23, 2011
Steve from Ski Canada Canada
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.
January 13, 2011
Frank Jones from Ski Canada Canada
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.
December 23, 2018
john from Ski Canada Canada
Overall, Fernie is a good mountain that gets dumped with snow sometimes. Rarely ever happens. I went 5 times last year and had really crappy days. Would often rain, the lifts were slow and would often stop for long periods of time. Don't waste your time at Fernie.
March 16, 2017
Rich Jungman from Ski United States United States
Came to Fernie for a family ski trip after hearing about the legendary powder. Worst ski trip in 30 years of skiing. Rained every day. Gloomy to say the least in fact depressing. In seven days never saw the sun once. I will never come back. Unless you are close, don't waste your time. Why did I ever go anywhere but the Western US I don't know. If you don't get snow there, you at least get sunny days and blue bird skies.
February 15, 2012
Powder Hound from Ski Canada Canada
If there is powder at Castle there is always more at Fernie! go here! They lie about rain to get less people to go.
April 10, 2017
Dave from UK from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just had 2 weeks at Fernie and had a pretty fantastic trip. We did get the legendary powder (3 times in 2 weeks we had great dumps). Had a very cold snap for a couple of days which meant it was apres-ski all day as bit chilly for anything else but Lizard Creek was a very, very nice place to stay so we're more than happy. Really recommend heading up to Island lake in the valley next door as well if you can for a great day. Looking forward to getting there again next year :)
January 09, 2018
Mr Nicky from Ski Canada Canada
Came to Fernie for family holiday for 2 months. Great skiing in the first week we were here; nice powder and it keeps on giving! If you explore the mountain you will find the goods. But just like any holiday that relies on the weather it can be hit and miss. So ya need to keep an open mind and relax a bit. I fully recommend Fernie for a family, the terrain covers all levels of riders. The town is cool to hang out in and there is always something going on in the area.
December 27, 2011
mr.john from Ski Canada Canada
Okay, there seems to be a few conflicting reviews here, and I would like to attempt to sort them out for people who have not been to Fernie. I have been skiing almost everywhere, and if you are accustomed to skiing the rest of BC, e.g. Whitewater, Red, Revelstoke etc, Fernie will seem to be a bit of a disappointment. However, if you are used to skiing in eastern North America and even Europe and Banff to some extent, the hill will seem to be fricking righteous. However, I will point out, as a local, the rain and avalanche closures, as well as not having a good park to hit in between storm cycles do tend to be a bit of a downside. Still, the snow is amazing when it is here.
February 09, 2006
Peter Caplin from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Visited Fernie Jan 2006. Snow was excellent, snowed 12 out of the 14 days there with around 2ft one day. This, however, meant a lot of the upper mountain was closed due to avalanche risk but opened up in the second week. Stayed at Lizard Creek Lodge which was fantastic. If you stay in town you have up to 20 min bus ride so stay in the alpine village if possible. No crowds to speak of except on weekends when it does get busier. We managed to do other activities (snowmobiling, dogsledding etc) so avoided the crowds. Food is excellent; big portions and priced well. Will definatley be going back and would stay at the lodge again.

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