Marmot Basin: a 'once in a lifetime' experience?!

Marmot Basin is a little resort with good runs and few people skiing there for most of the time. It is located near Jasper and offers a great and scenic mountain view. It could be a nice, even though not a cheap experience. It could … but the two days of skiing did not totally satisfy me.

I headed out to Marmot Basin on a cloudy day looking forward to a great powder day. I rented my skis and bought the ticket. I then headed out to find most of the lifts closed. Only a flat school run was open. If you enjoy skiing on a hill as steep as the Great Plains, that's the place to go. Weather is always part of the game and strong winds are troublesome for any chair lift. No question about that. So I can see that point of closing the lifts.

But: I felt like having bought a ticket for a cruise and then finding myself on a boring one-day boat trip. And yes, I was quite disappointed. The cashier sold me a full day pass, knowing that most of the lifts were closed at that time.

One chair lift opened shortly before midday, which made at least some black runs with great powder accessible but still leaving most of the mountain closed. All in all, not worth the money I paid for the pass.

I decided to head out to the guest service the next morning to see what could be done about that. I was then referred to come back in the afternoon to talk to the manager. When I got there for a second time I was blocked off by one of the cashiers: 'I should have come yesterday and normally they don't grant a refund or anything etc.. Now you know that for the next time'. Is that what you call a good guest service?

Well, I don't! Every governmental agency has a better costumer service than Marmot Basin.

It's kinda creepy selling a full priced ticket, knowing that most of the mountain is shut down at that time (and will remain shut down throughout the day). And it's even bolder if the manager isn't even ready to take the complaint the next day and think about any kind of compensation. Poor performance on that!

So … yes, Marmot Basin truly was a 'once in a lifetime' experience. I am disappointed by the poor guest service and the poor experience I paid a lot of money for. One thing is for sure: I'll never come again and I cannot recommend that resort to anybody. Take the extra miles and head for Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Golden or some of the other awesome resorts fairly close by. You will definitely enjoy it a lot more.

If you want to pay more for less: Marmot Basin is the place to go.

Out of 5 stars I will award 2.
Deducting 3 each for:
- poor day of skiing w/ most lifts closed and w/o any compensation.
- disappointing guest service, not worth it's name.
- ticket prices slightly over the top for the experience the resort has to offer.