Mount Seymour, Grouse Mountain and Cypress
With my work permit expiring mid-January, I merely have a couple of weeks left working before I sadly have to wave goodbye to my lovely colleagues from Océ. The only upside about not being able to work anymore is that I will have that much more time for skiing! I’m not the most proficient skier but I certainly love it. The mountains surrounding Vancouver are easy to reach with and without a car, and Whistler-Blackcomb, one of the North-America’s biggest and most popular ski resorts, is less than a two-hour bus ride from Vancouver. I decide to practice on the local mountains before I attempt the big rocks of Whistler and Blackcomb.
Just like in Europe, Canada uses colours to indicate the difficulty of the different slopes, however the colours differ from those used in Europe. The easiest slopes are green runs, then instead of red ones in Canada the more difficult ones are marked in blue, followed by a black diamond symbol for the very difficult slopes and double diamond for the really tricky ones.
All of the local mountains have runs for all types of skiers (beginner, intermediate, advanced) but because these mountains are quite small, they don’t have lots of them. Mount Seymour is probably the most beginner-friendly of all the local mountains, followed by Grouse Mountain and the largest ski area just outside of Vancouver is Cypress. All of the local mountains offer night skiing until 10 pm and stunning views over Vancouver, day and night. Ticket prices vary from one mountain to the other and they depend on whether you ski all day or just the afternoon or evening.
Mount Seymour
My first mountain for this season and also the most cost-efficient is Mount Seymour, and it turns out to be my favourite of the local mountains at the same time. Located North-East of Vancouver, there is a shuttle bus running three times a day from Rupert Skytrain station, which is only a 20-minute walk from my flat (8 CAD one way; 4.87 GBP; 5.63 EUR). Mount Seymour also offers really cost-effective 3-night and 3-day passes for as cheap as 99 CAD (60 GBP; 70 EUR) for three nights including rental or 199 CAD (121 GBP; 140 EUR) for three days including rental, as opposed to a regular full-day ticket valued at 56 CAD (34 GBP; 39 EUR) plus 41 CAD (25 GBP; 29 EUR) for rentals. But I don’t just like Seymour because it’s cheap; for a relatively small local mountain, it has a very decent number of slopes, especially for beginners to intermediate. The blue runs lower down on the mountain are relatively short and wide, yet steep, which makes them great for practicing blue slopes. The longest run is a green one called “Manning” with really nice views, and lots of possibilities to divert onto blue runs and vice versa. Some of the blue runs are wider, others are narrow and curve their way through the forest. I prefer going up there in the morning and staying until just after sunset which is beautiful on the mountains. In the evening the slopes get busier with people coming up after work and I generally prefer skiing in the sunshine anyway.
Grouse Mountain
The most accessible yet the smallest of all the local mountains is Grouse Mountain. It is the closest to the city, meaning it offers the closest views to Vancouver, and it’s very easily accessible with a regular bus from Londsdale Quay in North Vancouver. The skyride fee to go up to the downhill area is included in the ski ticket price (61 CAD (37 GBP; 42 EUR) for a full-day excluding rental (42 CAD (26 GBP; 30 EUR) / day). Prices overall are higher on Grouse than on Seymour and Cypress, although the latter is a bigger resort. I go up there only one night with my friend from work, Agnes, but it just doesn’t seem to be my day: The only longer green slope on Grouse, “The Cut”, is quite crowded and it’s really just a straight run, which makes the skiing somewhat less interesting. As I’m having a bad day of skiing as well, I don’t dare to go on any of the blue runs. My friend Agnes attempts the “Peak” run which takes one past a scary cliff however the other blue run from the peak, “Heaven’s Sake” is a less scary alternative. In summary, I think it’s fair to say that going to Grouse is probably best for intermediate (or braver) skiers to have a bit of a variety of slopes. However, there is also an ice-skating rink and a restaurant with beautiful views over Vancouver to pass the time in winter.
Cypress Mountain
The largest ski area close to Vancouver, spread out over two peaks and offering nice, long runs of all grades of difficulty is Cypress Mountain. It is definitely a more challenging mountain than Seymour or Grouse and I’m happy just doing green runs (“Collins” and “Panorama”) when my friend Andy and I go up there for the first time. A shuttle bus is running from East Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver a few times a day for 23 CAD (14 GBP / 16 EUR) return – just make sure to check the return destination as the busses leaving Cypress at different times go to different places. The mountain, which is located North-West of Vancouver also offers amazing views, especially from the top of Mount Strachan. On Black Mountain, the sun disappears earlier than on the other mountain, so I recommend going up there earlier in the day. I only attempt a couple of blue runs the second day I’m up because the runs are quite icy, e.g. “Horizon”, which is a nice long and at times a quite steep slope. For beginners, there is a sufficient amount of green runs to spend the day but again, Cypress is probably best for intermediate skiers (or those that aren’t as much a pansy as I am) for a better variety of slopes. The price for a full-day ticket is 55 CAD (33 GBP / 39 EUR) excluding rental (42 CAD (26 GBP; 30 EUR) / full-day).
