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Sun Peaks: Go for the cold

IT'S NO WHISTLER: But family-friendly Sun Peaks thrives in that Canadian megaresort's shadow.

By YVETTE CARDOZO and BILL HIRSCH
Published October 16, 2005

[Sun Peaks Resort photo]

At dusk, the Sun Peaks ski village in British Columbia glows with warmth.

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia - It's 11 a.m. and there's still fresh powder along the ski runs at Mount Morrisey.

"Not only is the snow better over here," says Tom, our "Sun guide" this morning, "but the crowds are lighter."

Crowds? We not only have Tom's favorite run to ourselves, but also we have Tom. We are his only customers. Each morning and afternoon, the Sun Peaks ski resort sends staffers to lead tours of the mountain. On a slow midweek day, there may only be a handful of skiers per guide, and today is one of those times: Tom has promised himself to a family this afternoon if no one else comes out.

Oldtimers joke about Sun Peaks, in the British Columbia interior, beginning to look a lot like the huge, and widely acclaimed Whistler ski resort. Well, the two do share the same nouveau Tyrolean architecture, the same winding cobblestone streets and a couple of the same hotel brands.

But Whistler now has about 60,000 beds, a series of connected villages that require wheeled transport to get around, a bewildering complex of mountains that can take half a day to traverse and a sort of intensity among many skiers and snowboaders.

None of that is going to happen at Sun Peaks, say the folks who run this place.

Whistler draws thousands of day skiers from the 2-million-plus population around Vancouver, barely 75 miles to the south. Sun Peaks' local city is Kamloops, population 83,000. It just wouldn't be smart to try and compete head to head with Whistler, so Sun Peaks has carved its own niche.

"We're not the same market," said Steve Ogden, communications manager of Tourism Sun Peaks. "We appeal to people who want a slower pace, a family-friendly place, where you can turn the kids loose and not worry that they'll get lost."

The resort claims to have fewer skiers per acre than almost any other resort in North America . . . probably explaining all that untouched powder we are finding on Morrisey. And building restrictions call for the number of rental beds to be limited to 18,000.

Still, Sun Peaks is a destination resort, with a full-service hotel, lots of nonski activities including a new skating rink and a tubing hill, nightlife, a slew of hot tubs - and great skiing.

This has been developed in about the past dozen years, and leading the way was Canadian Olympic gold medal champion Nancy Greene. Her infectious enthusiasm still evident, Greene still leads ski tours of the mountain for any guest; just look for the sign at the base reading "Nancy is Skiing Today."

She takes any guest who wants to tag along, as we did last winter, and offers skiing tips while noting favorite places on the mountain.

Named Canada's female athlete of the 20th century after winning Olympic gold in 1968, Greene's enthusiasm on these little trips is real. She and her husband, Al Raine, helped launch the development of Sun Peaks and they live in an apartment in their Cahilty Lodge.

The resort opened in 1961 as Tod Mountain, with one chair lift serving terrain best left to expert skiers. In 1992, the Nippon Cable Co. of Tokyo bought the area and, along with other developers, sank a reported $300-million into two more mountains, dozens of intermediate runs and a base village.

Today, there are 11 lifts and 117 runs serving 3,600 acres and 2,900 vertical feet of skiing. There are eight hotels including the five-star Delta, dog-sledding, sleigh rides, ice skating, snowshoeing and 25 miles of cross country trails.

Across the valley from where we now stand on Morrisey with Sun guide Tom, we can see fingers of intermediate runs radiating from the Sunburst and Sundance chairs. The original lift leading to those difficult trails remains, but what Sun Peaks does best is provide ego-buffing intermediate runs.

Something that happens a lot here that we've not seen much anyplace else will be appreciated by skiers: It often snows five or six inches overnight and this lies atop runs that were groomed before the snowfall. That provides a great chance to ski shallow powder atop a smooth base; the feeling can be exhilarating.

Morrisey is the third and most recently developed mountain at Sun Peaks. Its main group of runs threads between widely spaced trees. Instead of shooting down wide freeways, skiers can duck under branches and wind around spruce and fir trees.

Next up the ability ladder is another Sun Peaks specialty: steep but well-groomed black-diamond runs. Skiers can use these knowing that there aren't any nasty surprises such as boulders under the snow.

And then there's the new "cat ski" operation. This is north of the resort, among the hills that previously were limited to those skiers willing to hike up to reach the top of the runs.

In a day of cat skiing, a good skier can do eight to 12 runs that average 800 vertical feet each. We found this terrain mellow, a series of tranquil bowls and widely spaced trees. The snow-covered trees and rolling hills are out of a Currier & Ives print, and the skiing is in wilderness devoid of civilization.

That night we ate in our condo but could have had dinner in restaurants ranging from the deli-style entrees at Cahilty Lodge's Macker's (don't miss the French onion soup) to intimate dining at Servus, in the Hearthstone Lodge.

We missed the weekly casino night but watched kids bouncing on a trampoline at the base of one chair lift. Down at Masa's, a band was playing. We passed on taking a sleigh ride or trying the ice at the new rink.

We wanted to save our strength for the powder on the groomed runs the next morning.

- Yvette Cardozo and Bill Hirsch are freelance photojournalists who live in Issaquah, Wash.

GETTING THERE: Sun Peaks is in south-central British Columbia, about 31 miles northeast of Kamloops. From Tampa Bay, there is connecting air service via Toronto and Vancouver. Kamloops is about a 41/2-hour drive from Vancouver.

WHEN TO GO: Sun Peaks' season runs from late November to mid April.

THE RESORT: There are 11 lifts serving 3,600 acres of skiing, with a 2,900-foot vertical drop. There are eight hotels, plus rental condos and townhouses. Ski packages that include lodging and lifts run from about $90 Canadian (about $78 U.S.) per person, per night, in low season (before Christmas, most of January and from late March into April). Regular season packages start at $113 Canadian (about $98) per person. Holiday prices are higher.

FOR INFORMATION: Contact Sun Peaks Resort, toll-free 1-800-807-3257; www.sunpeaksresort.com

[Last modified October 14, 2005, 08:46:05]