Fernie Ski Resort BC

Fernie Ski Resort is a great all-rounder as a destination resort or to include for a few days on a road trip of the Powder Highway. Fernie BC is growing in popularity particularly amongst adventurous ski and snowboard fiends because it’s not outrageously crowded and has a great reputation for its expert terrain. Another drawcard is that Fernie is the quintessential Canadian ski town with a laidback friendly culture, making it great for relaxed powder hounds as well as families.

Pros and Cons of Fernie BC

Pros 

• Fernie Ski Resort has varied terrain for all ability levels, most notably for advanced and expert riders with cut runs between the trees, open glades, tree skiing, sub-alpine slopes, and freeriding terrain up in the alpine.
• Experts also have fantastic sidecountry and backcountry terrain to add to the repertoire.
• Powder hounds can also go cat skiing, either for a day or a multi-day trip staying in a luxury lodge.
• Whilst the resort village is not much to speak of, the nearby town of Fernie BC has some charm, historic buildings, an array of restaurants and bars, and aesthetics that are enhanced by the stunning mountains in the background.
• The vibe is nicely diverse. Laidback friendly locals mix with a blend of international staff and guests, and a metamorphosis occurs on weekends when the trendy Calgarians arrive to stay in their condos.

Cons

• With respect to the lifts, Fernie Ski Resort is like going back in time, just like in Hot Tub Time Machine. Only two lifts are high speed, which is surprising considering that lift ticket prices are the same or higher than other Canadian resorts with better lifts. There are not enough lifts and you’ll spend a lot of time on repetitive trails and cat tracks, and traversing endlessly. Snowboarders may not enjoy Fernie as much as skiers.
• Whilst the upper bowl terrain is impressive, it can often take a while for the bowls to open after heavy snowfall. Meanwhile the highly heralded Polar Lift is an embarrassment considering how infrequently it is open.
• The terrain park offerings continue to shrink.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Fernie Ski Resort usually gets lots of snow but the quality varies significantly from dry Rockies powder to soggy rain soaked mashed potatoes or ice. It all depends on what mood Griz is in.
• Powder stashes can last for a while because you have to work hard for many of them.
• An Epic Pass offers limited access to Fernie, although it’s increased the crowds a little.

Fernie Ski and Snowboard Terrain

The Fernie ski terrain has five large bowls that contribute to the 1,013 hectare (2,504 acre) playground, and 1,082 metres of vertical; enough to get the heart racing without making the legs completely weary.

Fernie has trails for all ability levels. Notably it has very good beginner terrain, and at the other end of the spectrum, it’s also highly regarded for its expert terrain and sidecountry, whilst the terrain for intermediates is reasonably good.

Fernie Resort has undertaken limited improvements of the ski area with respect to glading and some lift infrastructure, but much more is sorely needed. There are only 7 chair lifts and lots of traversing and transporting is required to get to the goods.

Fernie Snow

The locals pay tribute to “Griz” the legendary powder king and Fernie has a reputation for getting a lot of snow, but who really knows how much. Fernie Resort reports an official stat of an average of up to 9 metres (30 ft) – what sort of statistic is that when it’s not an average?! Snowfall volumes from 2012-13 to 2020-21 would suggest an average of just over 7 metres per season.

The Fernie snow quality can be rather hit and miss. Whilst Fernie often has gorgeous dry powder, it is also very susceptible to wet snow and god forbid, rain at times.

Where is Fernie Ski Resort Canada?

Fernie Alpine Resort is located in the Lizard Range of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The name of the mountain range is extrapolated out to various trails and spots around the resort including the Lizard Bowl, Lizard Traverse, Face to Lizard, and Lizard Creek Lodge. Thankfully there are no runs called Drain the Lizard!

Fernie ski resort is away from major cities “out in the sticks”, which keeps the visitors at bay to a degree. The ski resort is located in the East Kootenay region of the southeast corner of British Columbia in Canada on the Powder Highway, an area renowned for abundant dry powder.

The turn-of-the-century mining town of Fernie BC is 5km (3 miles) from the ski resort, about 60km away from the Alberta and U.S. borders.

The Calgary International Airport is 3.5 hours from Fernie and there are shuttle options to get to the resort. Cranbrook airport (Rocky Mountain Airport) is 1.25 hours away, and Kalispell in Montana is 2 hours away.

Fernie Hotels and Accommodations

The slope-side mountain village at Fernie has lots of condos, but it’s somewhat small with only a couple of après bars, one ski shop, and a handful of restaurants. The village has ski-in ski-out lodging within condos and hotel style accommodation.

The other option for accommodation is in the town of Fernie, with the advantage of better access to a range of dining and nightlife options. Fernie hotels cater for a range of budgets and there are also a couple of hostels for the economically oriented. For those without a car, there are shuttles or taxis to get between the town and the ski area.

For more information, see the Fernie accommodations page. 

Fernie Activities

There are various other activities at Fernie to complement the perfect ski vacation. Some examples of things on offer are snowmobiling, sleigh rides, snow-shoeing, ice-skating, curling, and cross-country skiing.

The nearby cat skiing operations - Fernie Wilderness Adventures and Island Lake Lodge – are another highlight of Fernie. Snowcat skiing is must do for any powder hound visiting the Fernie area. All that fresh powder is enough to make a powder hound drool!