Mt Washington Ski Resort in British Columbia is the main ski resort on Vancouver Island, and it is mostly frequented by residents of the island. If you’re travelling half way across the world to go skiing in Canada, Mount Washington BC may not be your top pick. Mt. Washington is the sort of place you’d head to if you’ve already been to other BC ski resorts and just want to explore Vancouver Island.

Pros and Cons of Mount Washington

Pros

• The Mt Washington Ski Resort is very family friendly.
• Mount Washington is not expensive, relative to the high profile ski resorts in British Columbia.
• The terrain for beginners is excellent and there are easy progression runs on nice covered magic carpets to a high speed 6-pack chair lift.
• When the snow’s good there is terrain that caters for all ability levels.
• The resort offers lovely views across the water.
• Mt Washington Alpine Resort is not overcrowded, especially relative to the big behemoth Whistler.
• Mt. Washington typically receives a lot of snow.

Cons

• Relative to other BC ski resorts, the snow quality is often far from optimal and most of the ski area has a very sunny aspect.
• It’s pricy to get a ferry between the mainland and Vancouver Island, and it can be rather time consuming to get there.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Mt. Washington is like a ghost town on weekdays (especially week nights!) and some facilities are closed.

Mt Washington Ski and Snowboard Terrain

The Mt Washington Alpine Resort is small to medium sized with 1,700 acres (688 hectares) of skiable terrain, 5 chair lifts (2 express), and 81 runs across 505 metres of vertical (1,084 – 1,593m).

There is an ideal spread of terrain with runs allocated as 14% beginner, 35% intermediate, 36% advanced, and 15% expert. Beginners have amazing covered magic carpets to start and then nice graduated runs. The intermediate terrain is OK, and there are only a handful of top to bottom blue runs. Advanced riders have a mix of glades and cut runs that bump up, whilst experts have The Outback zone with its combo of trees and open slopes, that are appropriately rated as double black diamond runs.

Mt Washington Snow

Mt Washington scores plenty of snowfall with an average of 11.6 metres of snow per season. As to be expected for such a coastal location, the snow tends to fall a bit heavy and fresh is definitely best because the snow quality can deteriorate quickly. The area is renowned for mild temperatures (retirees flock to Vancouver Island for good reason!), the elevation is not particularly high, and the main part of the hill is southwest facing, so you really need to pick the right days to ski off-piste.

Where is Mt. Washington BC?

Situated on the mountain of the same name, the Mount Washington Ski Resort is located on the eastern edge of the Vancouver Island Ranges of BC. It is 33km northwest of the town of Courtenay in the Comox Valley, 134km northwest of Nanaimo where the ferry from Vancouver comes in, and 245km northwest of Victoria, the main city on Vancouver Island.

There is an airport in Comox Valley (with flights from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton) or you could drive from the Vancouver International Airport. If your ferry times line up perfectly you could possibly do the drive in about 4 hours, which is about the same time required to drive to Sun Peaks (where the snow quality is far superior).

Facilities & Activities

Mt Washington Ski Resort has all the prerequisite amenities for skiers and snowboarders including snowsports school, equipment rentals, child care, a ski and snowboard shop, and a few options for dining, although these are very limited mid-week.

Mt Washington has 55km of cross country trails (trail fees apply which are rather spendy but at least there are lots of trails). There are also snowshoeing trails, and you can partake in a snowshoe fondue tour on weekends. Fat biking is also an option. The resort also has tubing serviced by a magic carpet and it’s so popular that you have to reserve a time slot.