Many ski resorts have high-quality hotels and spas at their base area. Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in British Colombia, Canada, is a top-class spa and resort that just happens to have a ski area.
Open for year-round recreation, Fairmont Hot Springs
BC has the largest natural odorless hot springs pool complex
in Canada. Explorers discovered the Fairmont Hot Springs
in the early 1800s, although Native Americans knew their
curative powers for centuries beforehand. Visitors began
to come to a ranch at Fairmont Hot Springs BC in the late
19th century, but it was not until the 1960s
that the present resort began its expansion into the all-season
recreation center it is today. In the warmer months, visitors
explore the extensive trails for horseback riding, hiking,
and mountain biking or play on one of the two top-notch
golf courses at Fairmont Hot Springs BC. In winter, the
resort has a ski school, a mountain open for night and
day skiing and snowboarding,
and miles of wooded cross-country ski trails.
The ski mountain at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is relatively small, just 60 skiable acres but with a vertical drop of nearly 1,000 feet. The twelve named runs are serviced by two chairlifts. Terrain is nicely balanced between abilities: 25% beginner, 60% intermediate, and 15% advanced. The longest run is over a mile.
Expert skiers and snowboarders will not be overly challenged at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, but the three black diamond runs to skiers right at the top of the Sundance lift are sufficiently steep to entertain advanced downhillers. The longest of the three is Desparado; Yahoo is a nice steep cut-off between this and Top Gun.
Intermediates have the most to ski and board at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. The blue trails off the Sunshine lift — Crooked Tree, Gold Fever, Moonshine, Show Gun — are the best bets for the average skier. Moonshine is the only run on the mountain open for nightskiing.
Beginners will enjoy the long winding runs at both extremes of Fairmont Hot Springs Resort: Easy Rider on skiers left and High Plains Drifter on skiers right. There are also some shorter green runs off the Snowbird lift.
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort accommodates snowboarding with a large half pipe above the base area, accessed off the Sunshine lift.
The best part of skiing or snowboarding at Fairmont Hot Springs BC comes at the end of the day, when you can relax in the soothing hot pools, have a relaxing spa treatment, or get a drink in the cozy lounge with spectacular views overlooking the Rocky Mountains. For ski accommodation it is hard to beat the hotel at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. Fairmont Hot Springs Resort offers packages that combine hotel rooms with lift tickets to the Fairmont Hot Springs mountain or the larger nearby Panorama Mountain Ski Area.
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is located in the beautiful Columbia River Valley in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. The view from the lounge in the ski lodge is unrivalled. This is a great ski area for groups who want their ski vacation to be about more than just skiing.
