Silver Star, a crayon box of colour beneath a stellar group of mountains, is well known for the beauty of both its village and natural surroundings. A family favorite, one is immediately struck upon arrival by the energy of the place. Gaggles of kids playing in the snow, families hot tubing outside their cabins, ski school groups getting ready for a big day of learning, Silver Star is always buzzing with delight in winter goodness.
The colourful, stylish buildings resemble an advanced concoction with Lego. Caped most often with snow, it’s impossible to not fall in love with this rainbow bright base camp.
Quiet modern, yet still cozy, Silver Star has a range of lifts and a lot of varied terrain. Large wide open slopes grace the front side with their presence and on the East side you can find skinnier runs, some with bumps, some that playfully pop in out of the trees and even farther off, runs that plummet down steep chutes for the more advanced among us.
The expert terrain is very unique. Steep drops, tight trees, and winding chutes make skiing challenging and exhilarating even without powder. But of course, when the deep snow piles up, hounds everywhere will easily sniff out great powder left mainly un-touched by the predominantly intermediate crowd.
For those who love the groomers, Silver Star has some choice runs on which to really motor. With dips and lips you can throw yourself down this mountain and get a wild ride. It is one of the best cruising mountains around.
Close to the great small town of Vernon, Silver Star can easily be reached from Kelowna which has an international airport. It’s about a 7-hour drive from Calgary and 5 from Vancouver.
It’s a great place to go for a week to get away from anything not related to skiing. The village completely revolves around the resort and you definitely feel like you are in another world, a world where Santa’s elves might just spend their weekends.
Silver Star’s friendly neighbour Big White is about an hour away and you could easily check out both places. The B.C. interior is the best thing since Montreal bagels when it comes to avoiding huge crowds but still getting a lot of variety and terrain. I
And P.S. it’s usually a lot warmer here than in Banff.
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