Take the Alberta Two-Step: Local Lessons, Rockies Holiday
There is a natural two-step in Alberta that works great for families who want to ski.
Step One: take ski or snowboard lessons as a family at your regional ski hill.
Step Two: graduate to a ski holiday in the Canadian Rockies.
Alberta’s vast and varied ski terrain provides an excellent opportunity for your family to learn skiing or snowboarding on local, smaller hills that are usually geared to beginners (with family-friendly prices), and then move up to the more challenging mountains.
It’s a one-two combination that provides the best of both worlds almost in your backyard.
You can take a ski lesson package locally, and then take advantage of the various family deals offered by the resorts in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The Travel Alberta Holiday Card is just one way of getting valuable information on current holiday ideas, packages and special offers.
If there are different skill levels in your family, the regional hills usually have just enough terrain and variety to accommodate everyone. Even if you’re an intermediate or expert skier and someone else in the family is a beginner, you can get in some runs and exercise while others are receiving high-quality instruction.
You can get in a lesson to revitalize your skills or try out some new equipment before getting out to the steep and deep.
Local ski areas in Alberta offer dedicated terrain for the beginner skill level, instruction programs that focus on learning fundamental skills, and a family-oriented atmosphere that encourages learning the basics – while everyone has fun.
Family Ski Packages
A ski package offered this year at most Alberta ski hills is aimed directly at beginners who want to try a day or a half-day on the slopes. It works well for families, too, because it takes the hassle out of starting the sport – or even just starting the ski season.
Discover Skiing is a package deal designed for new skiers to try out skiing at a reasonable cost. The cost and details of the package varies from hill to hill, though you will find it offered at most local hills as well as the major Alberta ski resorts.
Contact your local hill to see which Discover packages are being offered and at what prices – they can range from $39 at the smaller hills (such as Pass Powderkeg off Highway #3 at Blairmore in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta’s southwest) to about $65 at the larger venues.
This package usually includes a lift ticket (for a defined time and area at the slopes, rental equipment for the day (or half day), and a lesson.
There are variations on packages which are flexible for different skill levels. Rabbit Hill Ski Resort in Edmonton not only offers a Discover Skiing package, but also offers a ‘discover plus’ package that provides a more advanced lesson.
“Years ago there was the mentality that a Discover Package was just for someone who was never on snow, but we modified that for a one day package that would handle anyone up to an expert skier,” says Bill Oak, Rabbit Hill managing partner. “The logic is that families can all take lessons at the same time, instead of just dropping the kids off for their lessons.”
“The whole concept of going to the mountains is to enjoy the entire facility and usually there is only twenty per cent of that for beginners, but if you get a skill set at a local resort, you increase your enjoyment of the mountain,” says Bill.
“Also we teach people how to ride the lifts; some people, both adults and kids, are intimidated by a chairlift for the first time, but if you use a small resort, you get that experience,” he adds.
There are also ski clubs at local hills that are geared to families, which are a handy way to meet new people while advancing skills. This can be a very social activity, but remember that in this case, the actual skiing is for the kids. Rabbit Hill Ski Club is a family oriented racing club that is committed to providing the opportunity for skiers at all levels of ability to develop alpine racing skills in an enjoyable team atmosphere.
Other local hills, including Nitehawk at Grande Prairie, often offer Christmas Camps that include four hours of instruction and yummy afternoon snacks!
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You will find a variety of packages geared to families at Alberta’s six major ski resorts:
Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park, for example, has a Family Ski Card at $47.12 plus GST, and you can get it at the ticket centre on the mountain or at the Jasper Sales Centre in town. You get 20% off of the regular price lift tickets and 10% off retail shop including ski and snowboard lessons. Also, free lift tickets on the family’s sixth day and discounts at various Jasper hotels.
“We have a lot of variety on our hills for families,” says Jessica Pitt, Marmot Basin marketing coordinator.
Otherwise, you’ll find information for family packages at the other Canadian Rockies resorts below.
In Banff National Park:
In Kananaskis Country:
In southwestern Alberta (near Pincher Creek):
