Bohomme Carnaval welcomes guests to Quebec’s Winter Carnival

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By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

Frosty the Snowman has nothing on Bonhomme Carnaval, the iconic snowman of Quebec’s Winter Carnival. Like Frosty, Bonhomme invites children of all ages to come out and play in his fantastic winter wonderland every year.

Since it began in 1894, the Carnaval de Quebec has grown into the largest winter carnival in the world. Since then, the inhabitants of New France have enjoyed getting together just before Lent to eat, drink and be merry.

This year’s grand celebration offered more than 200 events from Jan. 30 to Feb. 15. Last year, the carnival drew more than 520,000 visitors, with almost half coming from outside the region. The Carnaval has become the city’s biggest tourist draw.

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Top 10 things to see and do in Quebec City

This top-ten list of things to see and do in Québec City was compiled by those who love the region.

Local residents voted for their favorite attractions, events, restaurants, outdoor activities, boutiques and shops, and so much more! Check out this list, along with the residents’ suggestions and recommendations, when planning your next stay.

Have you noticed that the homepage of our website has been updated recently? We modify our homepage several times a year.

Summer events are currently being featured. We have grouped major events into three categories and created a new page for each: themessporting events and classics.

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Banff-Lake Louise getting tons of fresh powder

Photo: Paul Zizka/Banff Lake Louise Tourism
Photo: Paul Zizka/Banff Lake Louise Tourism

Banff-Lake Louise is preparing for up to 30-40cm of fresh powder by Saturday morning. Heavy snow is forecast to fall over the next 36 hours over the mountain park regions of Alberta.

Kicking off the new year in style and just in time for the weekend, what better way to burn off that turkey/Christmas chocolate/adult beverages than by plowing through fresh powder at Canada’s Big 3 Resorts.

Happy New Year, we’ll see you on the slopes.

 Ski Banff–Lake Louise–Sunshine is Canada’s largest ski destination, a joint venture of three of the world’s finest ski resorts; Mt. Norquay, The Lake Louise Ski Area and Sunshine Village.
Available on one tri-area lift ticket, our three resorts offer almost 8,000 acres of skiable terrain and one of the longest ski seasons in North America, from mid November to late May, all in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site – Canada’s Protected Playground, Banff National Park.
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Grab some real deals at Red Mountain

By Staff Writer Richard Irwin

And while the weather in British Columbia was brisk, I couldn’t wrap my head around the centigrade system so I didn’t really know how cold it was. It was about 23 degrees Fahrenheit at the lodge and 17 halfway up Red Mountain.

The lifts close at 3 p.m., 3:30 after Feb. 15. That may seem early, but there are virtually no lift lines, so you’ll get in so much skiing that you will be tired by mid-afternoon anyway.

Red’s lift tickets are $72 per day for adults, compared to more than $100 at comparable ski resorts. Lift tickets for youth 13 to 18 are $58, juniors 7 to 12 cost $36 and seniors 65 and older pay $47.

We prefer the package specials. Book three nights of lodging at Red Mountain Resort Lodging with three days of lift tickets and you’ll get two more nights and lift tickets for free.

Even better, book four nights and lift tickets to get three free nights and lift tickets. This special offer is valid Jan. 6 to 17.

Call Red Mountain Resort Lodging at 877-969-7669 to book or send an email to lodging@redresort.com.

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Red Mountain offers 110 marked runs for skiers of all abilities

Great selfie taken with a GoPro on the summit of Red Mountain in British Columbia. (Photo by Francois Marseille courtesy of Red Mountain)

Great selfie taken with a GoPro on the summit of Red Mountain in British Columbia. (Photo by Francois Marseille courtesy of Red Mountain)

By Staff Writer Richard Irwin

Red offers 110 marked runs. These break down as 16 percent for beginners, 47 percent for intermediate and 37 percent for advanced skiers.

There are only seven lifts, but Granite permits 360 degrees of skiing around the peak from a single lift. The same is true for Grey, the new mountain that like Granite, is volcano-shaped.

Beginning skiers or snowboarders can learn on the magic carpet slope, then hone their skills on the new beginner terrain off the Silverlode chair.

Beginners who want to ride to the top of Granite Mountain can take the Motherlode chair, then follow Rino’s Run or the Southside Road. It’s a very beautiful run.

Intermediate riders and skiers will love Paradise Basin. It has mostly intermediate runs, but skiers can still get to Paradise Lodge with green runs by taking the Silver Sheep trail.

Advanced riders will soon find out why Red was ranked as one of North America’s top 10 resorts for experts by “Forbes Traveler.” Fall lines off Granite Summit will excite or terrify experts. Ledges, Jumbo or Powder Fields have great views, few trees and deep powder. There are also many challenging runs at the end of Buffalo Ridge in the Slides, Cambodia, Roots or Needles.

More double diamonds and a single black can be found off Ridge Road, including Coolers, Doug’s Run, Oil Can and Beer Belly. And you’re going to need a beer afterward, because these runs are extremely advanced. Don’t even try them without a buddy to back you up.

Red’s terrain park offers jumps, jibs and park-wide sound system. A variety of rail features include kinks, a rainbow, flat downs, boxes and street rails.

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Comfortable condo houses five easily at Red Mountain

Lodging at Red Mountain Ski Resort. (Photo courtesy of Red Mountain)

Lodging at Red Mountain Ski Resort. (Photo courtesy of Red Mountain)

By Staff Writer Richard Irwin

At Red Mountain Ski Resort, we stayed in the Slalom Creek condos. 

With five people sharing a four-bedroom unit, space is usually at a premium, but our comfortable condo was large enough that four of us had a bedroom, and the fifth sacked out in the living room, with its stone fireplace, big screen TV and stereo.

The ultra-modern kitchen and dining room gave us a great place to share breakfast before catching first tracks at 9 a.m. It would be easy to return to prepare lunch or dinner if we chose to come in off the mountain to warm up.

Slalom Creek is the newest, largest and closest lodging to the day lodge. It has earned four and a half stars from TripAdvisor.com. There are several other lodging alternatives, including condos and townhomes.

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Steep and deep skiing at Red Mountain in Kootenays

 

Catching some air off a peak at Red Mountain Ski Resort in British Columbia. (Photo by Francois Marseille Courtesy of Red Mountain)

Catching some air off a peak at Red Mountain Ski Resort in British Columbia. (Photo by Francois Marseille Courtesy of Red Mountain)

By Staff Writer Richard Irwin

The Kootenay mountains are famous for the light, dry snow the region gets. Red Mountain Ski Resort gets more than 300 inches of light powder annually. Add in its 2,919 feet of vertical and you’re talking lots of steep and deep.

Powder days are nearly every day at the ski resort located near Rossland, a scenic mining town in British Columbia. Red Mountain added another mountain this winter.

“Not only does the expansion increase Red’s skiable terrain by about 1,000 acres, it also adds wide terrain variety — from groomed cruising runs to tree glades and alpine chutes,” explained Chris Cushing of Snow Engineering Group, one of the ski resort industry’s design firms.

“This project is one of the most dramatic transformations of an existing major ski area that we’ve seen and it is one of the largest — if not the largest — single-season ski area expansion projects in North America in several decades,” Cushing added.

We decided to check out this hidden gem on a ski trip last year. It takes a little work getting to Red from Los Angeles, but it is well worth the effort.

First, we flew to Spokane, then jumped on a shuttle for a two-and-a-half-hour drive north across the border. Customs officials in Canada carefully checked our passports and questioned us about our ski trip. (Be sure all your travel documents are in order or you’re not getting in.)

Fortunately, the route proved easy to follow with no major mountain passes to negotiate in the softly falling snow. Soon we made it to the base of the mountain, where we were staying in the Slalom Creek condos.

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