Family favourite
Getaway
Super Slopes for Starters
three alberta hills that offer a range of downhill opportunities
for new and learning skiers and snowboarders
By iain MacMillan
activity at Rabbit Hill, as first-timers
and novices of all ages and backgrounds
learn the basics and gain composure on
their equipment. For many, the ski day
starts with a ride on a dedicated Rabbit
Hill bus—a return trip from points
across Edmonton costs only $15 (or
$99 for the whole season). From there,
the hill’s Discover program introduces
skiing and snowboarding with an all-
inclusive weekend package of lift
pass, equipment rental and 1.5
the place to begin
hours of instruction, for $69
Everyone has to learn
per day. For those who’ve
somewhere! And for many
officially caught the
Edmonton-area skiers
skiing bug, three-week
and snowboarders, it
lesson programs offer
can feel like everyone
further improvements
did learn at Rabbit Hill
in technique and on-
Snow Resort. The classic
piste comfort, while
city hill has hosted thou-
also nurturing the sport’s
sands of lessons every
infectious camaraderie.
winter for the past 60 years,
Getting started
They don’t call it a breeder
and continues to welcome enthu-
on skis
hill for nothing. Honing your
siast downhillers even as similar
skills here will help you head to larger
modest-scale learn-to-ski areas close
resorts like Marmot Basin or Sunshine
down across the country.
Village with confidence.
Evenings and weekends are full of
Whether or not you’re near the
Rockies, skiing and snowboarding
are among the absolute pleasures of
winter. But they’re not sports you can
simply pick up. Fortunately, many
downhill-education opportunities
exist—for never-ever skiers, novices
looking to upgrade their skills, and
those who want to introduce friends
or family members to the slopes.
56
Winter 2017
AMA insider
Why Rent?
it’S eaSy: Most hills
offer affordable, well-
maintained gear for rent,
including helmets. some
even rent outerwear.
BooK aheaD: renting
is an increasingly seam-
less process. at Marmot
Basin, you can reserve
gear in advance online or
by phone to reduce your
wait time at the lodge.
try it out: some larger
ski areas have demo
centres for testing the
latest high-performance
skis and boards from
different manufacturers.
leSS luGGinG: renting
means you don’t have
to worry about hauling
heavy equipment to and
from the mountain.
A gentler slope
at Marmot Basin
Given its semi-remote, small-town
location, Jasper’s Marmot Basin tends
to fly a bit under the radar. But that’s
exactly why avid snowboarder Norm
Lourenco calls it as his favourite winter
destination. Lourenco remembers fondly
his family’s most recent visit last March,
because his two beginner-skier children,
age 13 and 16, “jumped several levels”
over the course of a week on the slopes.
“I’ve snowboarded at Marmot many
times,” Lourenco says, before waxing
poetic about the combination of
challenging runs and stellar scenery.
“But on last winter’s trip I spent a lot of
time on top-to-bottom green runs and
couldn’t believe how quickly our kids
progressed.”
A highlight for skiers and boarders
is a 5.6-kilometre stretch of multiple,
connected intermediate (blue) and
novice (green) runs—a significant
amount of downhill that can be
reached by riding two chairlifts. In
fact, although Marmot has an excellent
reputation among experts, about one-