I have previously skied all over the world, particularly in France, Austria, Switzerland and America but this January I had the pleasure, and I do mean pleasure, of skiing in Sun Peaks, Canada.

I had heard of Sun Peaks before, as the Group I went with this year had been going there for Conferences for years and had extolled its virtues. When there, we met other Australian families who have also been holidaying there every year for many years and would not go anywhere else.

The Website for Sun Peaks describes the resort as “an alpine ski resort located in Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada, 50 km northeast of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The summit of the ski area is at an elevation of 2,080 m, with an 881 m vertical rise from the base of the peak. Sun Peaks Resort has 15 square kilometres of skiable terrain, and receives an average of 5.6 m of snow per year.”

This year, my daughter Jessica and I, attended Sun Peaks with the APAC group from 7-16 January. We travelled through Vancouver, on to Kamloops and then on to Sun Peaks, a very pleasant and scenic trip. On first arriving into Vancouver airport, we had our first experience of the friendly Canadian hospitality, which is very much like our own. It carried on throughout our trip.

Most of the accommodation in Sun Peaks can be described as virtually ski in, ski out. The village is compact and very, very inviting and friendly. Plenty of great restaurants and cafes.

What one immediately discovers in Sun Peaks is the value for money.  For our accommodation, which was extremely good, we paid about AUD150 per night for a very large high quality hotel room. The restaurants are similarly well priced and our dollar is not far away from being on par with the Canadian dollar.

The ski slopes provide something for everyone.  I found that the runs were longer than those I have skied in Colorado and I was able to get into a good rhythm and push myself harder than usual. There are also plenty of tree runs for the adventurous. We had magnificent snow, the best I have had for years. I came back from the trip feeling greatly satisfied.

The highlight of the week was the opportunity to meet and ski with Nancy Greene, Canada’s most decorated skier ever, male or female.  We also had the pleasure of Nancy relating to us her exploits over the years in Canadian, US,  World and Olympic competitions. Nancy won gold medals in Canadian, US, World Cup and Olympic events and was inducted into the Canadian and US Hall of Fame. She was voted Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century.  She is now a member of the Canadian Senate.

Nancy and her husband Al Raine were instrumental in the early development of the Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in Whistler, British Columbia, and then later in the development and promotion of skiing at Sun Peaks.

Sun Peaks and Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge are kind enough each year to donate lift passes and accommodation at Cahilty Lodge as a guessing competition prize for the SASC Juniors, for which the Juniors are extremely grateful. I also had the pleasure of meeting with Colin Brost and his assistant Megan, who are in charge of Market Development for Sun Peaks.

After this year’s trip to Sun Peaks, I will definitely be returning next year.

David Lasky

Footnote: David Lasky was our Juniors Treasurer for 9 years; he knows the importance of the Juniors Guessing Competition to raise funds for the Juniors programs.