SilverStar – The undiscovered gem of ski resorts.

Remember when Bali was an undiscovered paradise? This is how many describe SilverStar Mountain Resort – the undiscovered gem of ski resorts…
Bali was often the location of choice for that rare occasion where if you were lucky enough your parents would treat the family to an overseas holiday. Usually once every two years (to tick the cultural box of your upbringing). It was cheap, close enough to home and it didn’t have the crowds many other overseas destinations were swamped with. But slowly, everyone else caught onto this little off-the-beaten-track tropical getaway – (nothing like SilverStar’s undiscovered gem!) Now you could easily be paying $24 for a cocktail. Plus you’re likely to bump into your next-door neighbour you just flew out of the country to avoid. 

The same could be said for many ski destinations… A google search of ‘the most famous places to go skiing’ will bring up the obvious choices: Whistler, Vail, Aspen, St. Anton, St Moritz, Courchevel, Zermatt, Cortina D’Ampezzo, Niseko and Meribel. These hotspots have long been held in high esteem by the ‘rich and famous’ for their elite snow, but they’ve also become somewhat of a Catch-22. Their snow fields are no longer exclusive and have become busier than a Balinese street – and every true skier knows that’s not an ideal environment if you really want to ski. That’s where the undiscovered gem of SilverStar comes in.

Serenity on the slopes

While a bustling hotel and busy streets may be what some travellers search for in a holiday, every true skier knows that the best way to experience the snow is when there aren’t many people around. When you want to ski well you need space: uncluttered slopes and vacant runs, and SilverStar Mountain Resort has both.

SilverStar, the undiscovered gem sits atop a mixed terraneous mountain in British Columbia Canada, and while it isn’t on the map as much as other ski resorts, that’s exactly why it’s so appealing. 

While it has largely flown under the radar, this undiscovered gem is the third largest ski resort in British Columbia sitting on an impressive 3,282 ski able acres (1,328 Hectares). With over 132 runs, it’s variety of terrain is what sets it apart from other mountains. 

Snowfall like no where else in the world

With an annual snowfall of 7 metres+ all-natural dust that has been nicknamed ‘Okanagan Champagne Powder’, the snow quality at this undiscovered gem is unrivalled to its distant overseas relatives. Consider SilverStar the quiet achiever of Ski Resorts.

Many of the top ski destinations have become ‘too touristy’. So now for many it’s all about queuing in long lift lines just so they can say they went ‘there’ to their followers on social media. It’s not so much about the snow or the ride, which is why many fervent skiers are noticing the beauty of SilverStar, the undiscovered gem.

One of them being Rod Katz, who first visited SilverStar in 2001 and has been every year since and now refers to it as his “favourite place.”

“I had some friends rave about it,” he says. “We had been to Whistler, Aspen-Snowmass and many European resorts but when we first went to SilverStar we thought ‘wow’ – this is seriously perfect”.

Make Lifetime Memories

“We took our four-year-old daughter into the horse drawn sleigh around the icy pond and she just could not believe it,” he recalls. “You can make your most magical dreams about what a snow holiday experience should become true. It’s just perfect.”

The Back/Black side of SilverStar

But while Rod adores the family-friendly sides of the resort, he mostly appreciates the other side of the mountain, what the locals endearingly refer to as the ‘backside’ – the vast terrain that consists of more challenging slopes that he says hasn’t received the street cred it deserves.

“Brilliant blacks that are just so good which feel like you could be skiing in back-country terrain because there’s no one on the runs. You don’t feel like it’s’ another day commuting on a ‘busy street’ like you would elsewhere, you feel like you’re having an out-there-experience.”

Rod says SilverStar the undiscovered gem, is also the perfect resort to meet up with other skiers and combine the sport with a socialising element.

“You can do the extreme or difficult runs if you want a challenge or the intermediate or easy runs if you want to have a cruiser ride, so it caters to all different needs and wants.”

His advice to first timers to SilverStar?

“If you’re really keen, you get there first thing in the morning when they let the rope down and discover some fabulous snow,” he says. “It really is a “heart in your mouth experience’.”

Our advice? Experience SilverStar the undiscovered gem before everyone else does and it becomes another “famous” ski resort bursting at the seams.

Tick SilverStar Mountain Resort, the undiscovered gem, off your bucket list this year. Contact Travelplan now for deals on 1300 754 754.

Written by Megan Pustetto.