SILVER  STAR

Silver Star was developed as a modern resort. It is in British Columbia midway between Vancouver and Banff. Access is by air to Kelowna and the resort arranges scheduled transport for the one hour trip to Silver Star. Once there, you’re there and the rest of the world ceases to exist. Although there is regular road traffic to the resort each day it is routed so that it is kept away from all skiing and pedestrian areas.

The resort centre has an old fashioned wild west appearance and the main lift, ticket and ski school offices, accommodation, restaurants and shops are located around a central pedestrian square where there are usually huge snow or ice sculptures on display. Other accommodation is available in condominiums located in streets (mostly pedestrian only) within about 1km. A T-bar can be used for access to one area and a chair to another and it is possible to ski to and from most condominiums. There is a wide variety of accommodation from shared to fully catered or private kitchen facilities. Hotels and guesthouses have rooms with good facilities and usually TV. Condominiums have several bedrooms and are fully furnished.

Silver Star has about 37km of groomed trails accessed from the village centre. There is a 3½km town loop with night lighting. About half the trails are of beginner standard and the balance vary to advanced with some of the trails having been used for a world cup course. The advanced trails are all one way. There is a biathlon range. The Silver Star trails can be skied and it is easy to return home for lunch and then go out for more skiing. All trails are for classic and skating. Most of the Silver Star trails are on forest roads within a forest and there are few places where there is any view of the surrounding countryside. In the morning the valley below is often obscured by cloud but clear skies are usual in the resort. Occasionally a squirrel will be heard and seen and the Whiskey Jack, a small bird can be enticed to eat scroggin from your hand and it is amazing how they are there beside you in a tree  at every snack stop, often alighting and stealing your food uninvited.

The main attraction of Silver Star is that it has trails linking it to the local community’s club trails about 3km away at Sovereign Lake. Trail fees are payable separately but a combined ticket is available and it includes two rides a day on the summit chair to the top of the mountain from where there is a long XC run back to the village or two trails down to the Sovereign Lake trails. There are about 50km of groomed trails at Sovereign Lake where the club has about 700 members. It is great to see so many of their senior members out skiing through the week and the club organizes weekend and evening events from time to time. There is a huge clubhouse at Sovereign with hot water and drinks, snacks, showers, waxing facilities and warm shelter and gear can be left here while skiing the trails. There is also a warming hut situated at the furthermost point on the trails, it is spotlessly clean and has a few tables and benches to eat at and while not always warm there is a stove and firewood provided and with a bit of luck someone has been there before and lit it. The various trails at Sovereign cater for all standards. Some trails are classic only and depending on conditions not all trails will be groomed. The advanced trails have some long steep sections that should be skied with caution until you become familiar with the track but the second time around they provide exhilarating runs. No section of the trails are more than one hour from the trail head from where it is only about 3½km back to Silver Star but there is also a bus service linking the two areas. The photo shows the 5km Aberdeen trail that runs from the top of the lift downhill to Sovereign Lake. 

Telemark skis are essential to get the most benefit from a Silver Star holiday. There is a huge ski mountain and as is common in Canada a system of runs and lifts over the back. There are more than 50 different downhill trails, only about 15 are intermediate standard but most are so well groomed and there are easy ways down. A direction sign at Paradise mid station warns “no easy way down” but this need not deter an experienced telemarker. Silver Star gets more than five metres of snow each winter so there is every chance of skiing powder.

Facilities in the resort include a welcoming reception each week, cross country and telemark lessons and training camps, night skiing, swimming pool, a health and fitness centre and altitude training centre, weight training, massage, fitness testing, waxing room, skating, tobogganing, horse wagon rides. There is a supermarket, ski gear shop and ski repair shop and there are plenty of restaurants and a bar. Internet facilities and an ATM are available.Volunteers run a “ski partner” guided tour service for skiers on the mountain. This is a quick way to find your way around the resort and telemark skiers can join in. (lift ticket required). For petrol heads there are drive yourself snowmobile (skidoo) tours through the park. Snowmobile trails cross the XC trails in a couple of places but they are rarely seen or heard and have to stop before crossing a ski track.

It takes two weeks to explore all the XC trails at Silver Star, longer if telemarking is done. If two weeks is not enough and other Canadian resorts do not appeal consider a round the world ticket and continue on to Europe after a couple of weeks at Silver Star or travel in reverse for spring skiing at Silver Star.

visit Silver Star at www.silverstarmtn.com  and Sovereign Lake at www.sovereignlake.com   click back to [ menu ]