Kimberley, Canada

Kimberley Alpine Resort, to give the place its full title, is on the up and up and is currently in the middle of a multi million dollar expansion plan that has incorporated new mountain facilities as well as a new slope side village. Kimberley’s history, like many old Canadian towns, stems from the days of mining. However, you would be forgiven for not knowing this when you arrive as the area has been developed into an all year round quality outdoor recreation centre. First impressions of the place are not one of a sleepy old mining town, instead you are left feeling like you've just landed in a sausage-munching Bavarian town. Still, this strange fusion of Canada and Germany seems to work well as Kimberley is growing rapidly and is presently the fourth largest resort in British Columbia. Kimberley is owned by the same company that owns Lake Louise in Alberta, but that’s about the only connection between two. Located 3 hours from Lake Louise, Kimberley is a resort that will appeal to everybody with a good selection of all level trails. The large percentage of easy and intermediate runs may be one reason that the slopes here attract a lot of skiers, however, snowboarders in the know are not left short changed with a good choice of fast black runs.

The runs are spread out over two faces and cut through a lot of thick spruce trees providing some great tree-riding. Although advanced riders are not going to be pushed much here, there are a are a couple of notable double black diamond runs that deserve full attention in order to avoid a broken collar bone.