Canada keeps it in the family

MICHAEL Wilkins reviews four of Canada's British Columbia smaller ski resorts and finds that good things do come in smaller packages.

Sun Peaks ... an easy-to-navigate park bills itself as the 'best-weather' resort in the interior of British Columbia

SUCCESSFUL family ski holidays rely on a few things: good snow, great activity off the slopes and child-friendly resorts which allow parents a little time out.

Canada's British Columbia interior offers a serve of all these ingredients in a small-town kind of way its big brothers at Whistler and the like probably cannot. The reasons are many but perhaps can most easily be described as good things coming in smaller packages.

Four of the region's best are reviewed here. All provide great value, variety and apres-ski activity for all ages.

Sun Peaks
CANADIAN Olympic hero Nancy Greene is her country's ski ambassador but lends her name directly to Sun Peaks, an easy-to-navigate resort that sells itself as the best-weather site in the interior.

With three mountains serviced by a series of lifts a stone's throw from the village centre, Sun Peaks offers a range of terrain for all levels and a general atmosphere that matches its name.

On the slopes even busy weekends don't suffer from the lift lag that so often plagues bigger resorts. There are three high-speed quads, two regular quads and a triple, plus a range of surface lifts. It simply means you get more of that most valuable skiing and boarding currency: time on the mountain.

The green and blue runs are long – one literally named five mile (8km) – and wide with the blues slightly on the easier side than comparable runs elsewhere.

That's not to say there's no action for those who crave a vertical challenge. A third of the skiable area is rated advanced, with slightly more than half intermediate.

Ski school meets what proved to be typically high Canadian standard. Instructors display a patience and care that as a parent leaves the worry out of enjoying your own time on the slopes.

A tube park, variety of cafes and restaurants and kids activities round out the experience.

There are general stores to make your own, and all the lodges are close to the lifts. Just good.

Silver Star
THERE'S 7m of snow at Silver Star every year. That would almost be enough said, but there is much more to this picture-perfect village and its Victorian charm.

This is a growing concern and currently has five main lifts plus T-bars – not the biggest around but the quality of the runs is superb. Like all the villages visited, familiarisation is as easy as a free ski-tour every morning. And it's a good idea to take one. The runs here wind their way around the mountain and are spectacular. There's also the draw of some of the lightest powder you're ever likely to enjoy.

The lodges are spread wider around the village and it can be quite a hike in. But that ski-in ski-out is magic.

Lifts can be accessed from almost any of the rooms but, as with all the sites, check on booking. Stepping into the bindings from your own drying room with a 50m glide to the chair is a dream. Here, it's a reality.

Silver Star is also linked to neighbouring resort, Big White, and has a co-managed ski-school which shares learning levels. Of the ski schools visited these two stood out.

There is plenty of other family stuff around. Activity night in the hall has a climbing wall, games and more; there's a tube park and mini snowmobiles; and a new day spa will deliver the massage that those aching thighs crave. There's also a range of good eating here from pub fare to European. And some really fun people.

Big White
IF there was a Disneyland on snow, Big White would probably be it. The biggest of the resorts reviewed is geared squarely at the family holiday and delivers.

There are 15 lifts and they all do good business but, even so, queuing is again not a worry.

Travel to Canada in January for Australians – outside the peak North American ski period – means if it's not the weekend the crowds are not there.

Big White has the best mix of beginner and intermediate runs and a few double blacks that will apparently test the best. They are unreviewed for fear reasons.

Again, the January weather is powder time and Big White didn't disappoint. A couple of testing tree trails were thigh-deep.

With more than 100 designated trails and able to cater for 15,000 guests, Big White is quite an enterprise. It has a large terrain park, a dozen different places to eat and probably the best ski-hire, including performance models for purists.

The village centre is a large indoor area that houses the hire, lunch crowd and a dozen shops including the photo centre where you can find images of yourself captured by resort staff.

An extensive mini-mart makes eating in easy – including a pre-arrival service where you can choose your groceries and the fridge is packed before you check in.

The gondola down to Happy Valley day lodge leads to ice skating, mini mobiles, a cafe and bar offering up everything from night-time fireworks to Big White Idol. Karaoke never sounded so ... well, you know. The all-round experience.

Apex Mountain
YOU gaze down a mountain at the pristine village. The lifts opened 20 minutes ago, you're the first – and so far only – one up.

There's a choice of six runs spearing off through snow-ghosted trees. All are groomed and trackless.

Sound like a dream? It really felt like one.

Apex is the smallest of the resorts but easily the most challenging. It has more people wandering around who look really serious about their sport, and a kind of push-the-envelope feeling. The crowd is cooler. The nights in the bar a bit longer.

That's not to say there's nothing for the kids. There definitely is and even snow school is a little edgier.

If it's all about the slopes, Apex is a good choice. There is more of the mountain classed "advanced" and there's a saying that the blues at Apex rate as blacks elsewhere.

There's a high-speed quad that zooms you to the top in about six minutes. The Saturday afternoon queue was exactly 90 seconds. You can ski yourself into the ground every day.

The village is small and quaint but boasts a couple of really nice eateries (hard to go past the Gun Barrel saloon and the alcoholic heart-starter lit by flaming rifle) and shops, although these are purely functional. The real business is outside.

It's the lack of crowds, the spectacular mountain and laid-back atmosphere here that makes it special. And the champagne powder.

Again, compared to the bigger resorts it has fewer choices – to eat, to stay and to ski. But everything is first-rate.

If you have young children, any of these resorts offer a warmth and a sense of security that means you can let them loose without a worry.

And that's a very good reason to choose one of these places over the bigger resorts.

The Sunday Telegraph