Silver Star Mountain Resort

Infobox ski area
name= Silver Star Mountain Resort

picture=
caption=
location= British Columbia, Canada
nearest_city= Vernon
lat_degrees= 50
lat_minutes= 21
lat_seconds= 35
lat_direction= N
long_degrees= 119
long_minutes= 03
long_seconds= 29
long_direction= W
top_elevation= 1,915 m (6,280 ft)
base_elevation= 1,155 m (3,780 ft)
skiable_area/terrain= 1.24 km² (3,065 acres)
number_trails= 115 Designated Trails
20% Beginner
50% Intermediate
20% Expert
10% Extreme
longest_run= 8 km (5 mi)
liftsystem= 12 Total (1 six-pack express, 2 detachable high-speed quads, 2 fixed grip quads, 1 double chair, 1 t-bar, 3 beginner magic carpets, 2 tube lifts)
total lift capacity= 14,000 boarders/skiers per hour
terrainparks= Telus Park
snowfall= 700 cm (23 ft) /annually
snowmaking= Nil
external_link= [http://www.skisilverstar.com Silver Star Mountain Resort] |

Silver Star Mountain Resort (Silver Star) is a ski resort located near Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. Silver Star's snow season runs from late November to mid-April weather permitting. Silver Star has been awarded "Best Small Resort in North America" and has also won awards on being one of the best family resorts in Canada having the best groomed runs in the country. The annual snowfall of 700 cm of Okanagan champagne powder makes the resort a vacation destination for families, powder hounds and international tourists alike. Silver Star is also a very short drive away from its sister resort: Big White Ski Resort. Both resorts are owned by the same company and flex passes are available to permit skiing at both resorts in the same weekend for a discounted price. (Silver Star also provides summer lift access for mountain biking and hiking from the end of June through to Labour Day).

Alpine Skiing Terrain

Silver Star has an annual snowfall of 700 cm or convert|23|ft|m|abbr=on There are a total of 115 marked runs, with a vertical drop of 760 m (2,500 ft). The elevation of the village is 1,609 m or convert|5280|ft|m|abbr=on whilst the summit is 1,915 m above sea level (6,280 ft). There is also 60 km of Cross Country trails. Silver Star has a total of 12 lifts: 1 Six-Pack Express chairlift (Comet Six-Pack Express), 2 detachable high-speed quads (Silverwoods Express, Powder Gulch Express), 2 fixed-grip quads (Silver Queen Chair, Alpine Meadows Chair) 1 T-bar (Home Run T-bar), 3 beginner magic carpets, and 2 Tube lifts, on convert|3065|acre|km2|0 of skiable terrain.

The resort spans two mountain faces of a mountain valley and has 4 distinct areas:

Vance Creek offers most of the beginner and intermediate runs on the mountain. Therefore it is usually the busiest face of the mountain and has mostly groomed runs along with intermediate and expert runs. Vance Creek is serviced by the "Comet Six-pack Express" which ferries skiers all the way from below the Village base and Silver Woods areas all the way to the summit at 1,915m. The "Summit Chair" is a Mueller double chair that takes skiers directly from the Village to the summit as well.

Attridge is a small area beside Vance Creek which offers a wide variety of glade and groomed runs. The "Alpine Meadows" chair is a fixed grip quad (new for the 06/07 season which replaced the mid t-bar) and offers ski-in/ski-out access to the mountain from the newly developed Alpine Meadows area of the village.

Silver Woods is a recent expansion of the resort which is part of a catchment below the the Comet Express and is serviced by the "Silver Woods Express" which is a detachable high-speed quad. Silver Woods offers many intermediate treed and glade runs and is an access point to the hill from the "Knoll Residential Area".

Putnam Creek is an area which introduces skiers to much more difficult terrain than the rest of the mountain and offers to the more experienced skier. Most of the runs in the Putnam Creek area are black diamond and double black diamond runs consisting of steep lines with moguls and tree skiing. The "Powder Gulch Express", a Detachable high-speed quad gives lift access to the many runs and a way out with the "Home Run T-bar" back to the village.

History

The Early Days

Vernon resident Bert Thorburn became the first person to ski in the Silver Star area in 1930. He rode his bike up to the end of a logging road in the area and then walked a distance following forestry trails to a forest fire lookout. He camped there for the night and skied down the next day. In 1946 the first rope tow was built on Burney Ridge, convert|800|ft|m|abbr=on long. It was powered by an old four cylinder engine. The cooling system was a 40 gallon water drum hooked up to the radiator. For $.50, you could ski all day. In 1958 the final three kilometers of the Silver Star road is pushed through by local contractor Ross Postill to the current day village area. Construction of two rope-tow lifts and an A-frame day lodge were also built in 1958. In 1959 a poma lift was installed from the convert|5000|ft|m|sing=on level at the parking lot to the top of Silver Star Mountain, replacing the rope tow. In 1964 new t-bars were installed to replace the slower rope tows and 1965 a second A-frame structure was added to the day lodge. In 1967 and 1968 the Summit and Yellow Chairs (6,000 feet) built by GMD Mueller were installed, making Silver Star Mountain one of the largest ski areas in Canada.

Silver Star Mountain Resort Era

In 1981 Silver Star Sports purchased by Norm Crerar, Charlie Locke, John Hindle, Rob Marshall and John Gow and becomes Silver Star Mountain Resorts Ltd. The first Nordic trails were also cleared. In 1983 the Putnam Station Hotel is built and is Silver Star's first on hill hotel. From 1984-1990 many new hotels and amenities are built on the hill. In 1990 the Silver Queen chair was built and serves as the bunny hill. In 1991 the original Putnam Creek and Vance Creek express quads were built and opened up extensive amounts of terrain. In 2001 the Schumann family, owners of Big White Ski Resort since 1985, reach agreement in principle with the Honourable Judd Buchanan, (Order of Canada), majority shareholder of Silver Star Mountain Resort on the purchase of the majority assets of Silver Star Mountain Resort. In 2002 Silver Star Mountain Resort invests $10 million in resort expansion plan featuring: The Comet Express, a $5.2 million, six passenger, high speed, Leitner-Poma chairlift which replaces the Vance Creek quad. This state-of-the-art lift is the largest of its kind in Canada, convert|5993|ft|m in length and with a capacity of up to 3,000 passengers per hour. Trip time is under 6 minutes. The Powder Gulch Express replaced the Putnam Creek quad and is also built by Leitner-Poma. This $4.1 million quad has a length of 2,025 metres and provides access to Silver Star's award winning black and double black diamond terrain for over 1,600 snow enthusiasts per hour. $700,000 is also spent on improving Guest Service infrastructure including a new bakery, a new retail shop, a Wonder Carpet beginner lift, and upgrades to the Tube Park. New for the 05/06 season Silver Star Ski Resort announced third new lift in three years, the $5.5 million Silver Woods project. convert|420|acre|km2 of never before skied terrain, serviced by a new Leitner-Poma high-speed detachable quad, the "Silver Woods Express". New for the 06/07 season the "Alpine Meadows Chair" a fixed grip quad chair was built in the Attridge area replacing the aging Mid T-bar.

Nordic Skiing

Silver Star is world renowned for its Cross-Country Skiing facilities. Silver Star offers over 60 km of daily groomed Nordic trails for all abilities and age groups. Silver Star is also a training ground for some of the best racers in the world and is a frequent training ground for Olympic athletes. Canadian and International competitions are held at Silver Star every year that showcases some of the best talent in the world.

New for the 07/08 season, a deal has been reached between Silver Star and Sovereign Lake Nordic Club to allow access to both areas for Silver Star skiers. This agreement now allows skiers to have access to over 105 km of some of North America's best Nordic skiing.

Terrain park

Named "Telus Park", Silver Star's terrain park consists of an extensive rail garden and also has an assortment of table top and step up jumps for all abilities. Silver Star also has a regular size halfpipe, Aerial Training Site, a Dual Moguls Race Course, and a race center which hosted the 2005 Canadian Masters Slalom Championships.

Village & Accommodation

The Silver Star village and accommodation developments have been designed with a distinct Victorian alpine theme. There are over 10 hotels and over 100 vacation homes and condos available for vacation rental on or around the mountain village with many being ski-in/ski-out.

Retail & Dining

Silver Star, like its sister resort Big White Ski Resort, offers many restaurants, pubs, gift shops, boutiques, and an on hill grocery store.

nowsport school

Silver Star offers an extensive snow school for any age group and ability with over 100 qualified instructors.

On-mountain activities

Apart from skiing and snowboarding, there are several other on-mountain activities.These are:
*Tube Town
*Outdoor Skating
*Snowmobiling
*Mini Z Snowmobile Park
*Sleigh Rides
*Snowshoeing
*Day spa
*Indoor Rock Climbing
*Fitness Centre

Annual events

*New Year's Eve
**8:30 p.m. - Torchlight and Glow Stick Parade
**8:45 p.m. - Fireworks in the Silver Star Village
*Presidents' Day (United States)
**some time - Fireworks over the village

Trivia

*Len has written a song about the Silver Star resort called, "I Love Silver Star". It will feature in their new album which is due to be finished at the end of April 2006.
*Shred and Shred 2, snowboarding movies starring Tom Green and Dave England, are currently filming at Silver Star as well as Big White.

ee also

*Big White Ski Resort
*Skiing
*Snowboarding

References

* [http://www.sovereignlake.com/ Sovereign Lake Cross-country Ski Area]