Silverstar BC
Silverstar is very similar to Big White in many ways and would attract the same market (families). It is just outside of Vernon which is a surprisingly cool wee town. Its front side is great for intermediate skiiers with nice long undulating blue runs and its backside (the "Darkside") is all black and double black runs.
Silverstar is very similar to Big White in many ways and would attract the same market (families). It is just outside of Vernon which is a surprisingly cool wee town. Its front side is great for intermediate skiiers with nice long undulating blue runs and its backside (the "Darkside") is all black and double black runs.
Silverstar's Lifts
The lifts are mostly very good. The Comet express is really fast but can become quite busy getting onto it, especially in the morning.
The Powder Gulch Express on the dark side is a fast lift and is always quiet with no ques at all. You have to get a T-bar to get back from it onto the front side of the hill again.
The Silver Queen lift is incredibly slow but not that long, we only ever had to take it if we went the wrong way from the Attridge ridge.
Ques are generally very small or even no que at all on all the lifts even on a weekend (apart from the comet Express).
Silverstar's Best Runs
For intermediate skiiers Silverstar would be on a par with Big White. They will enjoy the long blue runs by the Comet express, Big Dipper held its snow best.
The backside runs are all fairly challenging but are very samey and really only seem to vary in snow quality depending on the aspect. Holy Smoke (double black) and Free fall (Double black) had great snow and interesting views of forest that had burnt down. All the runs end up on the same cat track that can become quite icy even after fresh snow, you need to finish runs with a good bit of speed to not make the ride out too monotonous. We had a local to guide us one of the days and got to see some more gnarly stuff with him, sure there is a lot of stuff out there we didn't find, locals will know.
The Attridge ridge runs (all single blacks) are great fun buts its easy to miss the turn to the Alpine Meadows chair and end having to go round the whole resort to get back to them. Maybe that’s why the snow always seemed so good on them.
Silverstar's Snow
It hadn’t snowed for a 5 days when got there but the snow was still in good condition and seemed to stay that way. When it did snow it really brought the resort to life and didn’t get tracked out quickly at all. It snowed most days we were there.
The lifts are mostly very good. The Comet express is really fast but can become quite busy getting onto it, especially in the morning.
The Powder Gulch Express on the dark side is a fast lift and is always quiet with no ques at all. You have to get a T-bar to get back from it onto the front side of the hill again.
The Silver Queen lift is incredibly slow but not that long, we only ever had to take it if we went the wrong way from the Attridge ridge.
Ques are generally very small or even no que at all on all the lifts even on a weekend (apart from the comet Express).
Silverstar's Best Runs
For intermediate skiiers Silverstar would be on a par with Big White. They will enjoy the long blue runs by the Comet express, Big Dipper held its snow best.
The backside runs are all fairly challenging but are very samey and really only seem to vary in snow quality depending on the aspect. Holy Smoke (double black) and Free fall (Double black) had great snow and interesting views of forest that had burnt down. All the runs end up on the same cat track that can become quite icy even after fresh snow, you need to finish runs with a good bit of speed to not make the ride out too monotonous. We had a local to guide us one of the days and got to see some more gnarly stuff with him, sure there is a lot of stuff out there we didn't find, locals will know.
The Attridge ridge runs (all single blacks) are great fun buts its easy to miss the turn to the Alpine Meadows chair and end having to go round the whole resort to get back to them. Maybe that’s why the snow always seemed so good on them.
Silverstar's Snow
It hadn’t snowed for a 5 days when got there but the snow was still in good condition and seemed to stay that way. When it did snow it really brought the resort to life and didn’t get tracked out quickly at all. It snowed most days we were there.
Silverstar's Food
The food at “the Paradise camp” at the top of the Powder Gulch Express is very good and very affordable. They have a nice big stove that is great for warming up and drying things out. The cinnamon buns are fantastic and are big enough to share between two. The vegetable chilli is great for warming up on a cold day.
1609 in the village has great food and a lovely balcony that is excellent in the sun.
Long John’s pub has a good selection of food and drinks but is a bit uninspiring.
Silverstar is very much a family resort and wouldn’t be a great choice if you were going there to party.
Silverstar's (budget) accommodation
We had stayed at the Samesun in Kelowna so had high expectations of the Silverstar version. The Samesun Hostel on the hill was unfortunately like staying in a first year student halls. The kitchen was disgusting and there seemed to be a lot of people who were very ill and constantly coughing and spluttering. Given that internet access was in the common area there was no way to escape it. We wouldn’t stay there again!
The Silverstar B&B on the way up the hill is very nice and affordable. We would recommend staying there highly.
The food at “the Paradise camp” at the top of the Powder Gulch Express is very good and very affordable. They have a nice big stove that is great for warming up and drying things out. The cinnamon buns are fantastic and are big enough to share between two. The vegetable chilli is great for warming up on a cold day.
1609 in the village has great food and a lovely balcony that is excellent in the sun.
Long John’s pub has a good selection of food and drinks but is a bit uninspiring.
Silverstar is very much a family resort and wouldn’t be a great choice if you were going there to party.
Silverstar's (budget) accommodation
We had stayed at the Samesun in Kelowna so had high expectations of the Silverstar version. The Samesun Hostel on the hill was unfortunately like staying in a first year student halls. The kitchen was disgusting and there seemed to be a lot of people who were very ill and constantly coughing and spluttering. Given that internet access was in the common area there was no way to escape it. We wouldn’t stay there again!
The Silverstar B&B on the way up the hill is very nice and affordable. We would recommend staying there highly.
Silverstar Review
Silverstar is a great mostly intermediate resort with good lifts. We skied 6 days there. The village is pretty well laid out and looks funky with its toy town colours. Its doesn’t ever feel busy and it has a nice selection of places to eat and drink. The "dark side" is great fun, there are a lot of runs still to discover. It is easy to compare Silverstar to Big White (which is only an hour away and quite similar) but if given the choice between the two, we would chose Big White.
Silverstar is a great mostly intermediate resort with good lifts. We skied 6 days there. The village is pretty well laid out and looks funky with its toy town colours. Its doesn’t ever feel busy and it has a nice selection of places to eat and drink. The "dark side" is great fun, there are a lot of runs still to discover. It is easy to compare Silverstar to Big White (which is only an hour away and quite similar) but if given the choice between the two, we would chose Big White.
