Worldwide Ski ResortsCanadaJasper

Ski insurance for winter sports enthusiasts in Canada

Overview

The resort of Jasper lies in the middle of the Jasper National Park in the Alberta Rockies of Western Canada. It has what is possibly the most attractive and spectacular settings of all North American resorts. This seems to be the main appeal of the resort and most people come here for the beauty of the countryside and the chance to see the wildlife than to ski. In fact the slopes of Jasper are somewhat limited.

The town is small and quiet, and most of the available tourist accommodation is situated well out on its outskirts. This entails a daily drive to the slopes. That being said, the levels of comfort in most of the tourist hotels and lodges are extremely high and the scenery is breathtaking. Many people combine a ‘wind down and chill out’ break at Jasper with a ski holiday in one of the larger Canadian resorts such as Banff or Lake Louise.

Profile

Jasper stands at 1065 m. and the ski action is at the Marmot Basin in the National Park’s centre. There are 1,500 acres of pisted runs that extend from 1705m up to 2,600 m. The resort is served by a total of 8 lifts. It does not have a particularly good snow record by Canadian standards but does have snow making facilities over 10 acres of runs. Expert skiers and snowboarders will find plenty of very steep unprepared country on which to play. However these areas can be unreliable and unsuitable for skiing unless the snow conditions are right, and are often unavailable.

The majority of the resort’s runs are black and skiers who prefer to stick to the pistes will find that they will exhaust these very quickly and become at risk of being bored. Unless they are of a good, confident standard, intermediate skiers will probably be happier sticking to the green and blue runs. Beginners will find ideal nursery slopes on which to learn and will find a number of excellent green runs that they will find suitable for progression skiing. Fans of cross country skiing are the best catered for in the resort, with around 300 km of well marked trails that traverse the beautiful scenic countryside.

Mountain Information

Of the 1,500 acres of pistes, 30% are green, 30% blue and 40% black. The slopes are reached by means of a high speed quad chair to the mid mountain level and then there are a succession of slower lifts that take skiers to the top of the mountain. The slopes tend to be limited in size and the Blacks are genuinely steep and tricky. Some of the best skiing is done off piste on the steep, untreated slopes when conditions allow. There are a number of excellent mountain restaurants available.

Apres Ski

Jasper is a quiet town and après ski is confined to a number of small bars or the tourist hotels.

Canadian Resort Guide

Resort Information • Jasper

Resort Height Resort Height 1716m
Top Station Top Station 2417m
Bottom Station Bottom Station 1716m
Vertical Descent Vertical Descent 701m
Drag Lifts Drag Lifts 2
Chair Lifts Chair Lifts 5
High Capacity High Capacity 0
Opening Dates Opening Dates Dec - April
Rating Expert Rating Expert 8
Rating Intermediate Rating Intermediate 8
Rating Beginner Rating Beginner 8
Apres Ski Rating Apres Ski Rating 8
Snow Reliability Snow Reliability 8

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