PANORAMA, CANADA
Ski Holidays in Panorama
Panorama is a small, purpose built and car free resort in British Columbia offering 2975 acres of varied slopes. It has a village atmosphere and a resort which commonly overlooked, contrasting against its high profile competitors of Lake Louise and Banff.
It is arguably the most family friendly resort with lift pass and accommodation key collection and ski school bookings at the resort’s Central Check-in as the resort is owned by just one company which makes an incredibly simple and convenient resort.
Resort Statistics

Level | Rating | Runs |
---|---|---|
Beginners | 23 | |
Intermediates | 67 | |
Advanced | 30 | |
Snowboarders | ||
Total Runs | 120 |
- Off piste
- Families
- Groups
Resort Altitude | 1160m |
Highest Lift | 2380m |
Longest Run | 5km |
Directions of Slopes | W,N,E |
Uphill Capacity | 8500 |
Total Lifts | 9 |
Gondolas/Cable cars | 1 |
Chairlifts | 5 |
Drag Lifts | 1 |
Snow Parks | 2 |
Skiing in Panorama
Panorama’s slopes consist of 75% beginner-intermediate and 25% advanced and powder terrain. Although slopes for each level aren’t evenly distributed, the resort is perfect for all abilities regardless.
Beginners will be very comfortable in Panorama as much of the beginner terrain and nursery slopes are situated around the resort’s ski in ski out accommodation at Taynton Lodge and Panorama Springs so access to meeting points is hassle free. Mile 1 Quad is a great run to discover for beginners who have mastered the basics and looking to progress.
Likewise, intermediates will be well catered for. There is a lot of runs off the Champagne Express, Sunbird and Summit Quad lifts which are long, wide and open and ideal for practicing technique. Sun Bowl and Founder’s Bridge are also great areas for intermediates looking to advance and try off piste terrain. They offer amazing freeride possibilities as its trees are nice and spaced out as if the area was purposely built for freeriding.
Advanced skiers will love the Taynton Bowl which is not pisted but monitored. It offers epic descents taking you back to the resort. Most of the resort’s black diamond runs are located off the Summit chairlift. Beginner’s can also take the Summit chairlift as there is a blue run going back down, appropriately named ‘Get Me Down’ and goes to the Sun Bowl area.
But it doesn’t just stop there. There are 750 acres of heli-ski, hike-in terrain offers bowls, steep chutes, cliffs as well as a 10km run back down. The resort has also expanded its powder ski offerings, opening up 128 acres of double black diamond slopes. RK heliski based in resort also offer a three run heli-ski experience like no other and we’re sure it won’t be your only experience after it!
Freestylers are also well accommodated for with its Rockstar Terrain Park which features rails, jumps, boxes, freestyle moguls and a boarder cross which cater for all levels.
Fridays and Saturdays are when you can try night skiing on the resort’s Showoff run accessible by the Mile 1 Express lift. Plus anyone with a valid pass can also ski past 4pm into the early night.
Wednesdays is when you can take a bus to the nearby resort of Kicking Horse, of which 60% of its terrain is either black or double black diamond! Expert skiers heaven! This is where you can experience the best chutes, bowls, ridges and cliff drops in Canada and possibly even the world. It’s an early one, as the day trip departs at 7.30am from the Ski Tip Lodge and returns to resort at 5.30pm.
But what makes Panorama resort so great is that mixed ability groups can take the same lift, go their separate ways down the pistes once they get to the top and meet up at the bottom.
Snow conditions in Panorama
The resort is located between 1155m and 2450m, a high altitude for Canadian resorts and ensures snow coverage from November through to April with average temperatures reaching -5 degrees celsius. March in particular is considered the most snow sure month in the season.
Its natural snow is also enhanced by its artificial snow making capabilities which cover 40% of the resort’s runs. The reason why artificial snow isn’t widely used in the area is because of the dissimilarity of its renowned champagne powder snow.
Après ski, restaurants and other activities in Panorama
As Panorama is tailored more towards families, the apres ski scene isn’t the liveliest. Visitors of course can relax in the evenings and have a beer or two at Panorama’s bars such as the T-Bar and Grill and Chopper’s Landing.
Panorama has a wide variety of other activities, perfect for both non skiers and skiers looking to keep themselves occupied after a day on the slopes. The activities include snowmobiling, offering 32,000 acres of terrain, snow tubing, fat biking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sleigh rides, ice skating on its outdoor ice rink and paragliding as well as exploring the village’s shops and spring pools. Its spring pools are accessible for all guests who are lodging in Panorama resort and is where you can bathe and swim to ease tired muscles. The pools also have slides, saunas and hot tubs.
Transfer times to Panorama
Calgary (YYC) - 3 hrs 30 mins
Panorama Reviews
If you can put up with American culture ( although the beer is very good ; real English Camra stuff) , then there is some challenging , exciting stuff there. It's very cold , but quiet and beautiful. They have some American style 'Health and Safety' crap which did almost ruin it for me , but once you are away from the morons it's great. The infrastructure is rubbish , but again once you get to the top you leave all that behind.
Apres Ski: 1/5
Nigel Brown