This winter I’m teaming up with SnowSeekers and Snow Valley Ski Club in Edmonton to learn how to ski as part of their #SkiNorthAB campaign.
I’ll then put my new ski skills to the test by tackling ski hills all over Alberta, and documenting my winter adventures on this blog and through SnowSeekers.
The goal?
I hope my winter adventures inspires you to embrace the season and hit the slopes yourself!
We’re hoping it encourages you to try a new winter sport you’ve never tried before — for instance, I’ve always been a snowboarder but this year I’m challenging myself to give skiing a try!
Maybe it encourages you to get out of the house and enjoy that brisk, Canadian winter air — although cozy house hangs during the winter are great too, how about you mix it up a bit?
Or, maybe it just reminds you how incredibly lucky we are as Canadians, to have such easy access to these quintessentially Canadian pastimes — whether it’s skiing, snowboarding, skating, even snowshoeing. This winter, just get out and try something new.
You can head to smaller, more accessible hills in your city, or visit some of the most popular ski and snowboard mountains in the country located just a quick drive away from Edmonton and Calgary.
Each winter offers a new opportunity to embrace our long, cold Canadian winters with positivity and excitement, and try something new.
Luckily, there are a number of spots you can learn how to ski or snowboard in northern Alberta!
5 Places to Learn How to Ski in Northern Alberta
- Snow Valley Ski Club in Edmonton, Alberta offers ski and snowboard lessons for all ages, including adult learning and a ladies program for all skill levels. These lessons are done over three or five weeks depending on the start date you select. I started December 3 and after 3 weeks should be pretty well ready to hit Alberta’s many slopes!! But there’s also start dates in January and February 2020. On the final class of each program there is an ‘Apres’ social / food and drinks event.
- NiteHawk Adventure Park in Grande Prairie, Alberta offers ski and snowboard lessons for all ages, including a ladies program as well as group lessons and private lessons. The ladies program runs Thursday nights Jan. 17 – Feb. 7 or Feb. 21 – March 14 and includes ‘Apres’ socials after each session.
- Vista Ridge in Fort McMurray, Alberta offers ski and snowboard lessons for all ages, including private lessons and an Adults ‘Never-Ever’ Group lessons which are designed for first-time adult skiers and snowboarders.
- Kinosoo Ridge Snow Resort in Cold Lake/Bonnyville, Alberta includes kids camps, adpative snow sports, group lessons and lake side ice fishing for your apres-skiing!
- Marmot Basin in Jasper, Alberta has skiing and snowboarding lessons for all ages and all skill levels, including private and group lessons, a ‘Discover/Never Before’ package, family package and “next step” (if you want to take your skills to the next level.)
BONUS ALBERTA WINTER ADVENTURE SPOTS
Particularly for nordic (cross-country) skiing:
- Vermilion Nordic in Vermilion, Alberta offers cross-country ski lessons for all ages, including adult classic skiing or skate skiing and is home to the Beckie Scott Nordic Centre & a craft distillery (plus a lot more amazing shops—check out my blog post about Vermilion)
- Lakeland Provincial Park in Lac La Biche Region adventure includes hut-to-hut nordic skiing along the Lakeland circuit!
- Ptarmigan Nordic Centre in Wood Buffalo, Alberta (Fort McMurray) is home to the unique Ice Road!
Need more winter inspiration? SnowSeekers is a guide to winter activity in western Canada. They’re working on a bunch of different winter sport and activity content (including some pieces that I’m writing) that can help guide your experiences this winter.
I’ve also guest blogged for SnowSeekers and Immigrant Services Calgary sharing about winter sport and adventure from my perspective as a second-generation Canadian.
Finally, I’ll leave you with something a very wise friend of mine and lover of all things winter, Erin Di Loreto, said to me about enjoying winter in Canada.
Erin is also the founder of Edmonton’s longest-running winter festival (Silver Skate Festival), so I take anything she says about winter to heart, and you should too. Erin says:
“There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”
So when winter comes and the temperature drops and the snow starts to fall, all you need to do is bundle up and get excited, then you’ll be all set to enjoy one of the best things about Canada — our winters!
Be sure to follow along with SnowSeekers, this blog and my social (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook) for winter 2020 sport and activity tips and inspiration.
Linda
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Disclaimer: I am partnering with SnowSeekers as a paid travel correspondent experiencing and sharing about winter sport and activities across Northern Alberta this winter. This does not impact opinions stated in the post. I love winter adventures and learning new things. I’m really looking forward to learning how to ski and testing out my skills around northern Alberta this winter, and I hope you do too!
