BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME
Our goal is for you to spend more time on the slopes having fun, and less time resting your aching body in the lodge or spending lots of time trying to unravel unnecessary issues.
Please let us know ASAP if you need any help or advice on anything mentioned below.
the physical
the paperwork
THE DEVICES
the packing
THE PHYSICAL
To make the most out of your trip, it is a good idea to physically prepare beforehand. Your body will certainly be more co-operative, and getting fit beforehand will allow you to avoid overly sore muscles and minimise the risk of injury.
Your muscles have to work hard to safely get you down the mountain. If you’ve only got a few weeks before your trip, then focus on doing some exercises that will help improve your strength, balance, and endurance. Cardio exercise will improve your endurance as well as allow better breathing at altitude and basic stretching will address flexibility. You may also want to increase your leg strength with squats, lunges, stair climbing and walking.
It's always preferable to choose skiing specific exercises that are low impact on your joints, and for which you don’t need any specialised equipment.
THE PAPERWORK
Your "paperwork" is not complete if you don't complete ALL of it and, more specifically, if you haven't checked ALL the details. We regard all the items mentioned below as necessary.
AIR TICKET Ensure that your airline e-ticket shows that your name is spelled EXACTLY as it is on your passport.
TRAVEL INSURANCE Make sure that you include the "Snow Cover" option and that provision is made for Covid-19 cover.
VISA To travel to Canada, you must have a current eTA, which is a visa waiver. Don't forget that if you have a new passport, then your previous eTA will be invalid and a new one must be applied for. If you are travelling via a US airport on your way to Canada, you will also need a US visa waiver, called an ESTA. Yes, even if you are only transiting and not leaving the airport !
Check your Canada eTA status (or apply for a new one) HERE
DRIVER'S LICENCE Bring your AU/NZ driver's licence with you. It will be needed if you intend to hire a car or a snowmobile, and is readily accepted in British Columbia and Alberta as a valid form of ID.
CREDIT CARDS When checking in at most hotels and when renting equipment at the ski resorts, you will need a credit card. Not a debit card. Just like when renting car. Debit cards are often not accepted for these purposes. Additionally, large stores may require photo ID when using a debit card, which can be your driver's licence will save you having to have your passport always at the ready.
PRE-BOOKING It may be wise to pre-book some arrangements before leaving home. These
arrangements might include in-resort excursions, e.g. like ice fishing or ice
hockey games. It will also be cheaper to arrange for ski hire before you leave
home rather than waiting until you arrive in the resort. Let us know if we can help with any of these arrangements.
THE DEVICES
Staying in touch with home, accessing your emails and surfing the internet are all easy to do from the ski resorts. You will have access to free WiFi from you room. Once again, a little preparation will help on this matter.
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Mobile phones
Check the cost of your global roaming plan. It might be more expensive than you think.
The cheap local SIM cards that you can get when you arrive will rarely be able to make international calls without an extra, and expensive, add on. Keep in mind that if you decide that you want a local SIM card, they are readily available in major towns and cities in Canada. Don't wait until you get to a ski resort because you won't get one there.
Before you rush in and put a local SIM card in your phone, keep in mind that, if you intend doing some on-line banking or will be logging in to any service that uses 2FA (Two Factor Authentication), that you may well need to be contactable on your home mobile number. You may need global roaming after all if you can't reset your 2FA to contact you via, for example, email.
Remember the global convention called ICE (In Case of Emergency). Enter the number that you want called in an emergency.
Load some useful apps on your phone ... Skype, WhatsApp, Signal, Messenger, etc. When used with the free WiFi, these apps are the easiest and least expensive way to call home (or other group members). Even using credit on Skype is way cheaper than global roaming charges.
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Power for your devices
Bring a small power board with you. This will allow you to plug in all your devices to recharge, and you will then only need one plug adapter, which you can easily obtain in Canada, or before you leave home.
THE PACKING
Ski resorts are very laid back places where it tends to be a little overheated indoors and very cold outside (especially at night).
Clothes
This means that you won't need any dressy clothes, thick jumpers or lots of pairs of jeans. You also won't need dress shoes. All this unnecessary gear is heavy to carry, and only takes up a lot of your airline baggage weight allowance.
While you're away, you will have access to laundry facilities (washers and dryers) and, therefore, you can minimise the total number of clothing items that you need to pack.
It is best to dress in layers, so very heavy clothing items are unlikely to be particularly useful.
Bring your swim togs ... hot tubs.
Packing cubes are cheap and really useful for organising clothes storage and quick packing and unpacking.
Weigh your bags ... excess baggage charges are high.
Try not to bring any clothing made of pure cotton as it doesn't have good thermal properties and can be slow to dry after washing.
Miscellaneous stuff
You will definitely need sun screen and lip balm, as well as sunglasses.
Don't pack large bottles of anything. Decant your favourite shampoo, conditioner and other liquids into smaller, plastic travel bottles (cheap at the $2 shop).
Wrap each of your skis with an old sheet to cover the edges and then pack clothing around them in your ski bag. Just don't go overweight on your airline baggage allowance.
Don't bother getting your skis waxed at home before you leave home. It's unlikely that your local ski shop will have the cold weather wax needed for Canadian conditions.