Canada: Ski B.C. With an Olympic Champ

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It may come as no surprise that some of the best skiing in the world can be found in British Columbia — we all know about Whistler (host of the 2010 Olympic alpine events) but sometimes it’s okay to settle for second best — if it’s Sun Peaks Resort, recently voted the second best resort in Canada by Condé Nast Traveler. Perhaps more telling is that these slopes just north of Kamloops, are home to Nancy Greene, Canadian Olympic champion who brought home gold and silver in the 1968 Grenoble games. But this mountain was not created for downhillers alone: take the chairlift up to the peaks and try alpine snowshoeing or alpine cross-country skiing, a rare thing, indeed. For easterners, WestJet flies direct from Toronto to Calgary first thing in the morning, then connects to Kamloops, having you on the slopes by mid-afternoon. Your WestJet boarding pass also gets you a lift ticket for free that day. Did we mention Ms. Greene was voted Canada’s female athlete of the last century? If Sun Peaks is good enough for her, it’s good enough for us. www.sunpeaksresort.com

–Vivian Vassos