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  1. #1
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    Vernon and Silverstar

    Friends from Whistler are looking to relocate somewhere they might be able to afford to buy a place, he has a possible job offer from a company in Vernon. Any threads I can find are way old but make it sound like the town itself is a bit of a dive so recommendations on where to live, or maybe the town isn’t as bad as it was? So any maggots living around there? Silverstar looks like it could have some decent terrain if good snow, they are both snow boarders and into BC, anything near by for touring, IE hour or so?.

  2. #2
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    i've lived in whistler and spent a lot of time in vernon. the town is a town, its no worse than anywhere else in BC, the winters are mild but they usually have snow for a couple months. the summers are dry and HOT but there's two huge lakes to play in, there's always wildfires somewhere around there. SS has an ok bike park, and kelowna has ok XC trails, obviously nothing like whistler.

    as far as skiing, SS is like an east coast hill, small, tree cut runs, no alpine whatsoever. coming from whistler it will be a huge huge downgrade. it's the kind of terrain you'll find off solar coaster and jersey cream. big white is 1hr 1/2 away, its bigger but still not great, only skied there once so it may not even be better than SS. revelstoke is 2hrs away, inbounds is meh and wonky layout, never had a chance to tour but looks like there should be lots to do, and rogers pass is 2 1/2 hrs away. if your buddy loves to tour, really tour, put in some mileage, then he can find anything he wants there. it's endless.

  3. #3
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    I would say SS has better then ok bike park and the trails in town are excellent and diverse. Check out http://www.okcycling.com/ Stuff all over the place that I think you might be missing.

    SS in winter is a fun family hill, consistent snow, is really fun on pow days and only 20 minutes from town. Groomers are excellent if it hasn't snowed in a while. Like anywhere if you know where you are going there are more options then pass the initial eye test.

    Summers are hard to beat, warm lakes with lots of access. We are in the water from end of may to october normally. Lots of good hiking in the Pinnacles area in the summer as well. https://backcountrycanadatravel.com/...kanagan-hikes/

    There is a ton of great uncrowded B/C within 1.5 hrs especially if you have a sled. All of these vids are from the area excluding snowfall lodge one: https://vimeo.com/user5711230

    I am born and raised here, it is a typical BC town but offers a lot for someone who enjoys being out doors. Population of Greater Vernon area is about 65,000 and Kelowna is a short 35 minute drive if you want to get fancy. haha.

    Like any town there are some scuzzy spots to avoid but I would say the down town and other amenities are getting better. Real Estate is still somewhat reasonable especially compared to Whistler and even Kelowna.
    www.skevikskis.com Check em out!

  4. #4
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    Lots of mags in that area- El Hefe/Crawfo and crew always posting tasty lines they crush. Also convenient location to access Revy and Rogers as well. Check interior thread for reports.

  5. #5
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    The comment about there being only "ok xc trails" in Kelowna is so wrong! There is such a huge variety, especially with powers reopening and all the work at Gillard... Vernon has great riding too, and it's hard to beat the bike park, soveriegn and noble canyon. Plus you're so close to Kamloops. The biking is way different from Whistler (more fast and loose), but still amazing, there's a reason why some of the best riders live in the okanagan..

    Otherwise totally agree with hefe about the town and skiing, I just felt he was underselling the biking!



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  6. #6
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    Legit Vimeo channel, hefe. Had some fun watching those videos.

  7. #7
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    Thanks guys, I’ll pass this thread onto them. He does sled, although doesn’t have one at the moment so options there are good.

  8. #8
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    Okanagan a great place to live. I grew up in interior BC and have siblings that have lived in Vernon for 20ish years. They live in Coldstream which is basically part of Vernon, even though it's a separate municipality. Access to two great Lakes Kalamalka and OK, great biking as has been said and underrated skiing (not super GNAR, but then again Revy a few hours away and Golden about 3 1/2). Great kids freestyle/park programs out of SS as well if your friends have kids or have park steeze that old dudes like me do not... They can use the money the saved on the house and roll it into a new Air Nautique or Mastercraft lol. Probably a buyers market as well as a lot of the Alberta $ that's gone there is not as available as before with the train wreck in our economy.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by eldereldo View Post
    Friends from Whistler are looking to relocate ....
    Have they considered Revelstoke? Or has all of whistler already moved there?
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  10. #10
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    I wouldn't call the town a dive. But I guess that dependents on what your looking for. Its not a resort town, and the skiing and biking scenes are low key.

    Not much to add that hasn't already been said. If sick resort skiing is your raison d'etre, then you should probably pass. But if you can access a lot of B/C within 1 hr (if you have a sled). The biking is actually really good, with a lot of options. The cycling club is probably one of the best organized in the province (certainly the most organized in the interior)... and having access to bike park is sick.

    Pros and cons to Vernon for sure, but comparative to other communities in the vicinity I would argue that it has more to offer than most.
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  11. #11
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    didn't LeeLau write a article on the biking scene here recently?
    www.skevikskis.com Check em out!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by el hefe View Post
    didn't LeeLau write a article on the biking scene here recently?
    I believe so.

    PinkBike has featured a few articles recently.....

    https://www.pinkbike.com/news/vernon...epic-2015.html

    https://www.pinkbike.com/u/Sharonb/b...penticton.html

    https://www.pinkbike.com/news/destin...-columbia.html
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  13. #13
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    Within 2 hours of Vernon you now have 4? Bike parks(silver star,sunpeaks, big white, and now rmr). Countless shuttle locations and many alpine options. For years the locations in the “New World Disorder” series included segments from north shore, whistler, Nelson , and gillard and postil and powers (kelowna). Vernon is almost dead center for really good biking variety

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmcrawfo View Post
    Have they considered Revelstoke? Or has all of whistler already moved there?
    All of Whistler has moved there

  15. #15
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    Working with NOCS on that story really opened my eyes up to how tight the Vernon area is for community and for family. Pretty special

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeeLau View Post
    Working with NOCS on that story really opened my eyes up to how tight the Vernon area is for community and for family. Pretty special
    Marky D is a gem!
    www.skevikskis.com Check em out!

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by el hefe View Post
    Marky D is a gem!
    Marky Mark. Steve C. Matt B. Dave. All the old schoolers out of Olympia. I mean most of medium and small town BC have their gems who volunteer and give back but Vernon really is something else

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by grinch View Post
    Within 2 hours of Vernon you now have 4? Bike parks(silver star,sunpeaks, big white, and now rmr). Countless shuttle locations and many alpine options. For years the locations in the “New World Disorder” series included segments from north shore, whistler, Nelson , and gillard and postil and powers (kelowna). Vernon is almost dead center for really good biking variety
    Revey has bike park?
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmcrawfo View Post
    Have they considered Revelstoke? Or has all of whistler already moved there?
    We could really do with a few less Whistler refugees.

    And, yes, Revy has a bike park opening this summer. It's only going to be one trail to start, but it's a flow trail from the top of the Stoke to the base, so it's a pretty good start if you ask me. You'll also have to pedal to the top from the top of the gondola, or you can rent an e-bike and do it the easy way. I just hope it's not as popular as The Pipe coaster.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmcrawfo View Post
    Have they considered Revelstoke? Or has all of whistler already moved there?
    They have, but he has a job offer in Vernon, and Revelstoke Real Estate has already gone way back up after the temporary dive. Not sure if ALL of Whistler has moved, but seems quite a few have. We know a few people who have places in Whistler who are planning on selling up and heading somewhere else, partly because of how busy Whistler has become, and partly because what they can sell for vs buy somewhere else let’s them completely change what they have to do to support themselves. Given the choice between working full time and skiing weekends at Whistler, or working part time and skiing any day somewhere like Red, it becomes a bit more complicated than which hill has the best terrain.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by eldereldo View Post
    They have, but he has a job offer in Vernon, and Revelstoke Real Estate has already gone way back up after the temporary dive. Not sure if ALL of Whistler has moved, but seems quite a few have. We know a few people who have places in Whistler who are planning on selling up and heading somewhere else, partly because of how busy Whistler has become, and partly because what they can sell for vs buy somewhere else let’s them completely change what they have to do to support themselves. Given the choice between working full time and skiing weekends at Whistler, or working part time and skiing any day somewhere like Red, it becomes a bit more complicated than which hill has the best terrain.
    the struggles of white people are real. #Vibes
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmcrawfo View Post
    the struggles of white people are real. #Vibes
    Yep

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmcrawfo View Post
    Revey has bike park?
    Quote Originally Posted by AlexC View Post
    We could really do with a few less Whistler refugees.

    And, yes, Revy has a bike park opening this summer. It's only going to be one trail to start, but it's a flow trail from the top of the Stoke to the base, so it's a pretty good start if you ask me. You'll also have to pedal to the top from the top of the gondola, or you can rent an e-bike and do it the easy way. I just hope it's not as popular as The Pipe coaster.
    Perfect for an #eeber . Up to top of stoke a few times after finishing at bottom of southern comfort, then bob gnarleys coffee, then dirty s and a final lap to finish back to town on pipewrench/crowbar. Over 20k vert would be the standard silver star 10 lapper. I’d only get to the top of the stoke and back from airport way that many times with an emtb

  24. #24
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    I've spent time in Whistler and Vernon,
    I'd much rather live in Vernon
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

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