Worldmark sundance questions

[Tacoma]

We're booked into this resort for spring break. It looks like it is walking distance to Creekside Gondola has anyone done that? Also from creekside it looks like you have to pay for the bus to the upper village is that correct? The upper village has a free shuttle but with 7 of us it will likely be cheaper to drive to the village and pay for parking. I'm hoping we will enjoy the locationa and accomodations since we're taking friends. Definitely an expensive place to ski. Hopefully we'll enjoy it.

Joan

 

[northpole]

It's a pretty steep walk from Sundance to the creekside lift, but it isn't far. The resort is located uphill, so it's not too difficult to walk down to the lift - but the walk back up to Sundance after a day of skiing is more difficult.

My brother (who is a very good skier) found a run that takes him close to the resort, he just makes sure that takes that specific run at the end of the day and gets off at the right location (not the bottom of the run). Maybe you can find the same run?

I believe that the parking at creekside is still free, at least it was this past summer when we stayed there.

You are correct that you have to pay for the bus to the village, but it's worth it. The buses run quite frequently and are quite popular - many people take them to get to/from the village in the evenings.

You can easily access the entire mountain from creekside, so you won't have to go to the village for skiing - though you'll want to go in the evenings to enjoy the shopping/eating/vibe - it's a great and festive place in the evenings.

Have fun!

 

[jdunn1]

Just wondering if Sundance or Cascades Lodge is the better resort to book if you want easy lift access? Neither are ski in ski out? Is Cascades Lodge the more popular resort? Thanks.

-Jim

 

[northpole]

Cascade lodge (through Worldmark) only offers 1 bedroom units, while Sundance has 1-3 bedroom units.

Cascade lodge is very near the village, so it's possible to walk to all the shopping, groceries and restaurants easily. Also, it has a large heated pool (one of the largest in Whistler) and a few hot tubs (2 or 3? can't quite remember).

Most units at Cascade Lodge don't have a deck, it backs onto a thin strip of trees which separates the lodge from the highway and there aren't any bbqs.

Sundance lodge has larger units, it's built on the side of the mountain so there are fantastic views of the valley, mountains and lakes. The units all have large decks with bbqs and it's quite close to the creekside gondola. There is one shared hot tub for the complex.

Unfortunately, it's not very close to the village and it's a steep walk to the gondola. There is a small village (called Creekside Village) at the base of the creekside gondola. There is a nice grocery store, a few restaurants, a starbucks and a handful of stores. While this little village is comparable to the base village at many smaller resorts, it doesn't compare to Whistler village.

I'm not sure which resort has easier access to the lifts. From Cascade lodge it's quite a walk to the lifts. I would do the walk if I were snowboarding that day (snowboard boots are quite comfortable to walk in), but I definitely wouldn't walk that far in ski boots. It's only a 10 minutes walk, but mostly on pavement and/or paving stones. Unlike Sundance, the walk is flat and easy.

I've stayed at both lodges, but usually in the summer/fall. I prefer to ski at a different resort in BCs interior (Sun Peaks). My personal preference is Sundance lodge because it offers a view and a nice deck. We like to use the BBQ and we often invite friends/family to join us (cascade only has 1 bdrm units). However, Cascade is very convenient to the village and we LOVE Whistler village.

 

[Tacoma]

Thanks for the answers northpole. I will try to figure out what the run is so we can avoid walking up the hill. If we all arrive back at around the same time we'll send the snowboarder up the hill to get the van. Even though we live in Calgary we have never been to Whistler. My husband hates to go to a ski hill if it's not ski season. Also as a teacher my spring break is late and there is always great skiing in Banff at that time of year. When we've gone other places the skiing generally isn't as good as it is late season pretty much anywhere else. We're also snow snobs who like the light fluffy powder of the rockies.This year my week at BRMR does not line up with my holiday so thought we'd try Whistler. Some of our skiing friends are coming with us so Cascade Lodge would be too small. We booked the 3 bedroom loft since we didn't know who all would come. Both families have 2 teenagers but as of now only my youngest son is coming. That could still change.

Thanks again. By the way why do you prefer Sun Peaks? There's a lot more ski hills in BC we'd like to explore.

Joan

 

[northpole]

"By the way why do you prefer Sun Peaks? "

Often when I've been to Whistler, the snow on the bottom half of the mountain isn't great, so we end up only using the top half anyway (about 3,000 foot vertical). However, sometimes the top half is all fogged in, so we end up skiing/boarding in the fog all day...

Sun Peaks has the light powder like you find in the rockies, it's usually sunny and the village is mostly ski-in ski-out. In Whistler most places aren't ski-in ski-out unless you want to pay $$$.

Also, it's an easy drive on a Friday afternoon to get to Sun Peaks from Surrey, BC... The drive to Whistler means we have to drive through busy Friday afternoon Vancouver traffic to get to Whistler. The drive to Sun Peaks takes about the same time (because there's no traffic) but it's an easier drive...

Whistler is great though. I have been there on perfect weather days with fresh snow and it's quite amazing!