Canada’s Sprawling Glacial Ski Resort Just Got the Green Light

It'll have more vertical drop than Vail and Aspen — combined.

October 27, 2016 9:00 am

Update 30 March 2017

After doing some major fundraising in the fall, the approval process for a major year-round glacier skiing destination near Valemount, BC has moved at anything but a glacial pace. This week, the Province of British Columbia signed off on a development agreement approving Valemount Glacier Destinations’ plans for a ski area with a 9,925-foot top elevation and vertical drop of approximately 6,726 feet, the largest in North America and third largest in the world.

After land surveys and lift work are completed this summer, construction on the resort is slated to begin in the summer of 2018, with the hope of opening in time for Christmas that year. To get a look at the complete master plan for the project, head here.

———————————————————————————————————-

Park City? 

Aspen? Telluride? Whistler? Banff?

Did ’em all? Not even getting on the plane unless you’re heading to Chamonix or St. Mortiz? Or better yet, Kamchatka? 

Well Oberto Oberti, an Italian-Canadian developer, is here to convince you to keep your ski dollars (Canadian or American) in North America. He’s developing Valemount Glacier Destination in British Columbia. If you’ve heard of it, it’s thanks to the remote heli skiing at nearby Twilight. But by this time next year, Twilight will be just one part of a new mega-resort, which a resident of Valemount — who convinced Oberti to build locally — told Powder “[is] going to be one of a kind.”

Best of all: it’s expected to open in 2017. 

More details on how they’ll spend the $131 million raised for phase one here

MEET US AT YOUR INBOX. FIRST ROUND'S ON US.

Join America's Fastest Growing Spirits Newsletter THE SPILL. Unlock all the reviews, recipes and revelry — and get 15% off award-winning La Tierra de Acre Mezcal.