takeahike46er
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2020
When I lived in NY, Plattekill was my go to mountain for holiday weekends and powder days. Not only was the skiing great, but it offered an escape from the overcrowding that plagues most ski areas around the holidays or whenever a highly publicized storm rolls through. Though Plattekill was never officially my home hill, it always felt like home.
Up until now, I haven’t had an equivalent mountain near Vancouver to fall back on for these occasions. While I’ve known about Manning Park for quite some time, I finally got around to checking the place out—and I think I’ve found my “Plattekill”.
An example of the terrain skiers’ right of the quad
Manning Park is located in a Provincial Park of the same name, and sits at the transition zone between the moist rainforests of the western Cascades and the dry pine forests of the Okanagan. As such, the moisture is a little less abundant here than points west, but the snow that falls is of a much lighter variety. There’s also less instances of rain that is common in the region.
The ski area is small by most standards. It is serviced by two fixed grip lifts that radiate out from the base area, with a new Doppelmayr quad servicing the full 1100’ vertical, and an ancient double servicing a smaller pod off to the side. For beginners and low intermediates, there are essentially a couple routes down from each lift, and Manning might feel a bit limited for these skiers.
This fixed grip quad was installed in 2019
For advanced skiers, there’s actually a decent amount of options, particularly off the quad where there are some fun glades, meadows and gullies to explore. Pushing out towards the boundary skiers’ left yields a nice variety of lines and the longest fall line.
Along the eastern boundary with the access road below
Considering this was the most crowded day of the season, skier density was extremely light—especially on the advanced runs. Lift lines maxed out at 5 minutes for the quad—though there no wait if you utilized the singles line. On a powder day, I could easily see myself skiing untracked all day, and I found plenty of untouched stashes from a snowfall days prior.
Some of the terrain serviced by the Blue Chair
For those with an Indy Pass, this could be a fun mountain to hit in conjunction with Apex Mountain two hours to the east. It could also be a fun weekend stopover if passing through from Vancouver to the interior (or vice versa). And for people like me, Manning Park just might be my new home.
Up until now, I haven’t had an equivalent mountain near Vancouver to fall back on for these occasions. While I’ve known about Manning Park for quite some time, I finally got around to checking the place out—and I think I’ve found my “Plattekill”.
An example of the terrain skiers’ right of the quad
Manning Park is located in a Provincial Park of the same name, and sits at the transition zone between the moist rainforests of the western Cascades and the dry pine forests of the Okanagan. As such, the moisture is a little less abundant here than points west, but the snow that falls is of a much lighter variety. There’s also less instances of rain that is common in the region.
The ski area is small by most standards. It is serviced by two fixed grip lifts that radiate out from the base area, with a new Doppelmayr quad servicing the full 1100’ vertical, and an ancient double servicing a smaller pod off to the side. For beginners and low intermediates, there are essentially a couple routes down from each lift, and Manning might feel a bit limited for these skiers.
This fixed grip quad was installed in 2019
For advanced skiers, there’s actually a decent amount of options, particularly off the quad where there are some fun glades, meadows and gullies to explore. Pushing out towards the boundary skiers’ left yields a nice variety of lines and the longest fall line.
Along the eastern boundary with the access road below
Considering this was the most crowded day of the season, skier density was extremely light—especially on the advanced runs. Lift lines maxed out at 5 minutes for the quad—though there no wait if you utilized the singles line. On a powder day, I could easily see myself skiing untracked all day, and I found plenty of untouched stashes from a snowfall days prior.
Some of the terrain serviced by the Blue Chair
For those with an Indy Pass, this could be a fun mountain to hit in conjunction with Apex Mountain two hours to the east. It could also be a fun weekend stopover if passing through from Vancouver to the interior (or vice versa). And for people like me, Manning Park just might be my new home.
