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I agree, there’s not much you can’t get in Fernie that you actually need…
I can’t believe there’s actually people who live here who want us to end up looking like Cranbrook. I love our little stores and their varied owners. Some are wonderful, helpful and charming. Some are downright obnoxious, but I the point is I know them and they recognize me. I went to check out Canadian Tire on opening weekend, and two teenage boys stood in uniforms right beside me, chatting and laughing, and totally ignored me while I was trying to find something. That would never happen in IGS or Bike Base, or any of the other independant stores. CT may be cheaper on some items but at what cost? I’m a reluctant convenience junkie just like a lot of other people, but we really don’t need this stuff – just takes a little bit of though and you can manage without it.
Please, no more box stores. There is room for one more out on that spot, and then can we please stop trying to turn our beautiful little town into a suburb of Calgary?

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This golf course has been on the books for years. Brushcutting started a couple of months back, and yes, the proposed finish date is 2008, but at one point it was 2006, so let’s just wait and see eh?
Golf course, fine. Yet more high end houses that will be occupied on weekends and owned by rich out of towners, not so fine.
Is there a developer out there who will take up the challenge to build affordable housing?

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Bri, if you are coming in Jan/Feb you will get $6 per day off the days that you have to pay for, not $20 or $26, which are the top level discounts that are only available for about the first and last weeks of opening, and at Lake Louise (our sister resort) when we are closed very early and very late in the season.
When I went up to the ski hill last year to buy my Louise card, I had to show my drivers licence (for proof of residency). Don’t know if they would ask for this if you had a card mailed you when you use it the first time, but it might not be worth the hassle just in case.
I have hosted LOTS of guests from the UK who have stayed up to 14 days. For an 11 day stay I would reccommend getting an 8 day pass (unless you are superfit/superkeen) (Valid 8 out of 10 or 11 days). This would leave you 3 free days for rest days/hangover days, to get a massage or go cat-skiing (poor man’s helisking!) with one of our local operators, go cross country or back-country with a guide or to take a day trip to Kimberley or Castle Mountain, or to go for a weekend up to Lake Louise. If the powder is awesome here, you can always buy an extra day or half day at the time.
Note that we will be in Peak Period pricing Feb 15-25, where tickets are $74 per day for adults.

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will there be a bar?

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Hi
I believe that Heiko Socher (local legend and founder of Fernie Snow Valley for anyone reading this not from Fernie) is involved in trying to put together a proposal for some type of community style ski hill. The proposed location is in the coal creek area/morrisey ridge. The plan involves runs, cross-country trails, lifts and a gondola that would be available year round for sightseeing trips (food/cafeteria location???). No idea when any of this is going to happen or even if it is still on the books or has any funding behind it.
A presentation was made at city council some time ago, so more detailed/accurate info is probably available there – http://www.fernie.ca.
All power to him, this could make a huge difference locally.

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Fernie can have the best snow in the world, any time between Late November and the end of March. (I’ve even skied knee deep powder in April) so it’s anyone’s guess as to when the best time to come is. End of Jan to end of Feb is probably the most reliable, so it’s a crapshoot as far as choosing your holiday dates! As far as nightlife is concerned, late Feb is probably going to be busier/more lively but don’t come expecting club city. There’s good nights out to be had, but Fernie is pretty tame by UK standards, unless you happen to be from Low Fell or Tarbet. For accommodation I’d go with Park Place, it’s a lot closer to the centre of town and the attached Pub is popular. If you’re looking to save a few bucks, the Snow Valley Motel, just across the road, is a good bit cheaper.
Have a great trip!

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Fernie is going to grow, it’s inevitable. We either work out a way to do that in a positive, responsible, reliable and controlled manner, or we will end up in a mess for the next ten years or so until we end up the size of Banff or Whistler and a few bigshots just take over the whole town. At present we are in a position to work together as a community and create a healthy environment for everyone.
Personally I would be totally happy if we stayed exactly as we are and didn’t get any busier or more popular. However for that to happen it would take a ton of businesses, the City and RCR to all agree to stop growing and to put together a formal plan to prevent any increases in accommodations, marketing, spending, new business and rates. Ain’t gonna happen folks!
So lets please get this right now before it’s too late. If you don’t like it you need to do something constructive – the DMO might not be the perfect solution (and I certainly don’t know enough about it to make a decision yet) but at least someone is doing something.
adventuresource, I am glad your business is doing well and you are as busy as you need/want to be. That is an excellent situation to be in when so many small businesses have closed their doors over the past two years. Now I’m not saying all or even most of those did so as a result of a lack of tourism, but it was definately a factor in some cases (Divine Essentials, Tres Hermanas…) How do we solve this issue in your eyes? I think everyone would like to see some alternatives so we have options on the table.

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Sparkes, I said 50-65% YEARLY average, not summer. I was including April, May, October, November and the first two weeks of December and January when pretty much everyone is struggling to get their first floor filled. That said, there certainly has been a marked growth in summer visitors over the past two years and I think we are all feeling the benefits of that. I’d love to see the summer season expand to the same amount of time that we actually have warm weather, instead of just the 8 week influx we currently get.

In addition to my earlier point about the speed of the accommodation construction in town, we are also experiencing a huge issue locally with housekeeping staff. I can think of at least 7 businesses that are currently looking for housekeepers. Anyone know how we are going to fix that issue with all the new accommodations we are expecting to see over the next few years that will need to be cleaned? And where are those $9 ph housekeepers supposed to live when winter accommodation is pushing $500/month?

What I would like to see is some kind of organised voice in Fernie that is going to look after issues like this, and others, including low income housing for low income workers, grass roots employment incentives, promoting small business and stopping future big box stores that are going to be a blot on the landscape and push smaller businesses out. Prime example is Kootenay Market folding just two years after Extra Foods went in. Canadian Tire and Marks work warehouse are sure to follow suit – I’m not saying I won’t shop there, I need to save a buck just like anyone else, I just hope we don’t have to lose the likes of IGS and the small autobody places as a result.

I don’t think the DMO is going to get involved in any of this – does anyone else care enough about these issues to do something about this with me?

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As re said, we need to look at the bigger picture. Hopefully the DMO will market Fernie as a four-season destination and promote us as a single entity with lots of activities and all the associated facilities our visitors require.
People are complaining that the trickle down effect does not help them, but how are we supposed to measure something like that? Think of all the hospitality and tourism employees in town who can only stay because of the tourist dollar that pays their wages – where do they buy their groceries, get their car fixed, replace their kitchen, watch a hockey match, take a sick pet?
Fernie is now at the point where everyone must start to pull together, or we all lose out.
Adventuresource, I understand where you are coming from on the fees, but how on earth are they supposed to be done fairly for everyone? Raft companies have enormous expenses – equipment gets lost or broken, buses need maintenance, every raft needs it’s own guide. The river season is no more reliable than your snow season – at the start the river can be running too high to be safe, rafts can’t go out in a lightning storm, and anytime between July and October the river can get too low to run without adequate rainfall. This applies to all adventure operators, and capacity is only limited by the resources you have. Given enough new visitors, you could expand your business, take on more guides, dogs and sleds and end up with the biggest dogsledding company in Canada.
I think it is great that you are 98% booked, but I can assure you nobody else is. Most hotels and motels are running at around 50-65% yearly occupancy and the fact that you still don’t need reservations to rent skis or bikes even at the peak of the appropriate season, suggests we are nowhere near the capacity we should be in terms of visitor numbers.
If we are going to continue to build accommodations at such ridiculous speed, we have to find some way to fill them.

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I agree, downtown markets have great atmosphere. I’d love to see the market move downtown. I like the park setting but it just isn’t working. As far as I was aware several attempts were made to move it already but local store owners didn’t want it. Don’t know it that’s true or not, but could be an issue. I’m sure it would make Sundays busier downtown. One suggestion I heard was to move it alone one block each week – ie, start in front of Overwaitea then the following week use the Ghostrider block, then all the way down until you end up at the Central. Good luck with whatever you end up doing, I’d like to see the market suceed.

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I’d agree with what Gavitron had to say about the Academy’s teaching standards, they seem to be very high and I particularly appreciate the focus on arts, languages and social responsibility.

I havn’t really had any interaction with the public schools, so can’t really comment there, other than to say I totally disagree with the four day/five day nonsense currently causing so many issues. I don’t have kids in either system.

Just wanted to clarify a few descrepancies that I noticed in the previous posts. As far as I am aware, the Fernie Academy plans to add one grade each year right through to High School graduation level. No-one will have to move to the public system if they don’t want to. The oldest students currently at the Academy will always be the oldest, moving up each year to the new grade until they graduate. These plans may have changed recently, but I did hear this originally “from the horses mouth” so to speak.

The Academy is an independant school, not private. It may seem like a minor point but actually has a lot of educational relevance. They are assesed by Government and must adhere to strict regulations. Private schools can do what they like.

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SALE generally means you get a bargain, especially at the end of a season! These cards only cost $60 to buy at the beginning of the season, asking $100 with less than four weeks on the season is just a joke.
I know someone who has a card that was used three times (so still has the 4th and 7th free days on) for sale for $30 if anyone is interested. PM me, and actually get a deal!!

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There’s definately curling in winter, plus touch rugby, soccer and frisbee golf in summer that I know of. There’s slo pitch areas in the airport and annex parks but I’ve never heard about a league. Can’t help with details, but hopefully that’s something for you to go on. Don Stewart at the City is the Leisure Services manager, he may be able to help.

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Cathy Morris was the original owner of “steep and deep” and now runs the program for FAR. She is an excellent teacher, and knows the mountains very well. The course is great, but very challenging. You need to have a fairly high standard of skiing already to get the most out of it, but it will definately help to get you on to that next level that is so hard to reach. Definately do it!

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Simple formula for calculating Fernie property taxes as approved by BC Taxation board:

Make a guess at what you think your taxes might be. Add $800. Multiply by 8.2. Double it. = Taxes for the run down property next door, yours will be anywhere upwards of that. Paradise doesn’t come cheap! Why do you think everyone in Fernie wears dodgy old clothes and drives dodgy old cars and trucks?

You need to contact the City of Fernie (if you are buying with the Fernie city limits) with an approximate house value (approximately 45% different to the purchase price, lower or higher) or the Regional District of East Kootenay if your house will be on the Ski hill, in West Fernie, Anderson Rd or Dicken Rd, or anywhere outside of that. The city also sets the rates for utilities.

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