GO WHERE THE PROS GO
Canada’s national team athletes and experts tell you where they love to ski
This issue: Former Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge on Sunshine Village
As a member of Canada’s Ski Hall of Fame and a pioneer of freestyle skiing, Peter Judge has visited and skied on a lot of mountains, including World Cup venues internationally. In his 40-year career he has enjoyed success as a medal-winning athlete, head coach of the Canadian Freestyle team, coach in the USA, Australia and China and former CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. Judge is credited with pushing freestyle disciplines from the fringes to the Olympic level, and for the competitive success of Canada’s freestyle skiers. He has guided Canadian freestyle skiers to a total of 10 Olympic, 69 World Championship and more than 1,000 World Cup medals.
“I lived in Whistler 18 years, which is a great area to be from if you’re into skiing. There are many places globally with totally different feels, from North America to South America, Europe to Asia. In France, I love Tignes and Val d’Isère – there’s lots of terrain, good fun and good food. And there’s very challenging, significant skiing in Sochi, where we’ll of course be for the Olympic Games in February 2014,” says Judge.
But you never forget your firsts, and since Judge grew up in Calgary, he learned to ski in the Rocky Mountains. So when asked which mountain is his favourite and why, he quickly responds, “Sunshine Village will always be dear to my heart, because growing up in the Rockies as I did, it’s there that I found my love of skiing.”
In Judge’s opinion, there are a number of unique, great things about Sunshine Village. When asked why he’d recommend it to others, he says “First and foremost, go for the snow – both the quantity and the quality of it. There’s so much great snow there both early and late in the ski season – many years it’s possible to ski well into June! I think that the variability of terrain is also a significant draw. I first skied Delirium Dive when I was 13 and was inevitably hooked! Whether you are just starting out, skiing as a family, or looking for some serious steep and deep, Sunshine has it all.”
Quick Facts about Sunshine Village:
- Located about 90 minutes from Calgary and just 15 minutes from Banff, on the Continental Divide. You can ski in both BC and Alberta in the same day… in fact in the same run!
- 3 separate mountain faces to ski
- 3,300 acres of skiable terrain – 20% beginner, 55% intermediate and 25% expert run
- Everything from family-friendly beginner runs to the most extreme big mountain runs. Delirium Dive has been named one of the 10 top off-piste destinations in the world
- 12 chairlifts and a high-speed gondola
- Village altitude of 7,082 feet, resulting in big snowfalls and good dry snow conditions all year
- And particularly fitting, given Judge’s role in getting events like slopestyle skiing and snowboarding accepted as new Olympic events for the Sochi Olympics in 2014, a massive 12-acre terrain park with 50 obstacles, and a newly opened beginner park for those who want to learn how to do the jumps and tricks