Skiing is believing

There's a lot to be thankful for this holiday season . . . family, friends, health, financial stability. But with snow in the forecast and the Vancouver/Whistler Olympic Winter Games on the horizon, this ski writer can't help but use some of her holiday cheer to toast the best of Canada's ski areas. These include:

Best Place to Ride a Gondola:

The Peak 2 Peak Gondola, Whistler, B.C. No competition here. This $52-million marvel glides skiers from one peak to the next, 436 metres above glorious Fitzsimmons Creek. There are more than 3 km between two of the towers -- it's the longest, highest gondola of its type in the world. Bring your guts, Whistler will show you its glory.

Best Place to Ski Powder:

Revelstoke Mountain Resort, B.C. Canada's youngest ski resort maintains its youthful glow, with steeps, trees and 15 metres of annual snowfall only a teenager sipping Red Bull has the ski legs to handle. More seasoned skiers, however, ought to give the powder at Revelstoke the old college try. Drink up and attempt time travel.

Best Place to Ski Fast:

The Men's Downhill at Lake Louise, Alta. Sure, the Olympics are at Whistler. But from the nosebleed start at the top of the World Cup downhill run at Lake Louise (2,900 metres) to the finish at the Lodge of Ten Peaks, this cowboy race course takes the gold. It's an icy, twisty, scary, omigosh-I-skied-that run you've got to ride -- and ride fast -- at least once in your ski life.

Best Place for an Apres-Ski Stroll:

Tremblant Village, Que. Cobbled streets, candy-coloured rooftops, oodles of French-Canadian charm -- this wintry, auto-free village is the closest Canada comes to the charismatic ski villages of Europe. Bundle up and repeat: "Oh-la-la."

The Peak 2 Peak Gondola at Whistler, one of three British Columbia Olympic host cities, is ranked as the best place to ride a gondola. (The Canadian Press)

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