Published February 2, 2000 12:00AM
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ocated at the base of the Purcells, Kimberley is a friendly, wide-open family resort. The terrain grew by a third last winter to 1,800 acres and can now be accessed via a new base-to-summit high-speed quad. The new OWL Learning Center, with surface lifts, is just for beginners. Intermediates will find corduroy cruising down consistent fall lines, and Trennon Paynter, a member of Canada’s Freestyle Team, honed his skills on the Easter Bowl moguls. You’ll also find legitimate black-diamond runs here, but little in the way of cliffs and chutes. The Trickle Creek Residence Inn, a condo/hotel managed by the Marriott, opened in the new base village this season. Less than 2 miles downvalley, the town of Kimberley-known as the “Bavarian City of the Rockies”-offers a number of tasty German restaurants.
Insider Tip The food and the ambiance are authentic Bavarian at the Old Bauernhaus restaurant built nearly 350 years ago in Germany and later moved to Kimberley.
Great Deal Three nights’ lodging and three days’ lifts go for $234 per person, double occupancy at Trickle Creek, Feb. 1 through April. In Kimberley, three-day, three-night lift and lodging packages start as low as $153.
Vital Stats Skiable acres: 1,800; number of lifts: 7; vertical rise: 2,465 feet; average annual snowfall: 160 inches; lift ticket price: $29.25.
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