Ski Newfoundland - Remote but Good
Skiing and snowboarding Marble Mountain is surprisingly fine
"Skiing in Newfoundland? There’s skiing in Newfoundland?"
Even the young woman manning the Canadian Immigration Service booth was startled to hear it.
But, yes. There is downhill skiing and snowboarding in Newfoundland.
Marble Mountain is the primary spot to pass the time in that pastime.
And, if you’re surprised to hear you can downhill in Newfoundland, you’d be—as I was—even more surprised at just how fine the Marble Mountain skiing can be.
Okay, no. This isn’t Canadian skiing on the scale of Whistler or even Tremblant. But it is skiing that can hold its own with most of the ski areas in the eastern U.S. and Canada.
Even if the statistics don’t rock your world:
- 1,700 foot vertical drop
- 35 trails
- 175 acres
- 1 glade run
- 1 terrain park
- 1 halfpipe
Moderate at best.
But, wait:
- Fully seven of those 35 runs are mogul trails.
- Fully 32% of the trails are rated advanced.
- Fully 13% of the trails are rated expert.
And those ratings don’t lie. There’s some serious steep here. In fact, I suffered vertigo on the double-black run called Boomerang. Yes, it dropped off that steeply. Not to mention its small house-sized moguls.
Small-house-sized moguls? Here’s the good news.
There’s no ice.
No kidding.
You come over the backside of those bumps and not only is there no ski chatter, but there’s firm edge grip. And happiness.
Why?
Two reasons, that I can tell.
- Contrary to what you might expect, the weather is amazingly mild, with the daytime high in the 25-degree range.
- Absolutely minimal skier traffic.
Indeed, ski Marble on a weekday and you’ll think you’re on your own private mountain. The longest lift line we experienced was . . . maybe 10 seconds?
Intermediates are certainly not forgotten. There’s plenty of mid-challenge terrain, and the grooming ranks with most resorts’ work.
If there’s anything missing, it’s novice-level terrain. The learning area is just fine; it’s isolated and has its own poma lift. And, the single novice trail from the top is long and pleasant. But, making transition runs from novice to intermediate challenges are lacking. In general, this is a steep hill.
Far Away?
Now, Newfoundland is a long ways away for most of us. A six-hour ferry ride from the mainland U.S. a plane ride from everywhere else.
But, it’s worth the trip. The natives are amazingly friendly. The lodging possibilities are varied (the most modern being at nearby Humber Valley Resort, Humber Valley Suites, and slopeside at Marble Villa).
The town of Corner Brook is but a few miles away. It harbors at least four fine restaurants. Excellent dining can be had at Humber Valley Suites' dining room. Truly gourmet dining is found at Strawberry Hill, next door to Humber Valley Resort.
Most of Marble’s patrons come from the Saint John’s area of Newfoundland; the next highest draw is from Nova Scotia. And the next? London, believe it or not. Humber Valley Resort runs two charter planes a week from London and, given the exchange rate, Brits would be nuts not to come on over. And, it’s only a five-hour flight for them.
Indeed, we rode the shuttle van with a London trio, who never stopped gushing about how much more pleasant it was to ski Newfoundland than Europe: no crowds, no lift lines, no rudeness, no on-slope cross traffic, no walking to get to the lift or shuttle. Well, this isn’t St. Anton or Innsbruck, where the skiing connects towns miles apart, but if you’re looking to relax as these guys were, Marble just may be better.
The area, too, offers all the alternative winter recreational activities in abundance. From Nordic skiing to snowmobiling and something called kite-skiing, and everything in between. But, that’s another story.
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