Discovering what makes Canada 'Cool'...

Canadian invention enables non-skiers to safely slide down Whistler’s snowy slopes

By Lucy Izon
Photo Courtesy of SnoLimo

Tours range from one hour to a full day, 15-minute rides are $25. The company started in Whistler four years ago now also operates in Big White and Grouse Mountain B.C., and at two locations in Japan.

Whistler Blackcomb has been named the number one ski resort in North America by Skiing Magazine for 11 consecutive years. It has an average annual snowfall of 914 cm (30 ft) and a season that stretches from November to June, with glacier skiing until late July. For information on the SnoLimo visit www.sno-limo.com. For infomation on Whistler visit www.whistler.com or call 1-800-944-7853.

Lucy Izon is a Toronto-based freelance travel journalist, speaker, and publisher of CanadaCool.com.

Whistler, B.C. - Even non-skiers can glide down the same spectacular mountains that will challenge the 2010 Olympic skiers, thanks to an invention by veteran Whistler ski professional Paul Auger.

Paul and his brother Guy were trying to think of a way to get their 83-year-old mother up on the slopes to see her grandchildren ski. With the help of his brother and their father Bill, Paul came up with a chauffeur-driven vehicle that looks rather like a dog sled with skis. They didn’t stop there, they decided to try to find a way that anyone could have a non-skier join them. After four years of experimentation they succeeded in refining the 'Sno-Limo’.

Now you don’t have to be a skier to join your family on the mountain. Passengers ride up the lifts in the Sno-Limo, and then a chauffeur guides the vehicle down at a leisurely pace, while pointing out interesting geological features about the terrain, and gving intriguing facts and history about the area. The vehicle leans into a turn just like a skier, and the passenger is secured with an easy to release safety belt. The chauffeur carries a cell phone for emergencies.

For those who have never learned how to ski or are not physically able, the Sno-Limo makes the mountain terrain accessible, allowing multi-generational families and groups to share downhill experiences.