Cypress Mountain Silver Pass – Worth it?

Cypress Mountain Silver Pass – Worth it?

Cypress Mountain silver pass - Skiing Vancouver CanadaThis year, Marc and I bought the Silver Pass from Cypress Mountain. This pass allows you to ski as much as you want when it’s off-peak times. We have used it on several weekends and even more for a few hours ski practice after work. Now we have had a Silver Pass for (almost) a season, it is time to decide if we should buy one again next year. So, I thought I should look back over the last few months of fun, and decide if spending money on a Cypress Mountain Silver Pass was worth it or not. If you’re considering purchasing a lift pass for 2023- 2024, hopefully this can help you decide too!

I should probably mention, I have not been sponsored for this post in anyway.

Cypress Mountain Silver Pass – what is involved:

Cost:
$599 (up until November 1st 2023)
This gives you access to ski as much as you like, excluding some blackout dates
You can buy it here.

Silver pass blackout dates:
Dec 26 – Jan 2, Jan & Feb Weekends & Family Day (Feb 19th)

Picking up your pass:
Arrive early the first day you want to pick up your pass and ski! The lines to collect ski passes were crazy at the start of the season.

Extra Perks:

  • 40% Discount on your lift ticket during the blackout dates
  • You get 50% of tickets at Boyne Sister resorts (in the USA)
  • There are a bunch of places where showing your pass will get you discounts.

Cypress Mountain Skiing ā€“ the basics

Cypress Mountain isnā€™t really a mountain. It is actually the name of three mountains, Black Mountain, Mount Strachan and Hollyburn Mountain. The first two, Black Mountain and Mount Strachan are covered in ski slopes. Then there is an area for cross country skiing and snowshoeing over near Hollyburn Mountain.

Ski slopes:
You can see a full Cypress Mountain Trail map. There are 4 speedy quad chairs, as well as two smaller chair lifts. The two mountains are covered in a variety of slopes for different levels. There is a super easy bunny slope, as well as four fun green runs (where we learnt to ski – read more here about skiing lessons on Cypress Mountain.)

Getting there:
ā€“ It is 25-30 minutes drive from North Vancouver
ā€“ There is aĀ shuttle busĀ from various locations in the city

Facilities:
ā€“ You can rent equipment from the lodge (although there are often long queues)
ā€“ The is a cafe, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a shop for clothes and equipment.

Mount Strachan

We always seem to start (and often finish) our days on Mount Strachan. There is a fantastic, long-ish green run, Collins, which is the perfect place to learn to ski. Just be ready to dodge other learners as it is always busy.

The mountain changes massively depending on the snow conditions and how it has been groomed. The photos above are about a month apart, both from the Lion’s Express quad chair. There is more new powder in the photo on the left, but it was a thin layer. In the photo on the right, there is far more snow, and it has been groomed much more recently. I found I can cope with more difficult blue and black ski slopes after they have been groomed OR when they are very powdery.

Once you’ve graduated from the green slopes, Cypress Mountain is even more fun. There are normally far fewer people on the blue and black runs, and the views are spectacular. The view below is from Horizon.

Top of Mount Strachan

I only started to venture to the top of the mountain this year. All the ski runs from the top are blue or black, and it can get very windy and icy up there. BUT if you head up on a sunny day, the view is spectacular! I love this view of the Lions.

The view down to Howe Sound and the mountains beyond can be gorgeous too.

Can you see why I like it?

Black Mountain

Black Mountain is also fantastic! The runs feel like they are a bit shorter, but they are great fun, and often less busy that the slopes on Mount Strachan. When we first learned to ski during evening classes last year, we spend a lot of time on this mountain at night, so I am always excited to see it in daylight!

Black Mountain has a gorgeous view down to Vancouver, so at night time, you can see all the sparkling lights of the city below.

Raven Ridge Area

One side of Black Mountain is covered in more advanced, blue and black slopes. Last weekend I finally built up the courage to ski in this area. Just be aware, it is best to explore the Raven Ridge area in the morning. It is in shadow later in the day, and the Raven Ridge quad chair always closes at 3pm.

This was easily the quietest part of the mountain. I found myself alone on the slopes quite a few times. Plus the views were beautiful. Now I know I can manage it, I’ll definitely come back to ski in this area again on other visits to Cypress Mountain!

Skiing at peak times vs off-peak

One of the things I really like about the Cypress Mountain Silver Pass is that it allows us to ski when it is not too busy. I realize this may not suit everyone, but I *like* skiing when I have room to swoosh down the slopes without bumping into other people. I have also found that skiing later in the season (in March rather than Janurary or February) is more fun. There is more snow built up, and far fewer people.

We did pay extra to ski at Cypress during peak days a couple of times, but it was soooo busy that we spent more time queuing for lifts than actually skiing. Those days didn’t seem like value for money, even with 40% off.

Cypress Mountain food:

I think the food at the lodge on Cypress Mountain is better than the food on the other local Ski Hills (Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour.) I mean, it’s not perfect, the Kale Cesar salad had the worst stale, soggy croutons I have ever eaten, even if the salad was good! If you stick to unhealthy food like burgers, they are pretty decent. My favourites are the Whiskey Jack burger or the Chicken Crunch burger.

Cypress Mountain Silver Pass – Was it worth it?

Silver pass plus points:

  • Being able to pop up after work to practice has been fantastic
  • You have the pass, so you can waltz straight over to the slopes as soon as you arrive
  • We had so much fun skiing on the off-peak weekends so far
  • There were “bring a friend” days when if you come with a pal, they’ll get 50% off their ticket.
  • 40% off if you’d like to ski on the peak days

Silver pass less good points:

  • If you want to get 40% off and ski on peak days, there is no way to load these extra days online. You are forced to stand in line. We may have been unlucky, but both times we tried to do this, their system went down and we had to wait about an hour to pay for tickets.

For me, the Silver Pass was perfect!

This year our Cypress Mountain Silver Pass was totally worth it. This is only our second year on the slopes so we still have a lot to learn. The range of ski slopes at Cypress Mountain have really stretched my abilities, so I have slowly moved from green to blue and black slopes. This has given me the confidence to try skiing at other mountains… so I get to see even more pretty views.

Revised in 2023. When I wrote this in 2019, we paid around $230 for our silver pass. It then increased to $349 (if you booked early) By 2023 that price has jumped to $599, so it is a bit more difficult to say it is *worth* the new price. You would have to make a lot of use of your pass to make the most out of the new price tag. Still, if you ski a lot, it is still be worth the money.

Look out for flash sales for Cypress passes in mid-February. That is the best (cheapest) time to buy a season pass!)

Cypress Mountain silver pass - Is it worth it Vancouver Canada Cypress Mountain silver pass - Skiing Vancouver Canada Cypress Mountain Ski passes - Skiing Vancouver Canada

27 thoughts on “Cypress Mountain Silver Pass – Worth it?

    1. You would love it Geoff! Although, I think the ski hills here are faaaar smaller than the ones you are used to in Europe. Still, it is nice to be able to drive up and ski whenever you want. šŸ˜‰

  1. Cypress Mountain was actually the only hill I skied when I lived in Vancouver and I had a BLAST! Though I didn’t get to see any of the views you did – I think I’d be grabbing this pass if I lived in the area, too!

    1. Oooh I should probably write a disclaimer that we’ve only seen the amazing views 2-3 times! It is normally misty or dark when we visit!

      Still most of the blue sky photos are from last week, so I had to share them!!

  2. OK, I really need to learn to ski. These views are absolutely stunning and probably worth me falling my way down the hill just to see. My husband is a huge skiier and he would love this. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts, it’s pricey but I love seeing you got your money’s worth!

    1. Oooh you can totally learn as an adult Natasha! I only started to learn last year because I wanted to see the pretty views. It was hard work at first, but now it’s just fun. Do you have any ski hills near you?

  3. Ohhhh this makes me miss skiing! I grew up in Alberta but now that I live in NYC, I never do it!!

        1. Oooh but you might still be able to go snowshoeing. There was still plenty of snow up on the Mountains in May last year!!

          I *loooove* Whistler too!

    1. It is a shame that you missed the snowy time of year when you arrived here! Do you think you’d ever come back for a holiday?

      I guess now if you want to learn, it’d make more sense to visit the amazing slopes in Europe!

  4. Those views from the top of the mountain are absolutely ah-maze-ing! I love it. Skiing terrifies me – but this place looks so beautiful and fun šŸ™‚

    1. I *really* know what you mean! I was so scared when I started to learn. Zooming down slopes just seems like such a crazy idea.

      It’s worth it for the views though!

  5. I have never been brave enough to try skiing, but maybe with so many opportunities to practice I would! Cypress Mountain looks beautiful, you are so lucky to have it so close to you! Plus,349 for a whole season? Winning!

    1. It’s not too bad a price is it!? šŸ˜€

      If you come to Vancouver I help you learn the basics. I only started to learn last year, so I remember how scary it is as a newbie!

  6. I didn’t know you were a skier too! I can’t ski to save my life, or snowboard. After sucking at it for so long, now I’ve just developed a general fear of even trying anymore. I worked an entire season at a ski resort selling passes and ski school packages, so I learned a lot about it as a sport and about how the resorts are run, but I still never learned to ski lol. It’s pictures like this though that make me bummed to miss out. You can’t get views like that from the cafe.

    1. I’m still learning, so I am only just getting to stage of being able to call myself a skier(!) šŸ˜‰

      If you can come up to Vancouver I can totally teach you the basics Claire! I mean, I remember how scary it was when I first started, so I totally get you! I am all in it for the views!!

  7. I learned to ski in the Pacific Northwest and love the skiing in the mountains in that region of the world. I have been to Vancouver but not able to ski outside, would love to check it out someday!

    1. Oooh I hope you can Andi! You lived in France for a while right? Did you manage to ski there? I would looove to ski in the alps now I’m slowing getting the hang of it!

  8. Crypress mountain looks beautiful! The pass is so cheap compared to here in whistler haha definitely seems worth it if you live in Vancouver being so close to the city!

    1. Whistler is worth the crazy money (we bought 5/10 day passes there too) but it is a bit too far to get there after work, and they don’t have night skiing so it was fab to have options closer to the city too…

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