
Panorama
1,203 hectares, 133 runs near Invermere. Considerable vertical drop, hot pools, Mountain Collective access.
Panorama's summit reaches 2,450 metres, dropping 1,300 vertical metres to a base at 1,150 metres across 133 runs spread over roughly 1,203 hectares near Invermere, British Columbia. Terrain splits 35 per cent intermediate, 30 per cent expert, 20 per cent advanced and 15 per cent beginner, with average annual snowfall of roughly 4.7 metres. The resort carries Mountain Collective affiliation. Nine lifts, including four quad chairs, one double chair and one triple chair, serve the mountain alongside one gondola, one surface lift and one t-bar.
Panorama holds a genuinely distinctive place among Purcell Mountains resorts for its considerable vertical drop, marketed by the resort as its Mile 1 lift given the drop's proximity to 1,600 metres, and its year-round hot pools and championship golf course. Its heavily expert-and-intermediate-weighted terrain has built Panorama's reputation as a serious mountain with genuine village amenities.
Fritz Zehnder of Invermere and Guy Messerli of Switzerland, together with friends, founded Panorama in 1962, and the original facilities amounted to little more than a warming hut, a parking lot and a single rope tow powered by a V8 engine. The Calgary-based Cascade Group purchased the resort in 1978, recognising its potential as a major destination and investing in significant expansion.
Intrawest Corporation acquired Panorama in 1993, injecting substantial capital that delivered the Doug Carrick-designed Greywolf Golf Course in 1999 alongside the Panorama Springs hot pools. On 26 February 2010, the resort returned to local ownership when a group of investors from the Panorama community purchased it, and Panorama Mountain Village Inc continues to own the resort privately today. Adult daily tickets run from 109 to 129 Canadian dollars.
Panorama sits in the Purcell Mountains above Invermere, with 133 runs across roughly 1,203 hectares and a 1,300-metre vertical. Its grading is tougher than most family-oriented resorts in British Columbia: 30% expert and 20% advanced, balanced by 35% intermediate and 15% beginner. Intermediates still get long, rolling groomers from the upper mountain, but half the terrain is steep enough to keep stronger skiers busy. Snowfall is lighter than in the wetter Columbia ranges at about 4.7 metres a year, so grooming and the long fall-line do much of the heavy lifting.
The Summit Chair is the gateway to the Extreme Dream Zone, a steep black-diamond area, and to Taynton Bowl, which was once reserved for heli-skiers and is now reached by lift after a major glading project. The Mile 1 quad serves gentler lower slopes and the Showoff night run, while the gondola links village and mountain. Panorama suits confident intermediates stepping up to steeper pitches, advanced skiers who like bowls and open trees, and families who want a ski-in village at the base. Strong skiers should plan on a few full days before they run out of new lines to try.
The 2025-26 season at Panorama ran from 13 December 2025 to 12 April 2026, a roughly seventeen-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 4.7 metres. Season dates can shift depending on early and late-season weather in the Purcell Mountains.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to Panorama's heavily expert-weighted terrain. As a Mountain Collective resort, Panorama draws pass-holding visitors alongside destination travellers seeking the resort's considerable vertical drop and year-round village amenities.
Panorama's hot pools and championship golf course infrastructure, though primarily warm-season draws, support the resort's broader identity as a year-round destination even through the ski season. School holiday periods bring family visitation to the resort's more moderate terrain, though the overall terrain mix skews toward experienced skiers.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since returning to local ownership in 2010, Panorama has continued building on more than six decades of history since its 1962 founding by Fritz Zehnder and Guy Messerli. The resort's considerable vertical and Purcell Mountains setting remain central to its enduring appeal.
Panorama sits near Invermere, British Columbia, in the Purcell Mountains, with a base elevation of 1,150 metres and a summit at 2,450 metres across a 1,300-metre vertical drop over roughly 1,203 hectares. This considerable elevation range places Panorama among the more dramatically situated resorts in the BC interior.
The town of Invermere, on the shores of Lake Windermere, offers lodging and dining within a short drive of the resort, while Panorama's own considerable village provides extensive on-site accommodation.
British Columbia Highway 95 and local roads provide direct access to the resort from Invermere. Winter driving conditions on these routes can include snow and ice, and travellers should carry appropriate equipment given the mountainous terrain surrounding the area.
Calgary International Airport, roughly a three-hour drive away, is the primary gateway for visitors flying into the region, with Panorama's considerable distance from major population centres drawing a genuinely dedicated destination visitor base.
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Panorama runs nine lifts: one double chair, four quad chairs, one triple chair and one gondola, serving 133 runs across roughly 1,203 hectares, alongside one surface lift and one t-bar. This substantial network traces back to a single rope tow, powered by a V8 engine, that served the resort's original 1962 facilities.
The lift network expanded considerably following the Cascade Group's 1978 acquisition and again under Intrawest Corporation's 1993 ownership, which injected substantial capital into the resort's broader infrastructure.
The gondola and quad chairs now provide efficient access across Panorama's considerable vertical drop, marketed as the resort's Mile 1 lift, supporting the heavily expert-and-intermediate-weighted terrain above the village.
Since returning to local ownership under Panorama Mountain Village Inc in 2010, continued investment has supported this nine-lift network as part of the Mountain Collective system. Specific recent individual lift replacement projects are not confirmed in available resort information. Panorama's substantial vertical and lift network remain defining features among the Purcell Mountains' major resorts.
More Panorama intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.