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Family Jewels - East
Talisman Resort
If there were a reality show called Extreme Ski Resort Makeover, the Talisman episode would have ski fans celebrating. “A new groomer.” Applause. “More snowmaking and new lifts.” Cheers. “Seventy-five million invested in the next 10 years.” Gasp. “More jobs and a signature golf course.” Whoops. “A pub that is open year round, and the locals are welcome!” Tears of joy.
Talisman is a small Austrian-style resort with 600 vertical feet of elevation and 18 mostly beginner and intermediate runs. There are a few pitches steep enough to remind advanced skiers why they get their skis tuned and a terrain park that, at one time, was the preferred destination for Southern Ontario’s top park rats.
Talisman’s new outside operations manager, Ken Bilton, says skiers will appreciate the better snowmaking, friendlier service, and the improved ambience of the newly renovated Smokies Pub. The conversion of the old bar is an indicator of the future of Talisman. It feels like someone came into a room you love and renovated, adding Aspen chic without losing any character.
The new president and CEO at the helm is Bill Minnis. Minnis had been scouring the globe for a unique estate development project. One night when he and his wife were kibitzing over a glass of wine at their Kimberley, ON, farmhouse, his wife looked across the road at the for-sale sign on Talisman Resort and said, “There’s your project.”
One of the goals is to focus on improving the facilities and the friendliness of the service, and adding amenities like the nine-hole signature golf course that people have come to expect. One unique stamp Minnis plans to put on Talisman is to create an inverted aerial training facility with a water ramp and a gymnastics centre—a twist on branding that isn’t so odd when you consider Minnis comes from the private Beaver Valley Ski Club next door, a club with an international reputation for its excellent freestyle program.
The list of current amenities at Talisman includes most of what you’d expect at a three-and-a-half-star conference centre: alpine and cross-country skiing, tennis, golf, a small spa, games room, hiking and more. But clearly Talisman is renowned for two things, its kids programs and the food.
Anyone who has rolled away from a week at Talisman can attest to the extraordinary dining tradition, which manages to mesh family dining with vast quantities of gourmet food in a formal setting. There are two sommeliers on staff and a 2,000-bottle wine cellar. And if all of this is sounding too rich, consider you can have a five-course meal with wine in the newly renovated Vintage Room for $100.
The Kids Klub is another great value, where you can park your darlings for a fully supervised day including ski lessons, meals and activities for only $55. That bargain pricing, along with the weekday-, Saturday- or Sunday-only pass options at less than $200 ($139 if you get buy in the spring) make the bean counters at the resort cringe.
All of which add up to a great family vacation where friendly ski pros and puppet shows abound. But what about the skiing? Put it this way: Talisman has produced great skiers in the past, but in recent years the focus on building the conference business appeared to eat up most of the available resources. The recent infusion of cash and expertise should reinvent Talisman as a top-notch option for young skiing families.
Perhaps the most significant indicator that Talisman’s new team has the passion and knowledge to make a great ski area came after the pen and paper were put down and the draft hit the table. After dodging gossip about which terrain-park designers they were trying to scoop, the staff began swapping ski stories, tales of building Superpipes and cutting and skiing runs across the world. Then came the question every true male park skier asks: Do you think we can get Sarah Burke to come here? With objectives like that, the Talisman show seems to be on the right track. —Meredith Gardiner
DNA
Talisman, ON
Vertical: 185 m
Terrain: 21 runs, 24% beginner, 33% intermediate, 33% expert
Snowfall:
Lifts: 2 high capacity quads, 1 double, 1 triple, magic carpet, jbar
Adult day ticket: $45
Info: Talisman.ca, 1 800 265 3759
Caption: Looks like prime beaver hunting grounds to us. Talisman photo
