Apex Mountain Resort is on Beaconsfield Mountain, 33 kilometres (21 miles) from Penticton in BC’s South Okanagan. It has 1,112 skiable acres, about 2,000 vertical feet and 85 runs, most of them advanced, plus four terrain parks. Four lifts serve the hill: a high-speed quad, a triple chair, a T-bar and a magic carpet. The resort says it faces northeast and gets about 500 centimetres of snow a season.
Beyond the boundary there are more than 5,000 hectares of backcountry. Backcountry tickets give one ride on the quad, and you need a transceiver, probe and shovel. Uphill travel isn’t allowed inside the ski area.
The Apex cams are live streams. Top of the Quad shows the top of the main lift, which shows wind and visibility up high. Okanagan Run and Ridge Run look at two of the runs, and Old Mill Shack covers another part of the hill. None of the cams is a snow stake, so use the snow report on the resort’s weather page for snow totals.
From Penticton the drive takes about 40 minutes. Penticton’s airport, 23 kilometres from Apex, is the closest airport, and Kelowna International is 73 kilometres away, just under 2 hours by road. From Kelowna, follow Highway 97 to Penticton and the signs for Apex. From Vancouver, about 4.5 hours away, the resort says to skip the Hedley-Nickelplate Road that map apps suggest and drive on to Keremeos, then take Highway 3A. A weekend and holiday shuttle runs from Penticton, and reservations are required.
BC requires winter tires or chains on Highway 97 and Highway 3A from October 1 to March 31. DriveBC shows road conditions.
Apex isn’t on the Epic or Ikon Pass. It’s on the Indy Pass, which gives two days with no blackout dates here.