We returned to Big Mountain for a final day of skiing Thursday. It had snowed 6 inches Tuesday (twice as much as at Island Lake) and the entire mountain had been resurfaced. It was colder, about 15 degrees with a variable fog layer, and the groomed runs were packed powder all the way to the base area. Off-piste was crusty only on the bottom 1,000 vertical now.
After lunch we found our host Rex from last Friday and with the improved conditions he had no hesitation about taking us into Big Mountain's steepest terrain in Hellroaring Basin. This basin drains west, though the most open runs (we skied Sling Shot and Gary's Golf Course) face south. With the area's chronic fog and cloud the snow preserves much better than it would if there were more sun. Rex also directed us to some good powder in East Rim and Evan's Heaven.
There was quite a bit of untracked in the trees despite being the 3rd day since the the 6-inch storm. I was also impressed by the decent coverage and skiability of nearly all terrain despite only 58% of normal snowfall this year. It must have been powder pig heaven a year ago when they had a Targhee-like January.
While there is not as much super steep terrain as Red and Fernie, Big Mountain has consistent fall lines which are plenty adequate for powder, complemented by the nicely spaced glades characteristic of the whole Kootenay region.
After lunch we found our host Rex from last Friday and with the improved conditions he had no hesitation about taking us into Big Mountain's steepest terrain in Hellroaring Basin. This basin drains west, though the most open runs (we skied Sling Shot and Gary's Golf Course) face south. With the area's chronic fog and cloud the snow preserves much better than it would if there were more sun. Rex also directed us to some good powder in East Rim and Evan's Heaven.
There was quite a bit of untracked in the trees despite being the 3rd day since the the 6-inch storm. I was also impressed by the decent coverage and skiability of nearly all terrain despite only 58% of normal snowfall this year. It must have been powder pig heaven a year ago when they had a Targhee-like January.
While there is not as much super steep terrain as Red and Fernie, Big Mountain has consistent fall lines which are plenty adequate for powder, complemented by the nicely spaced glades characteristic of the whole Kootenay region.