My brother John and I experienced a bit of spring followed by a whole lot of winter during a backcountry ski trip to the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, June 7-12, 2000. The corn snow yielded superb turning and the powder was even better, despite the determined efforts of the strong June sun to turn … Continue reading Selkirk Backcountry: Spring Back Into Winter →

Often referred to as “the poor man’s heli-skiing,” snowcat tours are by no means the neglected stepchildren of the backcountry skiing experience. Whether managed by ski areas or operated independently, cat outfits offer powder-hungry snow riders a heli-like backcountry experience—for as little as one-tenth the cost (anywhere from about $100 to $300 per day). Not … Continue reading Snowcat Tours Make Skiers Purr →

Pincher Creek (AB), Canada – Pulling into the town of Pincher Creek, Alberta, one certainly doesn’t feel that they’ve arrived at a ski mountain. Situated 30 miles east of Castle Mountain Resort, though, the 600 or so beds contained in a number of motels constitute the closest lodging to the ski area. The town is … Continue reading Castle Mountain: The Best Ski Hill You’ve Never Heard Of →

Lake Louise (AB), Canada – Think about your favorite place to ski or board. Think about why it’s your favorite. Make a list. Good. Got your list? Lake Louise will likely have just about everything on your list, maybe. What could possibly be missing from this mammoth resort in the Canadian Rockies? Read on. n … Continue reading Lake Louise: The Mountain with Just About Everything →

Fernie (BC), Canada – Ever since Charlie Locke’s "Resorts of the Canadian Rockies" (RCR) purchased Fernie Snow Valley in June of 1997, rechristened it Fernie Alpine Resort and doubled the size of their lift-serviced terrain during the 1998/99 season, the southeastern British Columbia hill has been transformed overnight from a ski-bum secret into a darling … Continue reading Fernie: Growing Pains →

Large snow removal trucks sped across the Calgary International Airport tarmac as a number of reporters piled into a small twin-prop for a quick, 30-minute flight to Golden, British Columbia, home of Whitetooth Ski Hill. The story which held everyone’s attention was the unveiling of a $200-million undertaking: the Canadian Rockies’ first new ski resort … Continue reading Watch Out for the Kicking Horse! →

Panorama (BC), Canada – There might be prettier vistas than the ones we had of Invermere, the 20+mile-long valley lake, nestled between the Rockies and the Purcells, the one Panorama’s literature calls “charming.” Perhaps lakeside splendor was just down the road, around a bend; or perhaps we were jaded. Several hours before, we’d been clamboring … Continue reading Panorama: Intrawest’s Other B.C. Ski Giant →