Powder Highway BC

A snowHead

Apologies if this has been asked before.

An opportunity has opened up to do a bit of a interior BC visit but we (at least one friend and I) have only have a week to do what we can. Somewhat limited by OHs and their need to have a holiday and not ski ski ski. However, they don’t mind what we do as long as they can ski easily and get back to a hotel/ AirBnB and relax etc. Apres ski is a nice meal and wine and chat by the fire.

For what its worth, spent some time at Canmore this autumn and think the Banff/ Lake Louise/ Golden/ Mt Norquay nexus won’t work for us due to the need to drive everywhere.

We are VERY keen to ski Revelstoke but equally are mindful of winter driving conditions and not wanting to do long drives, ie >2 hours each way.

I think we could fly into Kelowna or Calgary. Although unsure of where it would be easier to get cars with snow tyres. I’d guess Kelowna but haven’t been there.

Also, what would be a suitable place to base ourselves? I am wondering about Kicking Horse and then can ski Revvy, Panorama, Lake Louise and Golden relatively easily but would be grateful for opinions of people with experience. Or just walk to the lifts at Kicking Horse which means we don’t have to drive everyday if we don’t want to.

I (we) would be very grateful advice from people that have experience or know of the car hire situation as well as the issue with where to base ourselves.
Thanks in advance.

A snowHead

Your request is a bit unclear - are you intending to leave OHs skiing a resort near their hotel while you daytrip (or even overnight) elsewhere?

Kicking Horse has sod all actually on the mountain and most "action" (though it's interior BC so bear that in mind) is in Golden.

Revy - Resort is a short drive (and bus) from downtown

Pano is I guess closest to a purpose built resort but only KH (& at a pinch LL, Sunshine) is within day trip range.

Me i'd loop Fernie - KH - Revy- LL over about 8 days or so, driving after skiing, but that definitely doesn't sound like what you want.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I'd suggest basing out of Banff for your party, then you and your ski-bro can hire a car and go do a tour loop from there. Banff to Golden/KH is a few hours away, then on to Revelstoke, doubleback and head south to Panorama, then Fernie then back to Banff. I always found Banff a nice spot for the not-necessarily hardcore as there's a lot to do there if you want a down-day.

The bussing thing, I know it annoys some, but I never found it a problem - in fact it seemed quite civilised as you get picked up from your front door, drink your coffee on the bus to whichever you fancy that day, ride, have a beer or three at the end and get taken home.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@Dave of the Marmottes, yes, plan is to day trip if possible whilst avoiding overnighters. We will have a car. Thanks for the detail on Kicking Horse, might look into basing out of Golden instead. I’d be happy to do that driving (Fernie-KH-Revy) but limited by needing to make it a holiday for all.

@Richard_Sideways, hm, food for thought. Will put it to the group. Realistically, a few hours drive may eat into skiing time and talking to people it seems like a 2 hour drive can be 2 hours or 6 hours which may be an issue.

I guess at this point, the main thing is to find a good place to base ourselves that in itself is easily skiable.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Rishie, Ok with the clarification - I'd base out of Golden except that I'm not sure that there is actually a ski bus up to resort for the OHs (or they'd need to be willing to hitch or hop a ride with other guests at your hotel etc) so you probably would have to be up at KH.

Then you could trip over to Revy, LL and even down to Pano (I've been in the area a few times and all the locals have told me not to bother). Rogers Pass is kept pretty well ploughed though I have had slow trips driving behind the plough when it was storming so hard you really didn't want to overtake.

If you based out of Revy then I guess Silver Star is your only real other option (to KH) in a 2hr sort of range.

Problem is BC is a big place with big distances or mountains between places.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Well there was a bus from Golden to Whitetooth when it was called that; I'm not sure if it still runs. The timings weren't great or flexible. Personally these days, nostalgia aside, I stay in the new stuff as it's less nasty than the stuff in the town, and I can afford a car so the locations aren't an issue.

I regularly drive from YVR to Valemont and have never have any significant delay in 30 seasons with several trips per season. You may loose a few hours waiting for a plough or whilst they clear a wreck, but it's actually fairly rare in my direct experience. My own approach is to plan for no significant hassle, but obviously have a backup plan in case it all goes pear shaped, which it very seldom does. There is of course at least one thread here where boy scouts will tell none of this is safe / possible/ sensible. My experience is different.

Day trips... I don't generally do that as it's easier for me to simply shift locations. Other than the Post House in LL there aren't that many hotels worth sticking with. I've stayed in Kamloops and done day trips to Silver Star (Vernon) and Sun Peaks (Kamloops); that's easy enough. Kamloops hotels are mostly fairly horrid but you can usually find better food there as it's bigger, although not always (Earls is a fall back). It's not a tourist place though - I can't quite think of the comparison, but think November in Scunthorpe or something like that. People have of course died driving the road from Kamloops to Sun Peaks, but then they also died outside my house here in the UK.

Revelstoke in winter isn't really all that great for non-ski people either, or even for party oriented ski people. There's the local folk dancing and the 10-pin and the ice rink and the swimming pool, but food is fairly hard to find. Banff would be way better for tourists. Golden's similar and possibly a bit more seedy in places. Both are really local ski hills with some real-estate development, so the towns and the ski hills are separate and the real-estate development isn't all that mature. Both Silver Star and Big White are more "resort like" in that respect, but they're obviously "not real". But then you may not really like "real" Vernon or Kelowna in the winter all that much.

Car hire, they'll rent you winter wheels if you want in Calgary, at a price. They'll love you and assume you're American. There's no point in asking "if you need to spend more money with them" because the answer will always be a resounding "yes". Again, there are threads here where people will tell you that you'll absolutely die in a ditch if you don't buy such stuff. Whatever, I decline all that. You sometimes get winter wheels as standard in Kelowna (or Kamloops...).. They will still offer you them as an expensive option first; you only find out you could have had them for free if you decline the extras (or if you have local contacts to book for you). All cars have to be fitted with M&S which is what the law requires on the main routes you're likely to be interested in.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Dave of the Marmottes, thanks that is very helpful.
@philwig, wow, that’s some mega local knowledge. Might pm you presently.

After all it is free

@Rishie,
local knowledge? LMAO

@stuarth, I’m confused. Have I got it wrong? No offense intended, happy to have all sources and experiences.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

As said above the regular m&s tyres are fine.

The resorts tend to be pretty far apart. You are looking at more than 2 hours drive between many.

Golden is probably the most realistic option for day tripping. Revelstoke is about 2 hours to the east, and panorama is about 90mins south, lake Louise 2hr 30mins east. You also have some amazing touring at Rogers pass about 1 hour away. However, golden offers next to nothing for OHs and kicking horse is all steeps and advanced terrain - great for hardcore skiers maybe not so good for OHs. Plus as said there's no ski bus so you have to hitchhike/drive up the hill which is like 20mins so not that much different than baff which at least has bus service.

Banff is the obvious choice for off the slope stuff to keep OHs happy.

With only a week I honestly wouldn't worry about trying to do lots of day trips. Any of the big resorts should keep you busy for 7 days. Honestly doing a single day at a resort is vastly overrated - you pay through the roof for a day pass, you spend half the time kind of lost not really knowing where anything is, and you almost never find the best stuff.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Rishie,

Sorry, just being facetious in response to the "boy scout" remarks from the tourists. Twisted Evil

Apart from the tires wink

, seems like sound advice above, particularly the Banff option for the OHs and the not too much long distance driving.

snow reports

If you don't mind a connecting flight, I really like the Red Mtn/Whitewater part of the Powder Highway. Red is great for all abilities and has some good ski in ski out options with hot tubs etc, one of the best base lodge bars anywhere, and Rossland is a nice town 5 min down the hill. You can do day trips to Whitewater, touring in Kootenay Pass, and cat or heli skiing. You would either fly to Spokane via Seattle and drive 2.5 hrs or fly on Pacific Coast Airlines from Vancouver into Trail, which is 15 min away.

If you'd rather avoid changing planes, then the whole Lake Louise/Banff area is probably the easiest. A couple of days at each of KH, LL and Sunshine would be pretty fun and low hassle.
Or you could base yourselves at Panorama. Skiing for all abilities, and day trips to KH, LL, Fernie and Kimberley. There's also day heliskiing right from the base and hot springs around the area.
Revy is great, but it's harder to get to and once you're there is not a great base for day trips.

You know it makes sense.

Also, this isn't a bad deal for LL:
https://www.skilouise.com/tickets-passes/plus-cards/

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

To be honest reflecting on your situation either you don't want to be in that part of Canada at all because your OHs and you have different wishes or you just suck it up and stay in Banff (or possibly LL village which has a couple of options but not exactly an overabundance of dining options). Take the daytrip bus to KH for variety. Advantage of that is you can just get a transfer and avoid car rental (plus park fees etc)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I did a Canada 2 week road trip back in the 90s just before I had kids. Flew to Vancouver started in Whistler and the furthest east we got was Lake Louise. It is a huge country and difficult to gauge distances.

I liked Fernie the best as it was quiet with good terrain and snow, also did a day cat skiing at Island Lake Lodge. I liked Revelstoke as well but was really only a cat skiing operation then with almost no lifts. Plenty lifts there now.

I was not that keen on the mega resorts like Whistler and Lake Louise.

Fernie would prob be a good enough place to base yourself for a week to keep the OHs happy - depends what they want to do I guess. Plenty good skiing to be had there, get a guide and learn the mountain.

Help!!

Powder Highway BC

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