 Poster: A snowHead
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We did some amazing things in Canada last year - stayed in Banff, skied Sunshine, Goat Eye & Lake Louise, drove the Icefield Parkway to Jasper & skied Marmot. Took in a couple of lakeside walks & loved seeing Elk, Bighorn sheep & deer all over the place. Now we want to do the same kind of big scenery skiing/wildlife thing again ( though without the temp. of minus 30 hopefully!!) - possibly Canada or the USA again -  can anyone think of something that could blow us away again like this? We have around 10 days in Feb or longer at Easter - and there's just the 2 of us...so looking forward
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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lbc,
I think your title suggests ski mountaineering in Canada but now I know what you mean!
You could do a similar trip (perhaps this time to Castle Mountain and Fernie) but add in a couple of days of cat skiing.
We skiied with Fernie Wilderness Adventures and had 2 days of incredible powder! 12 skiers, 2 guides and hundreds of acres of untracked terrain to ourselves! They are based in Fernie and offer a fantastic service with great guides.
We originally booked only 1 day with them but, after experiencing it, it was not enough! So we went back for more! 
http://www.powdercatskiing.ca/
FWA also offer guided wildlife viewing trips (which we didn't experience).
Alternatively, if you want to push the boat out a bit you could try cat skiing but with an overnight stay in a wilderness lodge. We tried Monashee Powder a few years ago and it was indescribable! Chest deep powder skiing and then a lovely lodge to go back to, with great food and an outdoor hot tub. we did 4 days skiing with them.
http://www.monasheepowder.com/?gclid=CN2Smord26sCFYMPfAod9kQuQg
I can't recommend either of them highly enough. The guiding was fantastic and the choice of terrain was incredible.
On the Monashee trip 24 skiers (in 2 snowcats) had over 60 square miles of terrain to ourselves! We didn't see the group in the other snowcat other than at the lodge!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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That looks amazing - never considered that before. Bit concerned about the ability level though, we're not really experienced powder skiiers but have about 12 weeks skiing so we're reasonably confident on piste . Would there be stuff for us to ski out there/someone to show us how to handle it?
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lbc, You could head to the USA, ski Jackson Hole and Grand Targee include a trip into Yellowstone Park and go on a couple of the tours in the park.
Or you could roadtrip around BC in Canada again - say fly to Calgary head to Kicking Horse then Revelstoke. From there down to Nelson and ski Whitewater and Red Mountain. Drive to Fernie and ski there and Castle on the way back to Calgary. Plenty of wildlife on the roads we often nearly hit deer and then theres Nelson which is a bit of a cult town with plenty of live entertainment.
Plenty of things to think about and it depends how much travelling and skiing you want to do.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you've only got 10 days then you probably want resorts you can shuttle between in the evening. What Bones suggested. The Yellowstone option especially, I've been twicein summer and winter and it's better in winter on a snowmobile. Pretty damn cold but you're skiing . . .
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Another vote for Kicking Horse and Revelstoke and touring in Glacier National Park out of Rogers Pass between the two.
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In Colorado you can fly into Denver and combine a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.rocky-mountains.all.html with skiing at Winter Park, Summit County (A-Basin, Loveland, Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain) along with Vail, Beaver Creek and even Aspen or Steamboat. Here is a map of the CO ski areas http://www.skilodgingrental.com/Summit_County_Info.php You will have to shrink it or pan north to see the park. Temperatures are usually milder at Easter and a 10 to 14 day itinerary could have you go
Denver/Boulder/Estes Park
via Grand Lakes to
Winter Park
Frisco (center of Summit County and my home the past 3 years) or Vail
to Aspen via Glenwood Canyon
or Steamboat via Rabbit Ears Pass
some alternative tours can be found here http://www.mountaindrama.com/rocky/Directions.html
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Bit concerned about the ability level though, we're not really experienced powder skiiers but have about 12 weeks skiing so we're reasonably confident on piste
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On the cat skiing you use 100mm wide (ie underfoot) skis - which make things so much easier! They start you off on fairly gentle terrain and then match the runs to suit the group.
If you are confident skiers that will help a lot. We had a couple in our FWA group who were not particularly confident and had very little experience off piste. They were soon whooping it up in the powder however! We've always found that in cat skiing groups there is a wide range of skiing abilities. By no means was everyone a powder hotshot.
There is no time pressure as you can usually ski faster than the cat can descend, so there is no rush to the bottom as you only have to wait for the cat. In any event there is always a lead and a tail guide, with the tail guide staying behind the group to make sure everyone is ok. We've always found the guides to be patient, supportive and extremely good at what they do.
It might be worth booking a day to see what you think of cat skiing - you won't be disappointed!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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For Feb:
I second (or is it a third?) Jackson Hole.
You can do Jackson Hole and sightseeing in the Teton National Park. There's an Elk refuge right outside of town, tens of thousands elk wintering there). The back side of the refuge often has big horn sheeps roaming about.
After you have your fill of Jackson, drive over the pass to ski Grand Targhee for a couple of days.
Then onward to West Yellowstone which is the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. (you can get into Yellowstone park from the south also, but it's a long drive followed by long snowcoach ride, with much limited schedule compare to West Yellowstone) Apart from the geysers going off as usual, bisons congregate near the hotsprings so it's pretty easy to see.
Then go ski Big Sky. I've never been but I heard it's quite amazing! ([EDIT] Re-read your post, if you only have 10 days in Feb, it's too rush to include Big Sky. )
3 ski area, 2 national park.
Keep in mind the over-the-snow operation in Yellowstone Park only goes till 2nd week of March. So if you're coming in Easter, you can't get in.
So, for Easter, I'd say Salt Lake City as the gateway:
- Skiing: any of the 8-9 resorts between Little and Big Cottonwood Canyon, Park City and Ogden Valley.
- Touring: head south to Moab and visit Arch & Canyonland National Park. I don't know when this year's Easter falls. If it's in April, it's wild flower time!
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well thanks everyone, given us loads to think about & can't wait to get waxing those skis!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Fly into Calgary then on to Kelowna hire a car then drive to the nearest ski resort Silver Star, smallish but well thought out 3 days of skiing. Then back in the car and drive to Revelstoke for a few days then back in the car and down to Kelowna again and turn left to Big White for the last 3 days. That would be a good 10 day trip.
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