For mountain bike enthusiasts, Rossland has over 200 kilometres (124 miles) of well-marked singletrack, many of the trails following historic whiskey smuggling and mining routes. (Of these, the Seven Summits — at 36 kilometres or 22 miles — is one of BC’s most renowned.) A full-time maintenance crew keeps all of the area’s trails pristine for riders, as they follow ridgelines and take in impressive views of the Columbia River Valley and the Southern Selkirk and Monashee mountains.

Photo by Sara Rainford

Love it when the temperature plunges?  If you’re a ski bum who doesn’t!  Well, you’re in the right place. The first chairlift in Western Canada was built in 1947 at RED Mountain Resort, just five minutes from historic downtown. Since then, skiers in Rossland (and BC, for that matter) haven’t looked back. RED has produced more Olympic athletes than any other ski resort in North America, and its 684 hectares (1,685 acres) of lift-accessed terrain, with its dry powder snow, lures visitors from around the world each year. 

You don’t have to be a pro to experience the infinite backcountry with Big Red Cats, one of the largest cat-skiing operations in the world. Intermediate, advanced and expert skiers: prepare to be wowed. 

From late November well into April, classic and skate skiers flock to the Black Jack cross-country ski area’s 40 kilometres (24.8 miles) of expertly groomed trails — including a 2.5 kilometre (1.5 mile) night-skiing loop.

Rossland awaits!

…. wait for it, RED’s announcement about the installation of the Grey chairlift this summer is coming on May 31st!!!

Photo by Chris Dadson

Information provide by Destination BC.   Top photo by Sara Rainford.

Photo by David Gluns

We strive to nourish skiers and non-skiers alike with nutritious, organic and healthy food. Ingredients like “ginger-glazed yams, miso-glazed bacon, and cilantro/lime sour cream” are commonly used terms around here. You might be looking for something familiar that you know and love such as the infamous “Glory Bowl”, or maybe you’re feeling adventurous and looking to try the “Wild Boar Bratwurst with apple-thyme-spring onion chutney”. Our bison burger patties are handmade, and the fries are cut fresh each day to ensure freshness and quality. With a variety of burgers, hot dogs, wraps and salads to choose from (all with vegetarian and gluten-free options) there is something for every kind of foodie out there.

Where else can you find poutine, tofu, bison, falafel and espresso all in the same place?

We call it Pow Chow, you call it LUNCH! Follow Fresh Tracks Cafe Express on Twitter and Facebook to find out about our weekly Fresh Sheets (weekly gourmet specials), and weekend festival locations where the truck will be spreading the Pow Chow love. 

Submission by Whitewater Ski Resort.   Top photo by David Gluns. 

Kicking Horse Resort Bike Park is the highest of all Canadian bike parks, boasting vistas of three mountain ranges and wetlands of the Columbia Valley from the top; from there it’s all downhill — in the best way. You might even peek a Boo: Boo is the resident grizzly bear at Kicking Horse’s protected grizzly bear habitat; the world’s largest.

At Nipika Mountain Resort, this valley of unprecedented beauty and varied terrain beckons to mountain bikers. Explore rolling rangelands, interspersed with spruce and pine groves, crystal clear lakes and streams, with Douglas fir and larch at higher elevations. If you cannot bring your own bike on your Nipika vacation, they have a full fleet of rental bikes. 

The bike park at Panorama Mountain Village is accessed by a high-speed chair lift, with downhill trails for every level of rider. With mountain bike lessons, rentals and cross-country trails, the mountain is perfect for family fun. 

Photo by Jennifer Dykstra at Panorama

The Fernie Alpine Resort boasts the largest mountain bike park in the Rocky Mountains. But the resort’s new Aerial Playground & Rippin’ Zipline is also taking visitors by storm. An exhilarating leap of faith is all it takes as you zip through a rope course 18 metres (60 feet) above the ground — then there’s the suspended, gravity-defying climbing walls, walk-the-plank and high-wire acts, which also get the heart rate up.

Photo by Henry Georgi in Fernie

Travelling over to the West Kootenays, the mountain playground in the Selkirk’s offer amazing backcountry experiences.  Retallack’s terrain is dispersed over 5,900 sq km (1.458 million acres) – enabling guest to access winding single-track terrain of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) vertical.  Their spider-web of trails are accessible by off-road vehicles and helicopter. (Retallack is located half-way between New Denver and Kaslo, off Hwy #31A).

Sol Mountain’s terrain in the Monashees offers remote mountain biking with a 35-kilometre network of trails around their lodge.    Still in development, the trails will include gravity-oriented shuttle runs, but the focus will be on cross-country tracks.  (Sol Mountain is located a 2.5 hour drive from Revelstoke).

Powder from snow or dirt; The Powder Highway is epic year round!

Top photo by Henry Georgi at the Fernie Alpine Resort.

With ROAM’s, Nelson Kootenays Multi-Sport, one incredible week in the wilds, early spring until the end of September, promises a roster of outdoor play: you’ll plunge the paddles along the northern end of Kootenay Lake, tucked between the Selkirk and Purcell mountains, hold on tight during a whitewater raft down the Salmo River, hike through glorious glaciers stretches and mountain bike along the West Kootenay’s undulating single-track.   

No small feat, but one that these Nelson-based adventure operators, backed by over 20 years in the business, are particularly skilled at providing.  And when it’s time to wrap a day’s play, overnights in comfy heritage homes and country inns, hearty BC-based menus and an opportunity to star-gaze from an outdoor hot tube will curb your urge to roam.  Just for the night.

Information provided by Destination BC.   Top photo by Phil Best. 

Perhaps a bit of bonding — and problem-solving — time on a Geocache adventure or a chance to see the sights along the resort’s more than 50 kilometres (31 miles) of forested trails, peppered with hidden lookouts and pretty waterfalls. If adrenalin’s your thing, bring your bike (or rent one) to tour the trails, and make tracks along the expansive Columbia Valley, pausing to snap photos of the area’s ancient geological formations, or hoodoos.

The Hoodoos – Photo courtesy of Fairmont Hot Springs Resort

There’s plenty of indoor drama, too, whether you’re sinking your teeth into a “Burning Ring of Fire” burger on the patio at the brand new Bear’s Paw Bar & Grill or luxuriating in a bit of spahhh, with wraps, scrubs, massage and more. Just don’t forget to top it off with a dip in the hot springs, where you can take in the view while soaking up the spring atmosphere.

Information provided by Destination BC.   Top photo by Dave Heath.

Ski touring is an art form. It is skiing in its purest form; no lifts, no lineups, no noise. It allows you to be one with the mountains and it is magical. Everyone has their own idea of ski etiquette, here is Nicoline’s from Selkirk Mountain Experience etiquette comments: 

WALKING UP HILL

- If you have to tinkle, please relieve yourself when there is a general stop (otherwise step off the track)

- Do not change your heel step setting at every change of slope incline

- Try to change it only when the lead climber changes theirs

- If you do need to change it more often then step out of the track or go to the back of the group

- Do not change clothing layers while stopped in the track, step off the track

- Do not continuously step on the back of the skis of the person on front of you.  Once or twice is excusable, 3 times you owe them a beer and 4 times is just plain annoying!

- If someone is stepping on the back of your skis and you have a gap between you and the next person then stop and let them go around and ahead of you (they can get off the track and go around you as they obviously have more energy).  It is a good idea to do this after the third “click” as this way you will get a free beer.  If the person behind you continuously steps on the back of your skis and you are right behind the person in front of you may growl at the “clicker”!

SKIING

- Take turns getting first tracks and have fun!

Submitted by Selkirk Mountain Experience; Top photo by Ruedi Beglinger. 

Icefall Lodge (Golden) – this traverse travels through extensive glacier terrain and some of the highest peaks in the Canadian Rockies.  The weeklong traverse starts at the Mons Hut, travels to the Lyell Hut and finishes by skiing out the Rostrum Valley to Icefall Lodge.   Available April 13-20, Apr 20-27 and Apr 27-May 4, 203, package includes an ACMG certified guide, accommodation at each mountain hut, all meals and helicopter transportation in/out – $2,100 per person (including GST). 

Icefall Peak – Photo courtesy of Icefall Lodge

Selkirk Mountain Experience (Revelstoke/Golden) - All programs start at the Durrand Glacier Chalet and then ski to the Mt. Moloch Chalet to return back to Durrand.  Light packs, great peaks, long ski runs and an incredible playground to ski in.   Weekly packages available from Dec 27 to May 4, 2013.  The 7-day rate for the upcoming dates in April/May is $2,295 (based on 6-8 people per group).  Packages include avalanche safety equipment, accommodation, all meals and helicopter transportation in/out. 

Just about at the summit of Mt. Ruth – Photo courtesy of Selkirk Mountain Experience

For the past few seasons, skiers/riders have had to wear their mid-winter gear – no ski bum would be caught in a spring jacket with all this powder still to plunder.  And season-ending “Slush Cups” are more like iceberg drifts – and only the strong-willed or intoxicated defy crossing the frozen ice field.

Photo courtesy of Fernie Alpine Resort

Still wanting to celebrate the end-of-season?  You can party in full garb or spring shells… if you dare! 

The Gathering ~ Red Mtn Resort (Mar 25-31)
Cardboard Derby ~ Fernie Alpine Resort (Mar 30)
Sun Splash Funk Fest, Part 1 ~ Kicking Horse Mtn Resort (Mar 30-31)
Slush Cup & Deck Party ~ Red Mtn Resort (Mar 31)

Revy Retro Day ~ Revelstoke Mtn Resort (Apr 6)
Spring Splash ~ Kimberley Alpine Resort (Apr 6)
Sun Splash Funk Fest, Part 2 ~ Kicking Horse Mtn Resort (Apr 6-7)
Spring Carnival ~ Panorama Mtn Village (Apr 6-7)
Dummy Downhill ~ Kimberley Alpine Resort (Apr 7)
Beach Party ~ Whitewater Ski Resort (Apr 7)

Stoke to Spoke ~ Revelstoke Mtn Resort (Apr 13)
Fernival ~ Fernie Alpine Resort (Apr 13-14)

Top photo by Sarah Windsor at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

Ski-Mountaineering comps require a combination of super-human fitness, solid skiing technique and bomb-proof motivation. The course is set in a natural mountain setting, up steady slopes, along high ridges and down powdery alpine bowls. Participants can team up or compete on their own. On skis, telemarks or snowboard. After lung-bursting ascents and quad-burning descents, the winner is the first one to cross the finish line.

Photo courtesy of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

Whether you are covered with spandex from head-to-toe with hi-tech lightweight gear or you are taking your fatties and baggy pants up there and don’t care too much about the chrono, there are some fun times to be had.

Ski-Mountaineering races are also gaining in popularity along the Powder Highway. Two great events are being hosted in this region, the infamous ROAM Randonnee Rally alongside the Kootenay Coldsmoke Powderfest at Whitewater Ski Resort in February  and the Dogtooth Dash at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in March.

So, NEXT winter gear up and come to compete against Canada’s top-athletes and be part of the recreational race or just cheer the participants!

Photo courtesy of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

Top photo courtesy of Backcountry Skiing Canada (Brad Steele). 

Designed with “never-ever” and beginner skiers and riders in mind, TLC caters to more tastes than might first be imagined, including lessons for those looking to hone their telemark ski skills, one of the hottest trends in this neck of the Powder Highway.

A quick look around this lively resort, and you’ll see there’s even more to be had: next to The Learning Centre, and a snowball’s throw from the Golden Eagle Express gondola, stands a brand-spanking-new retail centre, while the slopes high above boast new groomed access to the mountain’s Feuz Bowl, sure to ease intermediate-level skiers and riders on their way to more challenging terrain. Wherever you look, you’ll see that there’s more than enough TLC to go around.

Information submitted by Tourism BC.