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...
Banff (AB), Canada - Go ahead. Tell your friends that you're going skiing in western Canada. What will you hear? "Oh, so is this your first trip to Whistler?" Be more specific. Tell them you'll be skiing in the Banff area. "Yeah, I hear Lake Louise has beautiful views." Then tell them...
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...
"At the summit of Fremont Pass, the wind blows the fresh fluff into puffy drifts that curl up against the embankment like little white kittens settling in for a nap." n The clouds hang low as I wheel toward Southern Colorado Saturday evening. After a few runs on Keystone's brick-hard man-made earlier that day,...
Norden, CA - The alarm chirped at 6:30 AM. The kids, Jacquelin 14, and Jonathon, 10 rolled over into their respective pillows and buried their heads in a lame attempt to shut out the noise and sleep in for a bit longer. This otherwise compelling display of lameosity was, unfortunately, all for naught. Dad,...
Wildcat Creek Basin (BC), Canada - Bang! Crash! etc. plus bouncing around like a small skiff in tide rips. We tried to look out the nearby window and saw only a wall of white!!! Gradually I came awake and realized that wife Marilyn and I were ensconced on a 40" wide bunk with 3"...
Panorama (BC), Canada - I was beginning to wonder if it was really worth getting up in the middle of the night for the coach trip to R.K. Heli-Ski at the base of Panorama Resort, an Intrawest resort outside of Invermere, British Columbia, and 2 hours from the comfort of my bed in the...
Teton Village, WY - Excitement. Anticipation. Anxiety. Fear. These are the overwhelming sensations that best describe my first encounter with the "Terror of the Tetons." Jackson Hole is, for the most part, a hardcore skier's mountain that makes most of America's ski areas seem lame by comparison. It is no coincidence that the most...
Assiniboine Pass (BC), Canada - We awoke to heavy snow in Lake Louise, but our rented Dodge Neon got us through Banff and down to Canmore, where we boarded a chopper bound for the Mt. Assiniboine Lodge. n The Lodge is nestled in an intervale situated 7,000 feet above sea level, bounded by Wonder...
The Monashee Mountains in southeast British Columbia are probably best known to skiers for helicopter skiing, as they're blessed with plentiful and consistent snow (about 700 inches annually) falling on large and varied terrain (up to 8000 vertical feet from peaks to valley floors). A heli-ski guide once told me that 90% of the...
