SUN PEAKS RESORT
Load the gear and start exploring
There's an entire school of people who think a holiday should include an element of the unknown – itineraries with baked-in moments of mystery for the things you can never plan, but would never want to miss. Those people are called skiers, and how they plan for these surprise moments – a seeming dichotomy – is called The Ultimate Road Trip.
Whether you're seeking the ultimate dump of powder or just looking for a bluebird day to shred away, nowhere in the world can claim epic skiing road trips like British Columbia. The clicks you'll put on the odometer aren't for the wary, but the method is simple: access a vehicle (ideally one with a penchant for starting each morning), get flexible (this is where the mystery comes into play – you may think you're in the driver's seat, but actually Mother Nature is) and get out there.
One of the biggest perks of a road trip in B.C. is its affordability. While much of the region lacks the showy infrastructure of big American resorts, you'll be cashing that in for fewer crowds, cheaper lift tickets and more economical accommodation. And did we mention the snow? The question is not if to go, it's where to begin.
The more than 1,000 kilometres of asphalt that make up B.C.'s renowned Powder Highway – a.k.a. Highway 95 – is a capital place to start. On this circular route, over 60 ski operations – including eight full-on resorts – beckon from within the wide, toothy grins of the Kootenay Rockies and Purcell Mountain Range.
While in a perfect world you'd quit your day job, move your worldly possessions into an Econoline van with good snow tires and spend a lifetime exploring this skier's utopia, a well-thought-out road trip will let you at least sink your tips into its offerings. Several gateway airports access the Powder Highway; the trick lies in establishing the best place to drop in.
Want the best of B.C.'s steep and deep in three to five days? Land in Calgary and point your car towards the town of Golden, your gateway to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's esteemed vertical. Once just a heli-skiing destination, it now serves up backcountry feel from well within resort boundaries. Just two hours down the road (if Mother Nature is feeling friendly – otherwise count on turning around and going back to Golden) the bowls and glades of Revelstoke Mountain Resort beckon. Stay in the charming railway community it's named after. Note: you could also access this trip in reverse from Kelowna.
When your long weekend road trip includes cushiony snow pillows and steep chutes, fly into Cranbrook, central to the Purcell Mountain smorgasbord of Panorama Mountain Resort, Kimberley Alpine Resort and Fernie Alpine Resort. Panorama's breathtaking summit views (which you earn on black runs the whole way down), Kimberley's picture-perfect trees and Fernie's five bowls are all within a couple hundred kilometres of one another – that's a "quick drive" in Canuck-speak. You can hit all three in three days, but five would make the experience much more comfortable.
While the world at large has yet to discover Whitewater, skiers are obsessed with it. Whitewater is a half-hour jaunt from Castlegar airport or a relaxing shuttle bus ride from Spokane, Washington. (Many visitors to Whitewater stay in nearby Nelson, another of B.C.'s best-kept secrets.) A perfect pairing is Revelstoke Mountain Resort, just over three hours north on Highway 6 from Nelson.
Make Kelowna your jumping off point for Big White Ski Resort, Silver Star Mountain Resort and Sun Peaks Resort. If your group has energy to spare, tack on Apex Mountain Resort, too. Check out flights into Penticton for this same road trip adventure.
Another option is to touch down in Kamloops, then head north to Sun Peaks and warm up your legs on Sun Peaks' steeps before making the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Revelstoke.
Whatever itinerary you choose, you'll find ski operations practically buried in fresh snow along the entire route, waiting for you to explore their runs and trails.
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This content was produced by Randall Anthony Communications, in partnership with The Globe and Mail's advertising department. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.