Taking the Trans-Canada highway to skiing heaven

From Calgary to Golden and Revelstoke, the Trans-Canada highway reveals a road trip of pristine snow and epic scenery The Guardian, Friday 16 ovem!er "#1" ""$%& G'T

(a))ling scenery and perfect powder are a signature of skiing in *ritish Colum!ia, Canada$ +hotograph, -enry Georgi.Getty /n 10&0 (r 1ames -ector, a geologist on the +alliser e2pedition to western Canada, was kicked in the chest !y his horse$ Things looked !ad$ 3 grave was dug$ 4na!le to speak or move, -ector was in danger of !eing !uried alive, !ut managed to wink at one of his companions$ -e was saved and went on to a long career as a government scientist in ew 5ealand$ 3nd the pass the party had !een struggling to reach in their e2ploration of new routes for the Canadian +acific Railway !ecame known as 6icking -orse pass$ (rive the Trans-Canada highway from Calgary to 7ancouver and around 1"& miles into the 8ourney, you9ll crest the pass near the town of Golden, !etween *anff and :oho national parks$ /n front of you lies Glacier national park and to your left is 6ootenay national park$ That9s a lot of mountains, a lot of wilderness and a lot of snow$ The snow comes in from the +acific ;cean, to the west$ 3s it travels to the 6icking -orse mountain resort, nine miles from Golden, it !ecomes much drier than the snow in <histler, which is closer to the coast$ 6icking -orse snow is more like crisp champagne !u!!les$ For us, landing in seven metres of the stuff was the perfect way start to our =powder-highway= trip, for resorts in this >uiet corner of *ritish Colum!ia specialise in one thing, powder snow$ <e had a truck, we had fat skis, we had a map and we had our eye on visiting four resorts in one week$ Game on$ =This is my home hill,= said ski guide *renna (onaldson as we sat in the Golden ?agle gondola heading to the top of 6icking -orse9s C+R Ridge$ =/ really like the aggressive terrain$ There9s still stuff here / haven9t skied and which scares me shitless$= <e peered into the depths of *owl ;ver, one of the four !owls that make up the resort9s ",@&# acres of skia!le terrain$ The steep drop-in led to powder-laden slopes peppered with fir trees$ 7isi!ility was poor, and there were few tracks to follow$ Fear seemed a reasona!le emotion$

't 'acken)ie, Revelstoke$ +hotograph, Randy Aincks.Getty ?ventually reaching flatter ground, we careered through trees, !efore a short hike took us to the top of (ou!le -eader, an infamous !lack run$ 6icking -orse makes no !ones a!out !eing a resort for advanced skiers B 6#C of the terrain is for e2perts only$ *ut !eginners aren9t ignored, wide, peaceful pistes stretch halfway up the mountain and it9s almost impossi!le to get lost B all runs lead !ack to the !ase of the mountain$ <alk around Golden and, apart from the arrival of a ski resort ne2t door and the huge trucks cruising the snow-packed main street, you can imagine not a lot has changed since -ector9s time$ 3s the light dimmed, !lues music leaked out of the Golden Taps pu! and !eef, steak and ri!s were in pride of place on the menu of the 6icking -orse Grill$ <e couldn9t linger longer than one night B more snow was forecast and we had to get to our ne2t stop, Revelstoke, !efore -ighway 1 was closed due to avalanche risk$ <e made it, driving first through the Colum!ia <etlands B a stop-off for 3rctic-!ound migrating !irds, then through Glacier national park, a 8ourney that made city-!red eyes wonder what they9d !een staring at all these years$ Revelstoke, in the Delkirk mountains 6# miles west of Golden, is all a!out trees, which rear out of the steep slopes in rows like snow ghosts, their laden !ranches appearing calcified$ /t is Canada9s youngest resort, having opened in "##@, and has the vi!e of a child trying to cope with an immense talent$ orth 3merica9s most vertical descent, at 1,@1Em, drops into two !owls, north and south, and passes through glades with names such as /ron Gladen and Chronicles of Gnarlia$ The cold was !rutal, the air so full of ice you could almost part it with your ski pole$ <ith each descent we found a new path to weave through the trees$ From the top of the Dtoke chair, we hiked for a further 1& minutes to drop into orth *owl, a clim! so steep that the high fives offered !y strangers at the top seemed more than well-earned$ <e dropped in via +owder 3ssault, which, though not >uite delivering the untracked fields we had !een e2pecting, still left us happily drenched in white powder$ /cy lower pistes sent skis skittering as we made our way !ack to !ase, legs losing the memory of how to ride in anything less than two foot of powder$ The resort of Revelstoke is a one-stop shop, with accommodation, ski hire and restaurants all in one place at the !ase station$ For more rustic accommodation, eateries and great flap8acks at the 'odern *akehouse, the town of Revelstoke Fpopulation a!out @,###G is a short drive away$ <e reached elson, in the 6ootenay region, after dark$ /t9s a town of 1#,### people of whom E,&## own season passes to the local resort of <hitewater$ =<e9re not really a resort for

!eginners,= admitted general manager 3nne +igeon, without apology$ =<e9re keeping it real$ /t9s powder, pure and simple$=

<hitewater skiers Aodge, elson, *C$ +hotograph, Rick Graham.Tourism *C There are three chairlifts, three steep slopes laced with trees, one large skiers9 lodge at the !ase with a restaurant serving local specialities and spawning three successful cook!ooks$ Aocals call the snow here =6ootenay cold smoke= !ecause it is so light, so ethereal that it literally !lows away from your skis when you distur! it$ *y the time we reached Red 'ountain we were inclined to agree with the hitchhikers from Rhode /sland who told us we were going the wrong way, the powder highway should !e ridden from west to east, according to them$ /f it meant going !ack to any of the previous three resorts we would have !een happy to turn around$ *ut we had to plough onH and the powder gods rewarded our tenacity with Red$ The resort has two mountains B Granite and Red B with a lift to the summit of each$ There are no >ueues and no wrestling with damp piste maps as you try to navigate a ma)e of runs$ From the tops you ski down pretty much anywhere you want$ (ou!le-diamond !lack runs B the hardest pistes B litter !oth mountains, and low visi!ility added a heart-stopping physicality to runs such as Aedges and *om!shack Trees$ 3s with <hitewater, the resort thrives on its community, the town of Rossland, with cafes, yoga classes and snow!oard shops lending an arty vi!e in contrast to the industrialism of the neigh!ouring trail$ 3nd as with <hitewater and elson, Red and Rossland share a nononsense approach to skiing$ o intricate piste networks, snow canons, or hordes of people, no pretty little chalets piste-side selling vin chaud for I1#$ 1ust more snow than you ever dreamed of and a lift B and truck B to access it$