Revelstoke

North Bowl — On-piste is a different beast along the Powder Highway (which is a circle route in British Columbia including various ski areas, known for the great powder skiing). Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s North Bowl, accessed from the top of the Stoke Chair via traverse or bootpack, provides in-bounds, avalanche-controlled skiing in terrain that would feel far from the ropes in most European resorts. While Lemming Line provides a quick lateral bootpack, and the Sub-Peak booter delivers some of the spiciest drop-ins, many locals prefer Brake Check or Unlimited Assets, two North Bowl lines you can traverse from the top of the Stoke Chair for quick access so you can score a few laps while the bowl is fresh.

Kill the Banker — If it truly dumped, including on the lower mountain, there’s nothing quite so classic as smashing pillows down the gondola line. While the crowds surge toward the Stoke Chair, spin right around off the top of the gondola at Mackenzie Outpost and send the fall line back to the mid-station on RMR’s best-viewed test piece. Expect an abundance of cliffs, hidden glades off either side and cheering (or jeering) from the cabins above you.

North Bowl is skied out, the sun popped in the afternoon, and stability is good. It’s time to exit the gates and venture into RMR’s world-class lift-accessed sidecountry. Grab your skins and avalanche gear and take the Stoke Chair to the top; head right and traverse the cat track out to the clearly marked resort boundary. After a brief skin, multiple drop-in points exist from Montana Ridge down to the flats. If visibility isn’t excellent, a quick lap through the Montana Trees is still worth the effort. After skiing to the flats where two creeks merge, a steep uptrack to the col on the opposite side will bring you to the ridge between Montana and Kokanee Bowl. At the col, follow the ridge to the summit, and as you go, you will have a great chance to see the face from different angles and decide where to ski. Watch for cornices at the top! The fall line on the North face usually holds cold snow sheltered from the sun. Ski the bowl, then continue into the Montana Trees the same way you came up. Back on the Montana side, follow the undulating terrain to the creek, but be careful not to miss the Catcher’s Mitt Road below! Once you hit the Catcher’s Mitt, it’s a simple skin/skate/glide/spread eagle-frenzy-on-side hits back to the resort for a long groomer lap down to a cold one.

So, you’ve schralped some pow at the resort, but now you’re ready to earn your turns amid Revelstoke’s legendary steep forests. Mount Begbie towers across the valley from RMR, visible from nearly every part of town with its iconic triple peaks. While a summit descent is quite the technical ski mountaineering endeavour, its flanks provide some of the region’s best and most accessible steep treed corridors and chutes.

Park at the base — a small, nondescript, sometimes plowed pull-off approximately ten kilometres past the Nordic Center on Highway 23S. This offers a couple of options: on-foot, a variety of convoluted uptracks that change each year wind through thick, sprawling new growth on Begbie’s lower cutblocks to avoid the monotony and distance of long switchbacking forest service roads. Once above the cutblocks, however, you’ll be rewarded with perfectly spaced old-growth cedar dripping in old man’s beard lichen. By sled (and Revelstoke may well be considered the powder sledding capital of the continent), forest service roads allow you to bypass all the lower bushwhacking.

The ridgetop sits at 1 994 meters, so it’s roughly a 1 400-meter day if you’re skiing car-to-car without a sled. Innumerable lines on varying terrain make Begbie Shoulder a classic in various conditions, from storm skiing to bluebird pow. While there’s an abundance of terrain, the parking lot is small, and parking is not allowed on the side of the highway, so arrive early on a pow day. Check Avalanche Canada’s daily bulletin before you go, and if you want to find the best lines, you can hire a local guide in town.

If Rogers Pass is ski touring’s holy land, the iconic Seven Steps to Paradise may be a coveted grail of powder seekers. One of the most accessible of the acclaimed “50 Classic Ski Descents of North America,” Seven Steps is best toured as a loop from the Asulkan parking area, up the Illecilewaet Glacier, across the ridge to the summit of Young’s Peak, and down the Asulkan Valley. The tour requires a 1 575 vertical meter climb (5 167 feet).

Though accessible via moderate skinning and occasionally a short bootpack up the final ridge, the ascent and descent are glaciated, so be prepared with the equipment and knowledge to navigate complex terrain. If you have doubts about the required skill set, hire a local guide.

The NNW glaciated slopes of Young’s often hold cold snow longer into the spring than the southern aspects across the highway. Combined with endlessly rolling consistent pitches (seven of them, as the name denotes), it’s one of the most famous lines in the Pass (along with the adjacent Forever Young Couloir, if you’re looking to add some spice to your day). If you’re not lucky enough to reserve a spot at the Asulkan Hut, expect to start early but still arrive after the first crews depart the Hut. Nevertheless, despite the descent's popularity, there’s ample room for fresh tracks. It’s not a classic because it’s exceptionally gnarly; it’s a classic because it’s that fun.