Skiers and snowboarders love British Columbia for a reason. From the awe-inspiring mountain ranges to the vibrant ski towns, this isn’t just the place you come to enjoy the slopes – it’s also where you end up falling in love with the snow-covered pines, the spirit of the locals and the unforgettable off-snow experiences.
Even if you’ve been before, there’s always something new to learn about the vast Canadian province of British Columbia.
Here are 10 things to love about British Columbia, and then some.
1. The mountains are huge, really huge
British Columbia takes the cake for mountain bragging rights – 75 per cent of the province’s landscape is covered by 10 different mountain ranges. With big mountains come big ski resorts, 13 destination ones to be precise.
Whistler Blackcomb’s 8171 acres of skiable terrain puts this mega resort among the top of the list in North America. Revelstoke Mountain Resort has the largest vertical drop (1700 metres) of any ski resort in North America, and Fernie Alpine Resort is famous for having not one, not two, not three, but five alpine bowls of powder.
Did we mention that Sun Peaks has a run called 5-mile which is no less than 8km long? That 45 per cent of Kicking Horse’s terrain is black diamond and another 15 per cent is expert? Or that Panorama has a heli-ski operation that flies directly from its base?
2. Prettiest ski towns in the world
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- Downtown Fernie at dusk with a mountain landscape. Photo credit: Destination BC/Dave Heath
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- Historic downtown Nelson. Photo credit: Kootenay Rockies Tourism/Mitch Winton
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- SilverStar village at night. Photo credit: Destination BC/Reuben Krabbe
Is there anything better than a mountain town steeped in railway or mining history, with a main street plucked straight from a Hollywood set and then covered in snow? British Columbia’s ski towns are truly unique, from the ski-in ski-out multi-coloured chalets of SilverStar, to the mountains thrusting skyward from downtown Fernie, to the lakeside town of Nelson.
3. Snow falls by the metre load
Interior British Columbia is known for super-light, dry snow, so dry you can’t make a snowball – the kind of snow skiers and snowboarders live for. Best of all, it falls by the metre load. Revelstoke can get anything from 12 to 18 metres of snowfall a season – yes, you read that right.
4. It’s home to a plethora of alpine distilleries, wineries and breweries
Alpine air and mountain water make the perfect base for craft distillers, breweries and wineries, and British Columbia ski towns offer some of the best around.
Beer lovers will want to put Rossland Beer Company, Nelson Brewing Company and Mt Begbie Brewery at the top of their list to accompany their trips to RED Mountain, Whitewater and Revelstoke. For those more into spirits, head to Fernie Distillery or Monashee Spirits for micro-batches brewed with serious love; and wine connoisseurs can’t go past the wineries of the Okanagan, such as Mission Hill, easily accessed from Big White.
5. The thermal hot springs alone are worth the visit
Thermal hot springs perched on the side of giant lakes and lined with snow? Sign us up. The ski areas around these parts are never far from a warm soak to soothe the thighs after a day on the slopes.
Try Halcyon Hot Springs Resort, perched on the shores of the Arrow Lakes, between Fernie and Revelstoke. Or Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort along the west shore of Kootenay Lake, where natural mineral water flows from a horseshoe-shaped cave into the pools below. There’s also Fairmont Hot Springs, the largest in Canada and a mere forty minutes from Panorama.
Looking for rugged? Try the Halfway River Hot Springs near Revelstoke, accessed via a ninety-minute drive and ferry ride from Revelstoke, with a snowshoe up a steep trail to discover a rock-lined natural hot pool.
6. Want to try cat skiing?
In-resort cat-skiing, eat your heart out. Not one but two British Columbian ski resorts offer the pleasure, with both Panorama and RED Mountain giving skiers and snowboarders access to incredible backcountry-style terrain with the safety net of still being within resort bounds. They won’t break the bank either – one ticket to the RED Mountain cat will set you back just $10, and one ride up Panorama’s Monster X cat is just $24 on top of your lift pass.
Once you’ve got a taste of the action, you may not be able to stop. This is where cat-skiing lodges really come into play: multi-day trips to Keefer Lake Lodge in the Okanagan or Island Lake Lodge near Fernie, both offer a taste of luxury and unforgettable powder without the lift lines. Add Chatter Creek, Baldface Lodge and Skeena to the 21 cat operations on offer.
7. BC, the birthplace of commercial heli skiing
British Columbia is the birthplace of commercial heli-skiing, with Austrian immigrant Hans Gmoser at the helm. He went on to found Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) which now has 11 remote lodges with multi day heli-skiing on offer. Add Mike Wiegele’s famous luxury Blue River heli-ski village and Bella Coola for wilderness steeps, Mica, Northern Escape, Last Frontier and fifteen more.
8. More to do
Ice climbing. Dog-sledding. Snowmobiling. Ice fishing. Fatbiking. Horse sleigh rides. Tubing. Skating. You name it – it’s possible in British Columbia, where the activities are equally as thrilling as the fun you’ll have on the slopes. Try the “heli-fondue” at Panorama, the sleigh ride dinner at SilverStar, ice climbing at Big White, the Vallea Lumina light experience at Whistler, or skate the longest skating trail in the world at Lake Windermere.
9. Winter wildlife spotting
Keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles soaring overhead as you make your way up a chairlift, lynx wandering by as you ski down a run, and bears starting to wake from hibernation towards the tail end of the season. Kimberley often sees deer crossing the main green run in search of their latest snack and Fernie skiers have even sighted moose. Kicking Horse has a resident grizzly bear called Boo, you’ll find him in his protected 20 acre refuge sleeping in winter and waking in spring.
10. And yes, you can get a great coffee
It’s official: consider the British Columbians #influenced by our Australian love of coffee. You’ll not only get to look forward to all the delicious local food on offer after your ski day – poutine, anyone? – but your mornings will be accompanied by a proper latte, just the way you like it. Our tip? Dose in Revelstoke, but we’re biased as it’s founded by Aussies.
Ready to discover everything from the mountains to the off-snow experiences? Click here to find out more and get planning your trip to British Columbia.
