Champagne Powder

Extreme cold. Infinite spaces. Snow-covered trees. Steep descents. Bottomless powder. This is how I imagined the winter in British Columbia. My journey began in August 2018. I started an extended road trip through Western Canada, driven by the dream to stay until winter and finally realize my dream of skiing in BC. At first, I went by camper van from Vancouver to Alaska. By October, I found myself on the way back to British Columbia. One evening, in the Yukon territories, I stayed at a lodge and started talking to the owner. He told me fantastic stories about his winters in a small ski resort in the south of British Columbia. I did not need to hear more – my decision was clear: The town of Rossland would have to be my home for the winter.

The small ski town is located nine hours east of Vancouver, right at the U.S.-Canadian border. During the 1897 Gold Rush, Rossland was one of the largest cities in Western Canada. Hence its nickname, "The Golden City." Today, only 3,500 souls live in this remote place. Nobody comes here by pure chance, which is a clear indication that every single person living here must be a very passionate skier and snowboarder. Ski bum central. This theory was quickly confirmed once I found a place to stay. Whenever it didn't snow, the mood in the entire town hit rock bottom. Once the flakes started to come down, you could feel how everybody got excited and restless to hit the mountains. Luckily, the West is one of Canada's regions with the highest precipitation.

Heaven on earth. Rossland and the Rossland Range are part of the Monashee Mountains. A long mountain range that stretches all the way to Washington State. With 7,795 feet, Old Glory Mountain is the highest peak. Other impressive mountains that are popular with the locals are Red Mountain, Granite Mountain, Grey Mountain, Mount Roberts, Record Mountain, Mount Kirkup, Mount Lepsoe, and Mount Plewman. The possibilities are almost unlimited, whether for relaxed tree runs, neck-breaking couloirs, or multi-day ski touring with overnight stays in huts along the way. One of my favorite hikes was skinning to Mount Plewman – 7,352 feet. This tour provided the perfect scenic experience. We would set out at 4,921 feet.

The first couple of hours you hike through a dense forest that slowly thins out and finally allows you to see your destination: the eastern face of Mount Plewman. To get there, we toured along the so-called Unnecessary Ridge. The name probably derives from the fact that the terrain is only accessible in very few places. When you reach the top of the ridge of Mount Plewman, you will hardly believe your eyes: Old Glory Mountain in its full splendor. What a view! The first time I did this hike, I saw the summit for a few minutes before a wall of fog buried everything. Quite a show. Thanks, Mother Nature, I will never forget. It was freezing cold and windy on the ridge that day. Thanks to the windchill, minus 8 degrees Celsius felt more like minus 20.

The landscape looked accordingly: The typical Canadian blue Douglas firs turned into upside-down icicles. They call them snow ghosts, for a good reason. From the summit, an open run with scattered snow ghosts was already waiting for us. The snow on the eastern slope was not affected by the wind, and it was hip-deep. Canada in perfection! One and a half hours north of Rossland, you will find the town of Nelson and its ski resort, Whitewater. This touring region offers steep descents with sometimes unbelievable pillow lines, the likes of which I only knew from ski films. There are no limits around here. However, you should choose your lines carefully, otherwise, your adventure could quickly end in the emergency room.

Another popular ski touring area is the area around the Kootenay Pass. The highest pass in British Columbia is located on Highway 3, one hour east of Rossland, in the Selkirk Mountains. You should not attempt this drive without snow chains. There is hardly another place that guarantees as much snow as the Kootenay Pass. Thanks to its geographical location, the snowstorms last longer and provide for outstanding dumps – an Eldorado for every backcountry skier. The excellent snow quality in the mountains of British Columbia was an exceptional experience for me. I went on this trip with a completely different vision. I had expected extremely deep snow; weekly dumps with ludicrous forecasts. Two meters of fresh snow overnight and all that.

But I was wrong. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience. In British Columbia, you rarely get those really heavy dumps. Instead, it snows continuously in small amounts, and temperatures almost always stay below 0 degrees Celsius. These weather conditions are a guarantee for dry and soft snow conditions, even on sunny spring days. Or as they like to call it around there: "champagne powder." Even more important for me than the snow were the people I met on my trip through the Monashees. People with a very open, alternative way of life. People who love nature. People with the same great passion: backcountry skiing.