It’s easy to make a case for many ski locations in the world for a host of reasons (powder quality, terrain, location, etc). Still, without a doubt, one cannot disagree that British Columbia delivers some of the most spectacular world-class skiing and snowboarding experiences on the planet. Don’t believe me? I will break down two epic spots in British Columbia delivering the snow goods.
The first is Fernie Alpine Resort. Its location is in Fernie, British Columbia. This ski resort is located in the Lizard Range of the Canadian Rockies, a sub-mountain range of the Crowsnest Range. For perspective, this ski resort is a solid 3.5 to 4-hour drive to Calgary Alberta, and roughly a two hour drive from the town of Kalispell, Montana.
Fernie ski area tops at 7,000 feet, offering a respectable 3,550-foot vertical drop and a base elevation of 3,450 feet. Fernie Alpine Resort receives roughly 29 feet or more (8.9 meters) of snow annually. It boasts 146 different runs to choose from that range from 15% novice, 35% intermediate, 30% advanced, and 20% expert. Something to point out is that it offers more expert terrain than most ski areas. Pretty cool, huh? One more interesting tidbit about Fernie: did you know that Fernie is the only town in British Columbia that is fully surrounded by the Canadian Rockies?
The next ski spot I want to bring to life is called Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR). This resort is located on Mount Mackenzie at ~8,074 feet and is part of the Selkirk Mountains. The top elevation of the resort is 7,300 feet and the base elevation is 1,680 feet giving you a mighty impressive 5,620 feet of vertical drop. This drop makes it the longest vertical descent in North America when compared to other ski resorts! RMR gets an average of 34 feet of snow (~10.5 meters)! To top that off, it offers 3,121 acres of shredding terrain to choose from giving you endless options to maximize your adventures at RMR. In terms of runs, it offers 75 runs in total, which breaks down to 12% (Green), 43% (Intermediate), and 45% (Advanced). Once you’ve had your fill on the slopes for the day, the town of Revelstoke is awaiting you with its classic Canadian mountain town finesse.
So, let’s say it’s a fantastic powder day in the mountains of British Columbia…which ski resort would you gravitate towards and why?
