49th Parallel North Ski Safari

You may not have heard of Red Mountain Resort, but it is a real “GEM” in Canada’s “Powder Highway” The resort is currently made up of three peaks, Red, Granite and Grey, and you can pretty much ride / ski where ever you want to go within the ski boundary, just pick your line and go……….. There are some mellow runs, but the terrain is probably better suited to the intermediate and advanced and will be loved by those looking for great blacks, and double blacks. Great tree runs and powder galore, so if you want to improve your skills in the powder, trees and off piste you can dip in and out building your confidence as you go. There is a resort operated Cat-Ski area on Mt Kirkup, priced at $10 per run so this is a great way to try Cat-Skiing without breaking the bank. Or alternatively there is an independent operator in Red Village for those wanting to go for the day, they have terrain off site which you travel to via mini bus after meeting for breakfast and safety checks. Unfortunately we didn’t book this in advance and they were fully booked for the duration of our stay, so I would advice to book this before you travel to avoid disappointment. Don’t be put off by having to drive it is an easy, enjoyable route and we got to see a moose, a bob cat, an Artic hare and loads of deer, and you can always grab a coffee on the way. It snowed every day of our visit, by the end of a week we had a good 2.5 feet of snow on the roof of our hire car !!!! We had a fabulous time and would highly recommend a visit. Red is now in our top 3 Canadian resorts. “Simple, pure, real……..deep” this really does sum up Whitewater perfectly. If you are looking to show case your new designer ski / snowboard wardrobe, don’t bother NO ONE will be looking or interested !!!! Whitewater is an authentic Canadian locals’ mountain and that is how they want to keep it. If you are on the hill it is for one thing and one thing only …….. to make some lines This is not a fancy resort, you can’t stay on the mountain and it has only 3 chairs and these are old school, no pull down covers not even a foot rest but where you get off …….. well be prepared to play big time. There are pistes but these are not groomed every day, some not at all. The joy of Whitewater is the powder bowls and tree runs, you use the ‘pistes’ to get back to a chair lift or to access your next bowl or glade of trees. Providing you are in the ski boundary you just pick your line and go…… The backcountry terrain is apparently some of the best accessible by chair lifts there is. (We didn’t venture out of bounds, avalanche risks were high throughout our stay, but if you are a backcountry person - enjoy !!) This is not a beginners mountain, to really enjoy Whitewater you need to be a strong intermediate or advanced. Locals learn here, but they learn to get good quick, I wish I had grown up here. The Fresh Tracks Cafe offers a great range of food - it has it’s own series of cook books, 2 from the series came home with me - so you can top up your energy levels before hitting those powder bowls again. Whitewater is not for everyone, but if your trips are about being on the mountain to ski or board, about riding lines through incredible snow and you want to ride down through bowls filled with pillow after pillow of powder and hardly see another soul then make the trip to Whitewater it won’t disappoint. It snowed every day we were at Whitewater !!! We travelled from the Scottish Borders, this entailed flights from Newcastle to Heathrow, Heathrow to Vancouver, Vancouver to Kaloona and then a drive to Whitewater. It isn’t the easiest of places to get to but soooo worth the effort !!!!