For those with a lift ticket, Revelstoke Mountain Resort offers incredibly easy access to fun and varied ski touring terrain. Of course, once you’re out of bounds, the snowpack and terrain require the same level of assessment that you would give to any other piece of the backcountry - there’s no avalanche control work being done, and you’re left fully to your own devices.

Relatively close to the boundary, skiers can find low angle treeline features and steep glades that usually offer relatively safe skiing. Even in this most benign zone, it’s important to beware of overhead hazards, cornices, and tree wells, as well as skiing too low and becoming lost. If you’re willing and able to travel farther from the resort boundary, it’s easy to find more challenging terrain. There’s only a small amount of true alpine terrain, and most runs are relatively short, so you’ll probably do at least a couple laps over the course of the day. The main exception to this is the skiing off of the backside of the resort - these features offer more vertical relief, but take you through more committing avalanche terrain, and require more advanced navigation and route planning skills to make your way back in bounds.

One additional benefit to touring from RMR is the ability to start your day up high - when freezing levels are an issue, taking a gondola to elevations with below-freezing temps can be pretty appealing.
  

(Rogers Pass Discovery Center. Photo: Sean Eno.)

In order to make sure that you understand the Winter Permit System, it’s best to complete an online quiz to obtain an Annual Winter Permit ahead of time. This is also enormously convenient for skiing at the pass, as it eliminates the need to pick up a daily permit before you go touring. Getting a daily permit eats up time in the morning, and can only be taken care of at 1 of the 8 trailheads available for skiing. For more information, including a link to apply for an annual permit, you can Google “Glacier National Park Annual Winter Permit”, or visit this link.

Lastly, you’ll also need to pay for parking in order to go tour anywhere within Glacier National Park. It’s possible to pay for a single day, but most people find the annual National Parks Pass to be the most convenient. You can purchase these at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center or order them online.

It may be a bit of a complicated system, but the touring at Rogers Pass is more than worth it. For route beta, the maps and guidebooks from GeoBackcountry titled “Rogers Pass: Uptracks, Bootpacks & Bushwhacks” are excellent resources. Additional terrain photos can be found by Googling “Glacier National Park Winter Terrain Atlas”, or visiting this link.

When the skiing’s good all the way to valley bottom, touring on Mt. MacPherson can be an excellent option. It’s quite a bit closer than Rogers Pass, and is rarely impacted by highway closures. Park at the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club (bring $6 cash to pay for parking), and navigate your way up the groomed cross country skiing trails. After about a mile or so, the groomed trails peter out, and you’ll either be following a skin track or punching in your own. The Fingers, Womb, Burnt Knob, and Fuzzy Knob all have some really great lines on them. If you’re willing to pay a few bucks, you can find more detailed route info and photos here.

There’s a whole lot more to shred close to Revelstoke than I’ve laid out for you here. With a little creativity and decent routefinding skills, there’s truly a lifetime worth of skiing scattered throughout the Selkirks and Monashees. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

Kootenay Pass is B.C.’s highest highway pass. The top of the pass is 1780m. Most of the peaks are at 2200m. The valley bottoms between 1700-1800m. This gives you some lines that are 400m vertical (or 1200ft). The terrain at Kootenay Pass is very accessible, meaning there are lots of runs near the road and many shorter tours for the intermediate backcountry user. For experts there is still plenty to chew on though, with steeps and couloirs within day trip range. Peaks at Kootenay Pass top out at 2200m (7500ft) Snowfall is reliable with an average 250cm (100 inch) base by mid February. Your best place to stay when accessing Kootenay Pass would be Nelson if you crave the nightlife and restaurant scene. Nelson is 1 hour away from Kootenay Pass. Plan to stay in Ymir if you want an off the beaten path location. Ymir is 40 mins from Kootenay Pass. 

1.5 hours North of Nelson there is a highway pass that used to have 10’s of thousands of people living there at the turn of the century. Now the highway corridor is virtually deserted with only a cat ski operation, some counter culture folks escaping, and of course the odd ski bum getting the goods. The mountains here are significantly bigger than the ones right around Nelson (Mount Brennan) towers above the pass at a height of 2860m or (9385ft). 

This highway pass can take a lifetime to explore. It is best to access with a snowmobile as many of the tours are massive. The snowpack is massive in this highway corridor with a reliable 250-300cm (100-130 inch) base. London Ridge is your best bet as a starter zone, but beware the tour up to the top is close to 4000ft in elevation gain. There is a backcountry based resort being pitched (Zincton) that plans on putting a chair lift up London Ridge to access the terrain. Get there before everyone else does and explore this zone. Your best bet is to stay in Kaslo or New Denver. Kootenay Backcountry Guides has access to an exclusive lodge at the base of Mount Brennan where we run 5-day long avalanche courses. The lodge has hot and cold running water and private rooms for two. 

With Whitewater Ski Resort established as the backcountry Mecca of the Kootenay Region, Red Resort and Rossland can fly under the radar. The Rossland area has a deep rich history with skiing and is regarded by some as the birthplace of skiing in Canada. Rossland itself is like a quieter smaller version of Nelson. Beautiful heritage downtown core with a decent food scene, but you are not there for that! 

Red Resort is massive and the crowds thin out quickly leaving in bounds powder for days. It is home to some of the rowdiest in bounds terrain in the interior. When the Resort runs dry head straight to the easily accessible backcountry terrain. Mount Roberts is an easy skin up from the Paradise chair and has epic steep and deep lines on it. I learned to backcountry ski on Mount Roberts and can attest to the sheer amount of steep spins and drops available here. Record Mountain is also easily within striking distance from Red Resort and offers more mellow lines for intermediate riders. 

If the backcountry surrounding the resort does not appeal to your senses, you can take a quick 10-20 minute drive up the road and head to Strawberry Pass and many objectives in that area. Old Glory stands above all the other peaks in the Rossland Range and offers a serious North Face that should only be attempted in optimal conditions with a fit crew! If objectives close by are your thing, Mount Plewman or Lepso are right near the highway. The Rossland Range gets less snow than other locations to the West and North with mid winter bases usually topping out at 200cm (80 inches). Do not let the lack of massive snowfall in Rossland get you down, this zone is one of the best in the southern interior and savvy backcountry riders can find epic lines!