Road Trip: Ski BC's Big Mountains This Winter

Seven BC ski destinations. Five mountain ranges. 2,600 kilometres. 21 days.

My husband and I love skiing the big mountains of BC—the rush of the steeps and the joy of fresh powder, the jaw-drop landscapes, and the groovy mountain towns. And we need a real getaway, a forget-about-the-daily-grind adventure. But our dog, Truman, is aging and we want him by our side. So I come up with plan: We’ll road trip to all our favourite big mountains in BC, but this time we’ll do it in an RV, with our best friend by our side.

I map it out: We will wind our way from Whistler to Revelstoke to Kicking Horse. Glide down the magnificent Columbia River Valley to Panorama and Fernie. Mosey through the Kootenay Rockies to RED and Whitewater. And tuck into a bit of backcountry adventure along the way. Little do I know that road tripping and discovering big adventure close to home is about to become travel’s biggest trend.

For the journey, we rent a 28-foot winter-ready motorhome (with subzero insulation, solar panels, a generator, and hot-and-cold running water) then pack it with every conceivable thing. The drive from Whistler to Revelstoke takes about six hours. Fat flakes the size of Loonies spin out of the sky the whole way.

First Tracks Breakfast Club, an early-up-the-lift program with a half-day dedicated guide for private groups of two to six, is a smart way to get snowy rewards right out of the gate while learning the lay of the land. Outdoor seating at Mackenzie Outpost makes on-mountain refueling easy. Also easy is nipping down to the RV to walk Mr. Popularity then jumping back on the gondola to riffle lap after lap through steep powder trees with local friends. Afterward, downtown Revelstoke—a more than 100-year-old heritage city flecked with a mix of the unabashedly old and the innovatively fresh—is just 10 minutes away.

We take turns checking on Truman, then hike out to the resort’s more remote bowls for big, uncrowded skiing before having a late lunch amid the vaulted rafters and panoramic views of summit-top Eagle’s Eye Restaurant.

From Golden we angle the RV southeast down Highway 95. The Rockies rise to the east, the Purcells to the west. We tuck into Radium for the night and wander with Truman through fresh, light snow and and cook dinner in our cozy little cabin on wheels. After dark, we soak in the historic outdoor mineral pool at Radium Hot Springs while snowflakes drift down between the stars. Are we 10 hours from home or a world away?

After coffee at the sleek new Fireside Café, we head up to Taynton Bowl for our expert terrain fix, making hour-long laps in untrammeled heli-ski-style terrain thanks to the Monster X snowcat ($15 per ride). For dinner, bubble groups can arrange private dining experiences like raclette and fondue in Panorama’s lovely on-mountain cabins, but we opt for wood-fired pizza at the all-new Alto Kitchen & Bar.

Ten minutes away, historic downtown Fernie is down-to-earth yet lively, with bean-to-bar chocolates, a distillery, Latin fusion cuisine, and fresh-baked bagels. Nearby there’s also coffee roasting, an award-winning brewery, and a well-equipped RV park. Truman likes Fernie’s dog-friendly cross-country skiing zones and the miles of winter fat biking single track.

Next we head west. In Rossland, we check into The Josie hotel, one of three sparkling new places to stay at RED Resort. It’s very dog-friendly. Also: Room service from a gourmet chef? Yes! Later we stroll the snowy streets of historic Rossland. Within an hour, everyone in the Kootenay Rockies seems to know Truman by name.

In Nelson, 25 minutes downhill, we check into the historic Hume Hotel. Truman has been here before and he prances into the lobby like he’s leading a marching band. In our room, he rolls over, four paws up, grinning from ear to ear.

The husband and I have been enjoying our RV experience, but the big dog, we now realize, prefers hotels.

We spend our time in Nelson taking him for long walks along the lakefront, doing more of our own ear-to-ear grinning at Whitewater and diving deep into Nelson’s outstanding food scene: Oso Negro and Empire for coffee. Marzano for contemporary northern Italian. Broken Hill for fall-off-the-bone barbecue and whiskey drinks. Yum Son for Vietnamese, Cantina del Centro for Mexican, Red Light for ramen and more.

We can barely fit into the RV for the drive home.

We went on a road trip through our own backyard, but the husband and I feel as though we’ve had a big, restorative adventure somewhere far, far away. And as we stroll through Whistler Village—so large and lively, with such a diverse, multicultural feel—somehow everyone knows Truman by name.

For tips on how to plan your ski trip this year, click here. Note: BC’s winter road conditions can include snow and ice. Be sure to check DriveBC before heading out on any road trip and be aware of the winter tire and chain regulations across the province from October 1 to March 31. Before any winter road trip, visit Shift Into Winter to learn how to prepare yourself, prepare your vehicle, and drive for the conditions.

Winter RV rentals come in two categories: “Winter-ready” and “winterized.” Winterized is a confusing term that means the vehicle has been drained of fluids for the season, will have no hot or cold running water, and may not be equipped with insulation appropriate for winter sleeping. “Winter-ready” means the RV has been outfitted specifically to be fully functional for cold weather travel. In British Columbia, CanaDream rents winter-ready RVs. Plan to allow at least 90 extra minutes during the pick-up process to be fully briefed on how to use all the winter systems. Check out this CanaDream Trip Planner for info on where best to park at the resorts.

Header image: Skiing through powder at Whitewater Ski Resort | Kari Medig