Complete, unabridged and encyclopedianic review of skiing and ski towns in British Columbia:
Nelson – Probably one of the best options for touring, with Whitewater being a bit of a slackcountry mecca. Best food of any ski hill in the known Universe! Good local beer. Usually great snow. Nelson is and an… unusual town.
Rossland – Best ski hill in North America! Very small and very real ski town. Skiing with locals sucks because thye're all too good and are extreme powder snobs! Best apres ski bar in Canada. Don't ski down the sidewalks in this town, it's already been done.
Revelstoke – Incredible ski hill with tons of snow. Slackcountry is great. Could still use some better lifts to keep you at the top. Is becoming a real ski town quickly, but is also overrun by sledders (mostly) from Alberta. Great access to Roger's Pass. Most importantly, one of the best breweries in BC.
Golden – Great ski hill and superb slackcountry. Could use a better lift layout. Not quite as much snow as Revy. Not quite as much of a ski town as people seem do things other than ski here. Lots of sledders here too. Close to RP.
Fernie- Great ski town, not my favorite hill. Weekends are crazy and too much traversing. Still, it's a pretty great hill if you're coming from Ontario. Great brewery too. Lot's of snow but you might need a rain jacket. It's full of Calgarians…
Kelowna- Not a ski town but close to the more touristy of ski hills, Big White and Silver Star. Neither are great, but on snowy days can be a ton of fun. Not many people seem to do the backcountry around here, not sure why?
Whistler – Great ski hill, lots of backcountry. Unless you enjoy partying more than skiing it wouldn't be my first choice. It's full of Vancouverites…
Kamloops – it's in the desert… so is Kimberley and Panorama.
Osoyoos – Worth a weekend visit up to Mt Baldy. Lots of Powder and all blue runs.
McKenzie – Never been. Trailers and snow days sounds like fun, but for 4 months? Ditto for Smithers and Terrace.
Jumbo – This only exists in some egomaniacs imagination and unfortuately is the spawn of Beelzebub himself!
Another good although, non-scientific consideration is the Hippy to Redneck ratio:
Nelson>Rossland>Kelowna>Osoyoos>Fernie>Revelstoke>Golden>>>The North.
The only requirement for beginer backcountry skiers is that they break trail on a heavy snow day.
Hope nobody takes any of this seriously! except the part about the breweries.
