Nothing beats seeing a happy doggo running through the snow. Jaw dragging, mouth open and scooping snow like a backhoe. Of course, when you add that the dog is at work, the awwww factor soars. We did a little Instagram trolling to find some happy puppies at work and play.

It’s an unprecedented year for western Canada’s beloved ski hills and its turning into an unprecedent spring. 

Wow, wasn’t that the week that felt like a lifetime. With the barrage of bad news about the Coronavirus from every corner of the planet – cancelled trips, self-isolation, social distancing, panic shopping and toilet paper hoarding (??!!) – we’re seriously thinking about only one thing: how to escape this madness.

When the announcement was made that Powder King was on its way to hitting over 1,000 cm of total snow accumulation for this season, it was a no-brainer that it was time to go find this snowy resort.

Vermilion, AB - Access is everything, whether you are going skiing or sledding, and the effort to get there draws the line between a day adventure or an odyssey.

The giant Saamis Tepee fades from view as I exit the highway and head into Medicine Hat’s historic downtown. On past visits, I’d whizzed through “The Hat” unaware the river valley hub is buzzing with an energetic culinary, cultural and recreational scene. 

The gateway to the legendary Powder Highway, home to four mountain ranges and eight ski resorts (plus 35 heli- and cat-skiing operations), can be found in Cranbrook, B.C. Whether you drive or fly to Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC), you can ski two fantastic resorts in one weekend.

A historic rock cairn, rimed and grey, looks out over Lake Athabasca. With her gloved hand, Hanna Bishop brushes the hoar shards from the bronze plaque, revealing the historic majesty of the Canadian north. Where we are standing is the spot on which stood the North West Company’s most important trading post, Fort Chipewyan, founded in 1788.

Archer is ready to go skiing. He’s so excited his body is shaking. As he moves from one to the other of our group, he nudges us, looking at us imploringly, as if to say, “Are you ready now? Are you ready now?”

Quesnel is a town of about 10,000 people and 13,000 more in the surrounding area - a lot larger than we expected, and there’s a reason for that. 

You’d have to be a knucklehead to think that there’s any skiing near Powell River. At least, that’s what North Vancouver adventurer, Ean Jackson thought before tagging along with the SnowSeekers crew to explore a rumoured “Pow Town” backcountry zone at the upper end of the Sunshine Coast.