Ski the Powder Highway: Whitewater and RED
By DOC POW and BARB MARTOWSKI
Some legends speak for themselves. In the alpine world, it comes down to champagne powder, steeps and deeps, yet still family-friendly. We know of two in southern B.C. that come with pedigrees steeped in history and once you've experienced them, you'll keep going back for more.
There is a reason Whitewater Ski Resort has hosted the Cold Smoke Ski and Ride festival for 13 years. Why? Because simply, Whitewater gets epic snow!
Australians, Ryan and Danelle Fouché landed themselves the epic gig as Prestige Adventurers. Their responsibilities include keeping you in the snow by producing awesome content found on Prestige Hotel & Resorts social channels. Considering many of the properties sit along the Powder Highway, it keeps the Fouchés gig epic. Martowski and I caught up with the dynamic social media duo to learn what they uncovered along the B.C.’s world-famous Powder Highway.
“One thing we’ve noticed about the places along the Powder Highway is they are all unique in their own way,” said Danelle, “The hotels really fit into their surroundings and take their cue from the different communities that they’re in.” The couple were staying at the Prestige Lakeside Resort Nelson, which overlooks Kootenay Lake and the city’s famous big orange bridge.
Having Whitewater all to themselves
Photo:
Dave Heath
Nelson is home to one of the Powder Highway’s more character-filled ski resorts, Whitewater.
“It’s interesting how you drive to the end of a road and there is this mountain bowl with a ski resort sitting in the middle of it. Getting up into Glory Bowl and having lunch called the same thing, was a treat – both the eating and the skiing.
Doc Pow’s Whitewater tip: You will not go hungry here – there’s an entire cookbook series based on the food that comes from Whitewater’s day lodge.
From their glory day at Whitewater, the Fouchés quest to explore saw them jump on the skinny skies to do some Nordic skiing. “The Nelson Nordic Ski Club trails were only about 10 minutes from Nelson and the area where they were located was beautiful. There were huts along the trails, where you could stop and warm up, even enjoy a picnic lunch,” explained Danelle. A stop in for a massage at the on-site Santosha Spa helped keep her in form for the next adventure to Rossland.
Skiing is taken seriously here
Photo:
Prestige Hotels
Rossland is a town considered by many to be the epitome of what a mountain town looks like, especially since it sits at the bottom of RED Mountain Ski Resort.
Like Whitewater down the highway, RED offered the Fouchés cheerful smiles and plenty of champagne powder that can be found all along the Powder Highway.
Photo:
Prestige Hotels
“It’s an amazing hill. Like Whitewater, it felt like we had the mountain to ourselves,” said Ryan. “The locals are pretty laid back, but they really take their skiing seriously. Even our hotel, the Prestige Mountain Resort Rossland had ski lockers and a tuning table.”
Doc Pow’s RED Mountain Tip: Did you know the mountain is Swiss cheese? It’s how the Toronto Stock Exchange was founded based on all the gold they pulled out of RED Mountain back in the early 1900s. To know the mountain, it’s best to ski it with a local.
Photo:
Prestige Hotels
What impressed the Fouchés the most was that the Friends of the Rossland Range, who they went snowshoeing with post their day at RED, is a non-profit and all run by volunteers. “The entire area is free to use for the public. They do accept donations to help offset the costs of maintaining this huge area.”
Just wait untill the Fouchés get back here in the summer. Rossland flips from ski town to bike town central – epic mountain bike trails leading straight from the Prestige’s front door.
All maintained by probably similar to or the same folks who are out all winter building snowshoe and maintaining Nordic ski trail. Rossland is home to a lot of outdoor enthusiasts, who rightly so, are beaming with pride about what’s out their back doors.
When you go
Book the Powder Highway this winter and let Prestige , with its entire collection of hotels, become your perfect home base to make your own legends this season or next.
Visit the Prestige Hotels and Resorts website and use the promo code: *SEEKERS and get 15% off. If you call, ask for the “*SnowSeekers” promotional rate. This promotion is good at the Prestige Lakeside Resort Nelson , Prestige Inn Nelson , Prestige Mountain Resort Rossland , Prestige Inn Golden and Prestige Radium Hot Springs Resort . *This special promo ends March 31, 2019.
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