SkiBig3 (Banff National Park)

After arriving in Calgary and picking up your winter-safe FarOut Wilderness Vehicle, the first stop on your ski trip will be SKIBIG3. Located in Banff National Park, these three resorts — Banff Sunshine, Mt Norquay, and Lake Louise — are the crown jewel of Canadian Rockies skiing. We recommend making the town of Banff your homebase, and staying in the area for three to five days. Be sure to visit each resort at least once.

Each resort offers a different flavour of skiing. Mt Norquay is the training ground for Canadian Olympians: expect fast, steep groomers, old-school chairlifts, and a quiet resort. Banff Sunshine is known for its wide-open alpine terrain, breathtaking views of Mt Assiniboine (often dubbed the Matterhorn of the Rockies), and freeride areas like Delirium Dive. Note that some of the skiing at Banff Sunshine, while avalanche-controlled, does require you to bring gear like a transmitter to explore it. About an hour west of the town of Banff, Lake Louise rounds out the group, featuring great advanced bowl skiing and proximity to the iconic Lake Louise Chateau.

Kicking Horse

Finish up your time in Banff by skiing Lake Louise. From there, it’s a short 45-minute drive down the road to Golden, where you’ll set up shop at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. This ski area, famous for being a regular host of the Freeride World Tour, is ideal for advanced and expert skiers. The resort has a unique layout, with one main gondola providing access 85+ inbound chutes, many of which require a short bootpack. After skiing the steeps, you’ll enjoy open bowl skiing, great glades, before funnelling into groomers that take you back to the base. You’re skiing top to bottom on most runs, enjoying over 1,000 vertical metres of turns before taking the gondola back up and doing it again!

Golden started out as a truck-stop, and maintains some of that character even as it becomes more popular. It’s a nice change of pace from the busy streets of Banff. Set up at the Wolf’s Den for one of the best meals of the trip, their burgers and steaks make for one of the best meals on the trip.

Revelstoke

Canada’s fastest growing and newest resort has been the main talking point of the Canadian ski industry since it opened in 2007, and for good reason. Revelstoke features some of the most reliable snowfall, amazing gladed terrain, and the most vertical of any resort in North America. The resort is two-hour drive west of Golden over Rogers Pass, a stunning highway that’s home to Canada’s most renowned backcountry skiing. Take a couple of days in Revy to enjoy the energetic town life and fantastic skiing.

While Revelstoke’s 1,713 meters (5,620 feet) of vertical drop is second to none, you’ll want to quickly work your way to the top of the mountain to the Stoke Chair. This offers access to Revelstoke’s massive alpine bowls, and some of the best tree skiing. For backcountry enthusiasts, it’s also the access point to Revy’s unmatched slackcountry skiing.

Much of Revy’s best skiing is concentrated at the top of the mountain, unless you roll up in deep winter and catch a top-to-bottom storm. If Revelstoke is your priority, we highly recommend planning your trip in January or February. It’s typically below freezing at the base of the mountain this time of year, offering chances to ski amazing gladed areas like Kill the Banker and the Conifers of Narnia. If you come in March or later in the year, the alpine skiing is still delivering powder days, but the bottom of the mountain will be in full spring mode.

Panorama

You’ll backtrack on Rogers Pass and go an hour south of Golden to Invermere, a funky town nestled deep in the Kootenay Mountains. Make a stop at Radium Hot Springs on your way to Invermere to enjoy the lovely outdoor thermal pools — there are more hot springs waiting at Panorama too!

This mountain is known for its long steep corduroy cruisers, rugged views into Kootenay National Park and the surrounding mountains, and its avalanche controlled cat-skiing area, the Tayton Bowl. After cruising on some groomers, it’ll be time to tackle the Taynton Bowl. You can bootpack along Outback Ridge for about 20 to 30 minutes, or opt to catch a ride on the Monster X Snowcat shuttle. Whether you hike or ride the cat, you’re rewarded with 750 acres of steep, patrolled backcountry-style glades and bowls. Enjoy a couple Taynton laps before skiing straight into Canada’s largest slopeside hot pools, which are right at the resort base

Panorama would be our favourite resort if it got more snowfall. Watch the weather during your trip, if you see a big storm headed towards Invermere, adjust your plans to make sure you’re at Panorama for it. All the front side groomers would make for an absolute dream powder run with 20 centis of fresh fluff!

Fernie

Your last stop, a couple hours southeast of Panorama, is the incredible Fernie Alpine Resort. This underrated mountain has continuously delivered massive storm days for the FarOut team on our trips to the Rockies year after year. With five alpine bowls, amazing glades, and the iconic Polar Peak chair, it’s an off-the-beaten path resort that’s seriously worth the visit.

You’ll find the lift layout is a bit awkward at Fernie, you have to typically take two chairs up to access the best alpine zones. Some runs require a big lap down to the base, or to haul back T-Bar in the Cedar Bowl. If you get here on a fresh snow day, lap the main chairs like the Bear and White Pass Chair first — these will get skied out fastest, and then do a longer lap into the Currie or Cedar Bowl.

Polar Peak, an expert skiing area at the top of the mountain, has a yeti-like legend about it. It opens rarely — you need a rare combination of low winds, minimal avalanche danger, some recent snowfall, and good visibility for it to be safe. I’ve been lucky enough to catch some Polar Peak laps two years in a row at Fernie, and the chutes and open bowl skiing off this chair have been the highlight of both my trips. You’ll have to pray to the Grizz (Fernie’s mascot and resident snow god) for a day here. It’s also worth watching the weather at Fernie in the days before you get here. Due to its low elevation, the mountain occasionally gets rained on, and when the bowls aren’t soft with cold snow, there isn’t much in the way of groomers or other skiing to have fun with.

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