February 04, 2009 | Tips from Us >
Radium Hot Springs, Outdoor Activity Tours
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We left Kimberley early on a chilly January morning and drove to the Fay Hut trailhead in Kootenay National Park (at Marble Canyon). The ski touring route to Fay Hut is fairly straight forward, follow the creek from Marble Canyon for the first 12 km, with the last 2 km ‘a grunt of a climb’, uphill gaining 450 m of the 600 m gain. The 2003 fires cleared out most of this valley, which was a little spooking at first gliding among the charcoal trees, giant match sticks in a sea of white with a hint of green from the trees spared from the flames.
The most difficult section of the trail was the climb over the 50 m headwall. With skis on your back, a useable summer rope, you had to climb on your own while falling (sometimes up to your waist) through this year’s acorn snow. But the effort was worth it, after the headwall the sight of the newly built Fay Hut, against the brilliant blue sky and stark white snow was all worth it.
The original Fay Hut, built in 1927 was destroyed in the 2003 (rebuilt in 2005). This is by far one of the nicest Alpine Club of Canada huts I’ve been to. This beautiful log building offers a kitchen/dining area, sleeping area for twelve upstairs and a living room area complete with wood stove to keep you warm and toasty! The cabin also has its own solar panels for lighting (very eco friendly)!
I absolutely love being at these backcountry huts! There is something about the remoteness that I enjoy. It’s an escape from the usual chaos of life. Out here, miles from civilization, I can completely kick-back without a care in the world. The stillness is comforting and at night (if it is clear) you feel as though you are one with the stars, they are brighter and closer than I’ve ever seen them before.
We spent two nights at the hut. And, since the hut offers a complete kitchen we didn’t have to carry much in, we packed in more food. Our dinners included appetizers and wine both nights; we lived like kings! During the day we built a sun pit to relax in the winter sun & catch up on our reading. Plus, we practiced our avalanche beacon searches just for fun. It was rejuvenating to leave the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life and truly experience ‘living in the moment’, even if it was only for a few days.
I can’t wait for the next hut adventure…
February 03, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Fishing
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hello well how wonderful is bc and to the people who want to visit here,
well here's your chance of a life time to catch that big fish outside of prince rupert in comfort and style in a 29 foot bayliner with everything you need from rods to meal and making new friends out on the water with laughter and fun reeling that big halibut or fighting that 30 lb spring and at the end of the day spend the night in the comfort of one of the many hotels or if you have an rv well spend it parked ina nice and quiet camping park. remember the name UNREEL CHARTERS owned by william star where we know fun in the sun and when it rain we know how to make the scene with lots of laughter.
February 03, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Cranbrook, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Fer sure. You betcha!
Two buddies and I decided a trip to the Powder Highway in BC would be a great destination for our next road trip, especially with the start of non-stop Delta flights to Cranbrook, BC....... What a great decision we made!
In summary, our stops included Panorama, Fernie and Kimberley . Fernie had some hair-raising runs and of course beautiful views with the Griz Bar at the bottom of the mountain. Panorama had the best views of all, making us wish we had a panorama camera once we got to the top of the hill - hence the name, I guess. The movie "Alive" was filmed nearby. Kimberley had it's own views, and more importantly, shotskies (an old, wooden ski with a line of shots on it for you and you soon-to-be-staggering buddies. Shot-ski anyone? Just ask for one of those, and 3 of you won't remember much the next day :)
While planning our trip, we wondered 'why choose the Powder Highway over Vail, Banff, Tahoe, etc' ....... I don't think any of those choices would have had 'dinner in an igloo' as an option, for example. That was just on of our experiences with the wonderful locals in unspoiled BC.. I guess the people would have to be the main reason we will be going back to the Powder Highway, maybe this time to golf the mountains we just skiied on. Is the Powder Highway the right choice for YOU and yours????? In their own tongue, "Fer sure. You betcha."
February 03, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Kimberley, Dogsledding
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what a wonderful day spent with craig and his wonderful siberian huskies We had a awesome time driving a 4 dog team around the area
February 02, 2009 | Field Reports >
Nelson, Dining
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I went from skiing fresh tracks to apres at Fresh Tracks in Whitewater Winter Resort! What a day.... I enjoyed the powder, people, food and drink at this awesome resort. At the end of the day, I hung out with locals and other visitors at the Fresh Tracks Cafe... I love the apres!
Fresh Tracks Cafe's healthy gourmet meals earned it the title of “Best Cafeteria Food” from Ski Canada magazine (2008). Plus the local brewery makes a nice West Kootenay traditionally styled
ale to top it off!
February 01, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Quesnel, Guest Ranches & Horseback Riding
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In his books, Grass Beyond The Mountains, Nothing Too Good For A Cowboy, and The Rancher Takes A Wife; Richmond P. Hobson, Jr recounts the story of himself and fellow cowboy-adventurer, Panhandle Phillips. In 1934 they traveled from Wyoming to British Columbia in search of the last great North American cattle frontier, finally establishing the Frontier Cattle Company in 1937. Today it is possible to travel the trails blazed by Rich and Pan, guided by a third-generation Cariboo-country rancher who actually overnighted at Pan Phillips' fish camp in 1977, while riding to the Anahim Lake Stampede.
Dale and Yvonne Dunn own the Blackwater-Spruce Ranch, located about 60 Km north-west of Quesnel, on which they raise high quality Angus-Hereford cattle. They also conduct ranch-related activities such as spring branding, cattle drives, and horse trekking. They are the only operators in BC licensed to conduct horse treks on the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail (AMHT). Last summer I joined Dale and Yvonne for a 10-day trek from the ranch to Kluskoil Lake Provincial Park and return, with overnight stops at Blackwater Crossing, at a primitive campsite along the AMHT, at Gillies Crossing Forestry Station on the Euchineko River and at Titetown Lake. The hospitality was outstanding, the scenery magnificent, and the experience unforgettable.
I am returning to the Blackwater-Spruce this summer (24 June - 14 July) for a spectacular 22-day, 400 mile ride to the Anahim Lake Stampede and return. This trek will follow the AMHT and the old Kluskus wagon road that Pan Phillips used until 1969 to drive his cattle to Quesnel. This trek will include overnight stops at Gillies Crossing, Titetown Lake, Kluskoil Lake, Pan Meadow crossing, Kluskus, and the home ranch, among others. For serious horsemen this adventure is unique in Canada. In fact there are very few operators in North America who offer horseback treks of this scope and duration.
February 01, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Harrison Hot Springs, Accommodation
If you are looking for a great place to stay in Harrison Hot Springs I would suggest you look no further than Harrison Heritage House. It was everything that we were looking for and more! Relaxing, comfortable and beautiful rooms (loved the oversized jacuzzi; great for two people). Great hospitality and wonderful ambiance, our 2nd year anniversary in this romantic B&B was a time to remember.
Also a warning that there are other places we checked out that say Harrison but are actually kilometers out of the Village, on busy roads or in the middle of nowhere. So do you your homework.
As to things to do we love hiking. We did Sandy Cove which was a great little hike that takes you to this secluded little beach and then we did Campbell Lake trail. Campbell Lake trail was a great challenge, takes a good 2-3 hours to hike up and its pretty steep. Really enjoyed it and at the end get to this little mountain lake. It was awesome. Highly recommend it but you need to be in shape. Afterwards we did the public hot springs. They are kind of ugly but the water was great. All in all a great trip.