Winter around Golden, B.C.
Backcountry Skiing
OK, here’s how serious they are about backcountry powder access around Golden. Our recommended backcountry guide service for the area around Kicking Horse and Golden offers snowmobile accessed ski tours. They have a permitted area of 11,000 hectares and use modified sleds to tow you to the desired terrain. If the resort is skied out you can have 5 runs, depending on fitness level and ability, for around $150. All guides are ACMG certified and excursions are available February to April. They also have numerous backcountry skiing routes from moderate to intense in the Golden area as well as on the powder mecca of Rodgers Pass, 40 minutes away.
Cat Skiing
Well, its 60 miles north of Golden but…two young loggers secured a tenure with amazing terrain, 250 square kilometers worth. They blazed in some cat roads and put up a rough log lodge and with 3,000 vertical foot runs and Canada’s only snowcat glacier skiing and vast amounts of powder glades word began to spread from Golden to Calgary and far beyond. They have two beautiful new lodges and they only joint cat and heli ski operation until recently. 2 day excursions are available early season, after that it’s 3 and 4 days blocked together.
Heli Skiing
Two services operate out of the Golden area, one about a half hour north of town has it’s own lodge and offers unlimited vertical. (Most heli ski operators ‘guarantee’ a certain number of vertical feet, if you ski over this amount there are additional charges. An Unlimited Vertical feet PROGRAM usually costs more up front but that’s it, all you can ski powder!)
The other heli ski operation departs right at the Kicking Horse base area. Both services have tenures (permitted areas) in the Purcell Mountains. As both are day operations they host many first time heli skiers as well as experienced heli skiers out for a day of powder dreams. Groups are divided into ability levels and have certified CMGA guides. Both operations have a mix of open skiing on glaciers that give you the feeling of skiing and riding on the roof of the world and then gladed tree skiing which is used during snowy days of flat light and for the steeper runs as the trees offer greater snow stability than open slopes. Contact us for more details.
