14" and counting- Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest

The  Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest   is this weekend at Whitewater, B.C., and if you’re wondering where the goods are this year… well they’re here. 14” of Selkirk powder overnight, and currently snowing hard!

The focus of the weekend is a slew of backcountry clinics including classes on avy and beacon skills, intro to backcountry skiing, fast and light touring, steep skiing, and backcountry travel. There are classes that focus specifically on telemark, AT and snowboarding.

The list of instructors includes many world class adventurers, including ski mountaineers Andrew McLean and Martin Volken, big mountain free skiers Eric Pehota and Meagan Carney, world class randonee racers Greg Hill and Pete Swenson, and ground-breaking ski journalist Nils Larsen. An additional nine more nationally recognized guides and instructors are also giving tour-oriented clinics. In other words… no Power Point presentations, just learning by skiing with some of the best on the continent.

The après-ski parties include movies, slide shows, dinners and a dance. There are also two great ski races- a Randonee Rally that is part of the Canadian National Team selection, and a Telemark race.

I’m not a company shill, this is a grass roots event that I want to see succeed. Backcountry skiers are traditionally a solitary lot, but it can be pretty fun to get together with lots of like-minded folks for skiing and a good party.
Be there… I will.

scott

Unfortunately, I am going to be a few days late for this event. My son and I will be staying in Nelson from March 4th to the 9th and plan on skiing at Whitewater (and Red Mountain) for the first time. Any suggestions for us?

Red Mountain has awesome slackcountry skiing with short hikes from the lifts. Be sure to check out Mt. Roberts. It's got everything from very steep and cliffy to cruiser glade skiing. Record Ridge also has lots of good lines.  If you want to get away from the ski area check out Old Glory. It's a few miles to the north and is a great day tour. Here' a link to a Rossland area topo map

Nelson has tons of good touring.  The R.O.A.M. shop would be a good place to get reliable local info.