Feature Articles
Crested Butte: Going to Extremes
While the mountain, it is a changin’, under the new ownership of Tim and Diane Mueller, Crested Butte is still the “anti resort” of Colorado—even though there’s no shortage of amenities, it oozes a hardcore ski bum atmosphere from every pore (although lately, the ski bums are building million-dollar homes). The question is: Can the Muellers attract more skier visits to the resort without losing its soul? We sure hope so.
Crested Butte is the real deal: residents who exude warmth and friendliness, a majestic mountain and a National Historic District for a town. The folks today have that same spirit of ruggedness and optimism associated with its mining town past. And that’s what sets Crested Butte apart from many other resorts. You can’t create this kind of experience from nothing, it’s built on a town’s history and on its people.
Snowwater Heli-Skiing and Snowcat Skiing: Get Intimate with Hard-Core Terrain
Just outside of Nelson, B.C., a road cuts across the winding river and your shuttle turns onto a logging road that climbs up to the dreamland of Snowwater Heli-Skiing and Snowcat Skiing.
After a sometimes rugged drive 5 km. up the logging road, you’ll come to a road less traveled, unpack your gear and luggage, and board a thrumming snowcat with other guests anxious to get a taste of the pure untouched snow. If you’re lucky enough to arrive on a clear night, look out the window as you lumber along and gaze at the mystical hints of trees and mountain peaks…that’ll set you up for sweet dreams later on.
Forty-five minutes later, you’ll reach 5,440 feet and arrive at a gorgeous custom timber-frame lodge, lit up and warmly awaiting your weary bodies. Everything you need is right here: from delectable gourmet meals to massages and, of course, some of the best powder skiing in interior British Columbia. And with only 12 guests at a time to share the experience, the Snowwater world pretty much revolves around you and your every whim.
Big Mountain: A Mountain as Big as Its Name
While Big Mountain is still a bit of a secret, it has been discovered by skiers and riders drawn here not just by the remoteness, but also by the no-frills, laid-back spirit of its people. Many locals fled other resorts that used to be like this, and they are the guiding force behind helping the ski area develop in ways that compliment its character.
The resort, in the far northwest corner of Montana near the Canadian border, is as big as its name, especially since it has a generous out-of-bounds policy. The uninhabited territory surrounding it is vast too: Every which way you look, Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, the Flathead National Forest and the Canadian Rockies thrust jagged peaks into the sky, split by wide valleys filled with lakes and rivers. In fact, the combination of mountain protection and the thermal effect of the lakes and rivers mean you’ll find a surprisingly pleasant climate considering the area is so far north.
Big Sky Resort: A Ménage à Trois of You, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature
If you find yourself at an uncrowded mountain, surrounded by stunning wilderness and polite Argentinians, don’t be surprised that you’re vacationing at Big Sky in Montana. It seems avid skiers and riders from the Andes have discovered a resort that many of us in North America have never visited. Maybe it’s time to put this resort on your must-visit list too.
From the moment you land at Bozeman’s Gallatin Field, which feels more like a private rancher’s massive lodge than an airport, you know you’re in for a different kind of vacation. Everything here—from the friendly employees in cowboy hats to the wide-open spaces—cries out its big-country roots. Folks are easy-going and before you know it, you’re thoroughly unwound without a spa treatment.
Monarch Mountain:
A Little Ski Area with Big Rewards
We went to Monarch Mountain on the prowl for its fabled powder. Instead, the mountain served us sastrugi.
And, no, sastrugi is not a Bavarian cream puff pastry.
Oh, if only it was something as tasty as that. No such luck. Sastrugi is wind-eroded snow that often looks rough, like frozen waves, and is usually found on windward slopes.
Yes, siree, the wind had been whipping for days before our arrival at Monarch Mountain, and the snow in the open bowls where the ski area offers its snowcat skiing screamed signs of Mother Nature’s brutal onslaught. We’d been looking forward to cat skiing ever since we booked the trip in December, but here we were in April, talking with the guides about how we’d have to cancel it unless the wind died down and the sun warmed up the snow enough to make it safe for skiing.