Schweitzer/Kicking Horse/Revy ?

[mntlion]

discounts might take $20/day off (if lucky) and over holidays is harder.

[TahoeJ]

FWIW - a lift bump at Kicking Horse can be a nice head start for touring in the area. So with the Epic pass you wouldn't feel like you're "wasting" a ticket that day.

[jorion]

Thanks, I’m going to spend the extra cash since I’ve also got friends to stay with in telluride to justify it.

[brraaap802]

Upgrade-7 days at RCR (Fernie, Kicking Horse and Kimbo) worth the risk for $330. Plus agree with TahoeJ said the Slackcountry touring at Kicking Horse is wicked and nice to access from the top of the gondy or the Stairway chair. You should check out all three hills regardless. Kimbo doesn't have the same terrain as the other two but still super fun resort to rip around on for a couple days. If touring you can go from Kicking Horse to Revy for a day or two and stop at Rogers Pass as well. Your 10 days will go fast...

[mntlion]

FYI: touring in KH is the rockie mountains, and NOT a coastal snowpack. If you dont see tracks in an area, thats cuz locals know something you dont
ski near tracks, and live.

[jorion]

So, four or us are going to meet up in Nelson the 27th of December and ski somewhere until we do our AST2 at Rogers Pass the 2nd through 5th. There are nice and affordable places to be had right now in Nelson; given the holiday should we just base ourselves there and hope that there's either good touring in the area or Whitewater or Red are good? Or is it worth gambling on finding last-minute affordable housing (between 12/27 and 1/1 so holiday times) and chasing pow? All we need is clean and under $200/night with beds for four, we're not choosy. But that would be super unlikely in California in the same period.

Also, is there anything weird about taking a rental car across the border if we fly into Spokane? I haven't even looked yet to see if it's difficult to get an AWD vehicle there, so that might be an issue as well. Don't want to drive Rogers Pass without AWD given what I've heard about it. One of us will be coming from Montreal so he'll be lobbying to fly to Calgary no doubt.

[Skeeze]

I rented an AWD vehicle from Spokane without issue last year, pretty sure it was through Hertz. I called in a day or two before arrival to request that the car was AWD (since I booked a basic SUV) and they had no issue with that.


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[SUPERIOR]

Rogers Pass in early December 2016 was one of the worst drives I’ve ever experienced. White knuckled for 2 hrs outside Revy, passed multiple vehicles upside down. Rescue crane fishing a car out of the river gorge. Holy fuck is it always like that?


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[TahoeJ]

Rodgers Pass is legit scary. They need to separate the lanes like most other major mountain passes.

[Shredhead]

I’ve rented AWD in GEG many times without any boarder problems.
Use a rental company like Alamo or Enterprise, that let you pick your own car.

[mntlion]

Rodgers Pass CAN be scarry, but its also somedays clear and dry.

If its that crappy, go ski kicking horse or reve and leave the pass for a day or so.


not sure on last minute booking in Rossland/Nelson area. Odds are they will have SOME snow, especially up higher then town.

FYI: I have not lived in either town, or spent much time, but rossland = mountain professional folks that like to ski at a medium/large hill. Neslon = smelly hippies and a smaller hill

[californiagrown]

Rogers Pass is legit scary. They need to separate the lanes like most other major mountain passes.

The worst part about winter storm driving is the other drivers. THAT is the thing i worry about... well that and sheet ice, which youre fucked on anyways unless you have studded tires. Ive got 4WD, aggressivly treaded and siped all season tires, years of experience driving intentionally driving into blizzards and closing mtn passes (and because of that a pretty darn conservative style), but the shit i see from other people is what scares me because when it is really bad out, you sometimes cannot avoid the crash causing assholery of some folks. Its kinda like mountaineering where you dont want to go so fast you are making mistakes, but you also want to minimize your exposure time to the dangers around you haha.

If you could drive Rogers at 2am with no one else on the road, even in a bad storm, would it still be super sketchy? Never been, asking for a friend....

[cat in january]

Mostly it is the semis that scare me on Roger's Pass. One of those gets going sideways down the hill towards you where are you going to go?

[TahoeJ]

Mostly it is the semis that scare me on Roger's Pass. One of those gets going sideways down the hill towards you where are you going to go?

This is the part that freaked me out. Small storm but not great visibility and those trucks are coming in the opposite direction and just fucking blasting by! I got into Revelstoke and immediately had a few drinks!

[nickinbc]

Rodgers Pass is legit scary. They need to separate the lanes like most other major mountain passes.

The provincial government have a 'program' to upgrade the highway. At the rate it is going it will take until the 2060s (yes the second half of the 21st century) to complete. That is if they don't give up before then - they don't have a clue how they are going to do some sections.

[nickinbc]

If you could drive Rogers at 2am with no one else on the road, even in a bad storm, would it still be super sketchy? Never been, asking for a friend....

Still get semis at night. Also it isn't much fun when you are driving through the warp drive effect of a snowstorm even if you do know the road and have a good idea where the curves are.

[Mike Rogers]

So, four or us are going to meet up in Nelson the 27th of December and ski somewhere until we do our AST2 at Rogers Pass the 2nd through 5th. There are nice and affordable places to be had right now in Nelson; given the holiday should we just base ourselves there and hope that there's either good touring in the area or Whitewater or Red are good? Or is it worth gambling on finding last-minute affordable housing (between 12/27 and 1/1 so holiday times) and chasing pow? All we need is clean and under $200/night with beds for four, we're not choosy. But that would be super unlikely in California in the same period.

Also, is there anything weird about taking a rental car across the border if we fly into Spokane? I haven't even looked yet to see if it's difficult to get an AWD vehicle there, so that might be an issue as well. Don't want to drive Rogers Pass without AWD given what I've heard about it. One of us will be coming from Montreal so he'll be lobbying to fly to Calgary no doubt.

I was in Rossland and Nelson from the December 31 to January 4 last year. We booked ahead but had no trouble with last minute changes to reservations. Snow was reasonable. Your week will be more busy, but I don't think it's a huge risk waiting to book. If you are willing to have Trail, Castlegar, or Creston (east side of the pass) as backups, you will be pretty safe.

Fernie and Revelstoke sell out of cheap accommodations fairly regularly. I would book ahead if your preferences change to those towns.

Trail and Castlegar aren't glamorous, but they are close to the (ski) action if Rossland or Nelson are booked up.

[jorion]

Sweet, thanks for all the great info everyone.

[jorion]

Bumping this since everything is now planned and booked. We decided to be less flexible given the the holiday period and a few other requirements.

We’re meeting in Spokane on the 27th, renting a “ski-equipped” van from hertz (hopefully this means snow tires and a half decent ski rack) and driving to Nelson where the four of us are sharing an Airbnb outside of town. Will ski red, whitewater and/or backcountry depending on conditions. My friends have local friends that may be able to show us around resorts and touring. I also picked up the west kootenay ski guidebook from backcountry Canada.

After four days there we’re heading to revelstoke for New Year’s Eve. We’ll probably stop to do a quick ski to st Leon’s hot springs along the way. We found a reasonable motel there that seems fine.

From revy we’ll go to golden for the ast2 yamnuska course at Rogers pass. Got a cheap Airbnb there too. Hopefully will ski kicking horse once after the course.

We then have a few unscheduled days before our flights home from Spokane, so we can go wherever is good, either back the way we came or through the Fernie way. Maybe hit Schweitzer too. Should be fun!

Any affordable food recs for Nelson, revy or golden? We’ll likely cook many nights to save money but I’m sure we’ll get some meals out too.

[PNWbrit]

Fucking amazing pizza in Nelson here so many other good places too.

Do not miss the food in the lodge at Whitewater

[toast2266]

Any affordable food recs for Nelson, revy or golden? We’ll likely cook many nights to save money but I’m sure we’ll get some meals out too.

Don't cook in Nelson. That place has more awesome places to eat than any other mountain town I've ever been to.

Yum Son has awesome cocktails and solid Vietnamese. Kootenay Tamil Kitchen has good, authentic southern Indian. Busaba is decent Thai. Red Light Ramen has some interesting options. The list goes on. And yeah, the food at Whitewater is about as good as you'll find at any ski hill.

Ainsworth hot springs is ~40 minutes out of town, and is worth checking out if you have time. They have a cool hot springs cave thing.

[Mike Rogers]

I like eleven22 in Golden. It isn't super cheap, but it's not too expensive either. For coffee in the morning, I go to the Bluebird Cafe.

In Nelson, I like Cantina del Centro for a light meal and Oso for coffee.

Dose for coffee in Revelstoke.

[Vets]

Fucking amazing pizza in Nelson here so many other good places too.

Do not miss the food in the lodge at Whitewater

I concur about eating at Whitewater. Way gourmet and a great value too.

[Shredhead]

We’re meeting in Spokane on the 27th, renting a “ski-equipped” van from hertz (hopefully this means snow tires and a half decent ski rack).

I doubt it will have real snow tires.

There is a large discount liquor store on your way out of town, that you’ll want to max out at.

Also fuel up right before you cross the border.

[reckless toboggan]

Hahaha.

Just re-read through this thread.

Me: *Pick a mountain town, be a dick about it.

Sorry for being so adamant. #hoofhearted

Hope I at least provided some good info about spots to eat and ways to use the mountain to your groups advantage.

Really glad there are a bunch of crews getting up here. Sounds like some good routes were chosen with a variety of goods to be had.

pm me if you need a guide around Revy, Horse, Lake, SSV or just want to grab a beer.