Powder Highway Planning Help

**mintee** · 08-23-2022, 08:00 PM

Peeeeeeps,

Been a long ass time since I've been on here, but I'm back! Went through a stint of bad marriage, great kids and a touch of depression but skiing brought me back over the past 2 years.

Long story short, I'm looking for some help planning the best way to make this trip happen and couldn't find a better support group to help. Picked up the IKON pass, and I'm looking to fly into Spokane, hit Schweitzer for a few days with a rental car, then a buddy is going to drop me off at Red Mountain. I want to hit Revelstoke, and Lake Louise then fly out of Calgary back to home base.

Looks like there's some public transit between Revelstoke/Lake Louise/Calgery, but nothing from Red to Revelstoke.

1.) Are there any suggestions for getting 2 people up from Red to Revelstoke?

We have accommodations at Schweitzer, but looking for places to stay at Revelstoke and Lake Louise that's Gnarrr but not overly pricey. 1 bed at $200 a night would be the about the max.

2.) Are there any suggestions for 2 people to stay around Revelstoke and Lake Louise?

I'm so giddy right now thinking about this trip, and help and obviously meetups are super welcome!

Gnarr-it-up kids!

**Harry** · 08-23-2022, 08:05 PM

Just skip all those places and go to Castle Mountain. Slopeside hostel with cheap rates plus incredible terrain. Problem solved.

**romeo tango** · 08-23-2022, 08:23 PM

Schweitzer sucks donkey ....

.

**SkiLyft** · 08-23-2022, 08:34 PM

When ya planning

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**TOLOCOMan** · 08-24-2022, 12:22 AM

Revelstoke you'll be fine on that budget. Lake Louise will be tough to find something under 200 these days. Besides the hostel, which is actually a really cool hostel. I would consider staying in Banff instead of Lake Louise. More options for accommodation, and easy to get to Lake Louise or Sunshine on free buses.

**fleaches** · 08-24-2022, 08:09 AM

I did a similar trip last winter and had an amazing time.

There are a few old threads with powder highway tips, search and read them. One good tip was to not have a solid schedule if you can avoid it, the resorts on the pow highway can get vastly different amounts of snow from any individual storm so it pays to be able to chase. Most hotels have good cancelation policies.

Revelstoke hotels were pretty cheap. We were planning to van camp but it was December and frigid, hotels could be found for under $100 even during Christmas. I think we stayed in the Swiss Chalet?

Lake Louise was the most expensive hotel we stayed in, very few options and they are all really expensive. Someone else recommended Banff and that's probably a good idea.

Also if you are going to ski Red you should check out Nelson and maybe do a day at Whitewater. The food in Nelson is outrageously good and Whitewater is a fun mountain. We stayed at Alpine Inn which was reasonable and a short walk from town.

I regret not skiing kicking horse while we were out there but the one day it would have worked was so miserably cold I may have dodged a bullet.

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**Pinned** · 08-24-2022, 08:51 AM

I did a powder highway trip last year, we drove though so I'm not sure about busses or public transit.

Revelstoke was great - big enough and touristy enough that there are a lot of hotel options. All the way from fancy to basic. Same with the restaurants - lots of variety made it really easy.

I would definitely make a stop in Golden and ski Kicking Horse. Maybe my favorite day of the whole trip, maybe even the whole season. Really cool mountain. Didn't spend any time in Golden though, just a coffee stop on the way into town. Would like to go back and ski there longer.

We stayed in Lake Louise as well, I'd take the advice of TOLOCO and fleaches to stay in Banff. Not much going on in Lake Louise itself. Mountain is big and very pretty, but can get crowded.

Calgary is really nice - I had never had a conversation about Calgary with anyone prior to going. I would go back to Calgary for a few nights gladly. Lots of very good food, people were friendly, nice areas to walk around - as far as cities go I really dug it.

**skifishbum** · 08-24-2022, 11:49 AM

super stoked to hopefully head back this winter with a week at the carsyle and another on the highway
Have yet to ski Castle
i dug fernie the town and resort and wanna ski it again
like they said above flexibility is pretty key
dont know that ida picked Kimberley vrs the stoke or horse but we were blessed to make it there when it dumped in cranbrook and 50cm sure made that place ski great
and bailing on it snowless and brutally cold on schools out winter break weekend for a project 8-10" at bridger that turned into 22" of some of the coldest deep smoke pow ive been blessed to ski was one of the better audibles weve called
i think we git outta the lodge presidents weekend and will be in Kaslo headed where it may ski best
have always stayed at the swiss chalet in revie good bang 4 buck
drive carefully and legally known a few people who didnt and paid the price
a cab ride from nelson to revie wasnt cheap
eh

**XXX-er** · 08-24-2022, 01:17 PM

yeah flexibility is pretty key, we used to combine the Canada medical confrence with skiing roger pass/ revy/ kickighorse/ louise/ banff so the canadian taxpayer could pay for a huge shwack of expenses

the most reliable snow in late january was alwasy rogers pass

**Shredhead** · 08-25-2022, 06:23 AM

I didn’t mind the slow lifts. But I’ve never been lucky enough to find good snow at Red. Great hill and town, but it just doesn’t get much snow.

Flexibility is key for the Powder Highway.
The mountains are low and the weather is fickle.
Book Southwest into GEG and cancellable rental. Cancel the whole trip if conditions don’t look favorable.

I just don’t see how you can do the PH right, without a vehicle.

**Johnny P** · 08-25-2022, 08:50 AM

Check the lake Louise inn. The rates aren’t to bad really. Not a lot going on in town though if your looking for night life. And there are busses to the hill. Also regular busses from Banff if you want to light it up at night.

**apex dave** · 08-25-2022, 10:35 AM

You must have a car to do the Red/Revy route. It's an easy drive with no passes. Unfortunately in order to give yourself the choices mentioned by others you will need a car.
Look into Practicar in Trail. They used to be Rent a Wreck.
Also don't forget your Yankee dollar goes a long way in Canada with a very favourable exchange rate.

**Dr. Crank** · 08-25-2022, 10:51 AM

Pretty challenging to get from the West Kootenay to Revelstoke via public transit. I understand that there is a company that goes from Trail/Nelson area to Kelowna. Silver City Stagelines. Then there are regular shuttles from the Kelowna airport to Revelstoke but this isn’t cheap. Renting a car would be way easier!

I’m not blown away by the accommodations in Revelstoke. A lot of overpriced generic hotel rooms IMHO. However, there are a fair amount of options so you can look around and figure out something within your budget, especially if you’re slanging USD. Regardless, sounds like a stellar trip

**GoldMember** · 08-25-2022, 06:38 PM

^^ Flying to Seattle takes you quite a ways from where you want to go. Spokane has pretty reasonable car rates and is the launch point for getting to the powder highway from the states. But, just to add to what the others have said, you'll want a vehicle and not just an economy car. The roads can be pretty dicey in winter so pick a vehicle that fits the mission.

**FullStop** · 08-26-2022, 10:51 AM

I wouldn't bother with LL, go to KH instead.

**garyfromterrace** · 08-26-2022, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by FullStop

I wouldn't bother with LL, go to KH instead.

Silly statement. Depends on the snow dude. LL can be amazing. As I'm sure KH could be.
Nakiska is where it's at though.

**mintee** · 08-27-2022, 06:32 AM

All great info! I’m taking notes for sure and gonna keep it as open as possible. I’m all for renting a car, but I can’t find anywhere that I can rent in Spokane and drop in Calgary. I’m gonna call Practicar in trail and see if I can rent and drop in Calgary.

I have 10 days total, 3 at Schweitzer and the rest venturing in BC. I think it’ll be a mistake if we don’t hit Kicking Horse, but I’ll keep it loosey for the weather.

Any other suggestions on a one way rental from the Red mountain area that I could leave in Calgary? Also, do I need any special Yank car insurance form, I thought I saw something about that somewhere.

**cat in january** · 08-27-2022, 09:07 AM

Why not just return to Spokane? Surely you would save on flight costs.

**apex dave** · 08-27-2022, 10:14 AM

For those of you considering coming to Canada, in case you were not aware everybody entering Canada must complete the ArriveCAN app within 72 hours of crossing the border. This may change by winter but at the moment you won't be allowed entry without it.
https://www.canada.ca/en/border-serv...arrivecan.html

**DanoT** · 08-27-2022, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by mintee

All great info! I’m taking notes for sure and gonna keep it as open as possible. I’m all for renting a car, but I can’t find anywhere that I can rent in Spokane and drop in Calgary. I’m gonna call Practicar in trail and see if I can rent and drop in Calgary.

I have 10 days total, 3 at Schweitzer and the rest venturing in BC. I think it’ll be a mistake if we don’t hit Kicking Horse, but I’ll keep it loosey for the weather.

Any other suggestions on a one way rental from the Red mountain area that I could leave in Calgary? Also, do I need any special Yank car insurance form, I thought I saw something about that somewhere.

It is a long drive from Red and Whitewater in southern B.C. to KH or LL or Calgary. Instead, after 3 days at Schweitzer, If it was me and I only had 10 days, then I would then spend 4 days at Red and 3 at Whitewater. Ski Canada Magazine once declared Red as the best tree skiing in Canada, while Whitewater is tied with Whistler for the most snow in Canada but without Whistler's rain, wet snow, crowds, high prices.

**GoldMember** · 08-27-2022, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by CoorsLight99

Aren't most flights to Spokane via Seattle? Being moving in the car probably doesn't tack much time on when you factor in the layover its 5 hrs to Trail/Red.

No, not necessarily. Alaska tends to have Seattle connections but, depending on where he's coming from, flights into Spokane sans Seattle are pretty common. Stops in Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, and other locales then into Spokane. Another consideration is pass closures. With the predicted heavy winter, there's a solid chance of the passes coming from Seattle to Spokane being closed for extended periods of time. Could easily lose a day or two of skiing being stuck in Issaquah, waiting for the pass to open.

**GoldMember** · 08-27-2022, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by mintee

All great info! I’m taking notes for sure and gonna keep it as open as possible. I’m all for renting a car, but I can’t find anywhere that I can rent in Spokane and drop in Calgary. I’m gonna call Practicar in trail and see if I can rent and drop in Calgary.

I have 10 days total, 3 at Schweitzer and the rest venturing in BC. I think it’ll be a mistake if we don’t hit Kicking Horse, but I’ll keep it loosey for the weather.

Any other suggestions on a one way rental from the Red mountain area that I could leave in Calgary? Also, do I need any special Yank car insurance form, I thought I saw something about that somewhere.

FWIW, it's about a 6 hour drive from Golden to Spokane so you might just consider flying in to and out of Spokane rather than having a drop charge for a car.

**apex dave** · 08-27-2022, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by GoldMember

FWIW, it's about a 6 hour drive from Golden to Spokane so you might just consider flying in to and out of Spokane rather than having a drop charge for a car.

337 miles in 6 hours equals 56 mph average. Definitely not doable especially in winter.
I know the Canadian part of that road and it's more like 8 or 9 hours minimum in winter.

**whyturn** · 08-27-2022, 07:46 PM

I flew into Seattle and did red, revelstoke and had sights set on whitewater and others. It’s a great area. So many cat areas. Chase storms and have fun.

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**DanoT** · 08-27-2022, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by CoorsLight99

Whistler is crowded but its the easiest place to visit. No car needed take the airport shuttle. Its really the ideal ski destination with the best and easiest town. I love that place for drinking/benders.

The prices are extremely low in the village there is a fucking mcdonalds and supermarket if you have a 100/night condo its the cheapest trip ever off the slopes and things cost the same as they would in Vancouver or Montreal in the bars and nightclubs. Its a great place to go out drinking. I'd love to take a trip back but if you get too hungover and aren't up at 7am you might spend 2 hours waiting for a gondola up the hill.

^^^You are correct. I should have added in my ealier post that Whistler has the best partying and best ski centric shopping in North America...just not the best skiing.