Written by Sharon and Lee - (more ski and bike stoke here via Instagram)

Begbie

Two of the more popular backcountry areas close to Revelstoke are Mt. Begbie and the Fingers.

Begbie is about 19km from town, or another 10km past the Mt MacPherson cross country ski area, and accessed from a logging road. It's also off Hwy 23 and heads up to a clearcut and eventually to a ridge of the south flank of Mt. Begbie.

On our one sunny rest pow day we decided to check out Mt. Begbie. We drove to the access road to find many cars there - so much for this being the quiet spot I guess! A few were able to park off the road. We followed the skin track up, past the clear cut and a bit up the trees where we decided to turn around for a quick run down. The ridgeline is at about 2100m and its entirely possible to sled-access a good deal of terrain if you punch up the road. We got to 1430m and had a great run back down to the car which was parked at 600m. It would have taken us another 2-3 hours to gain the ridge but due to sheer laziness we passed on the longer tour..

Old Map from 112 Restaurant at the Regency Hotel showing the old CMH Town Pow that they no longer use since its become so popular with the Ski Tourers. 112 Chutes is the Begbie area we skied.

Parking. Best to park well off the road as logging trucks use Hwy 23 all year

Willows were finally getting covered

View from the clearcut, you can see RMR on picture left just under the clouds

Not bad pow in cedar lane- huge trees in this area

View of Mt. Cartier from Begbie

Google Map image of our tracks

The Fingers

The Fingers area is about 9km from town, south on Hwy23 and is accessed off the Mt. MacPherson Cross Country ski area. The Fingers is the go to for Town Hits and when it's on, town hits are the shiznit! With 50 then another 25 falling cold and dry off we went to ski blower Monashees pow. This area is a treat when the storms come rolling in and temps stay cool. We lucked out as it was just below freezing in town at 600m. After some hefty trailbreaking we had punched in a skintrack to 2100m just below the ridgeline to do lap after lap of cold blower.

The best; when you're done its a fast exit via a set track to the MacPherson XC ski trails and then back to your vehicle. Although this area can be crowded note that there are quite a few "fingers" so its not too hard to find your own hallways and your own pow stash.

Trail breaking could be challenging today! This hazard sign is at the MacPherson XC ski area boundary

Yes oh yes oh yes

Made for good pow!

What it looks like when the sun is out

Places to Stay and Eat

We also stayed at the Best Western Plus Revelstoke. Being built in 2010 this hotel is relatively new and has contemporary facilities. With particular importance for ski tourers it has a huge delicious breakfast including choices of Eggs, Sausage/Bacon, Waffles and more. This hotel also has a hot tub and fitness center. It's rooms are huge and 4 people could easily fit in a room. With its location adjacent the highway, a worthy breakfast for active skiers and a resort shuttle stop at its front door this is a fantastic choice for ski-tourers to stay at in Revy.

The Regent Hotel is the Best Western's sister hotel in downtown Revelstoke and has some fine dining options where we opted to indulge in fine food at the 112 Restaurant. You definitely won't leave hungry and/or disappointed.

Breakfast ... so much more than just cornflakes

Room and Hot Tub

Another fantastic place to eat is at the 112 Restaurant, at the Regency Hotel also owned by the Best Western. Just make sure get there before the heli skiers inundate the kitchen!

Prime Rib and Filet Mignon!

About The Author

Follow

stash member Lee Lau

Professional Recreationalist. I ski mainly in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia in the Whistler/Pemberton area. I often travel to the Selkirks, the Monashees and to other touring destinations. http://instagram.com/sharon_and_lee