Tearing down the steep trees on the final descent

Classic Kootenay Ski Tours from the Ymir Lodge

Sample the epic tree skiing surrounding a legendary BC ski lodge!

Ski Touring Difficult, Severe

Description

Sitting at the edge of the treeline and surrounded by summits, bowls, chutes and faces, the Ymir Lodge is one of the finest bases for a ski week in southern BC. The lodge is reached via a short helicopter flight from Nelson, making it (by the standards of Canadian ski lodges) pretty straightforward to get to as well. The wood fired sauna out the back of the hut is a nice little touch too!

The terrain above the lodge is as accessible as it is varied and very few of the runs are longer than 500 vertical metres, meaning that the topography feels big enough to be challenging, but not scary. In stable conditions you will be completely spoiled for choice regarding where to go, and there are tree-d runs on all aspects within easy reach of the lodge. None of the terrain in reach of the lodge is glaciated but some of it is open, so there's more to the Ymir area than "just" tree skiing - as if skiing powder in the trees is anyone's idea of a chore.

In this guidebook we've listed everything from short mini golf runs to long, full-day loops. As lodges go the Ymir is fantastic in bad weather, and you won't struggle to find your share of fun in a whiteout, but exploring some of the more distant terrain is highly recommended if you get some blue sky. The 3 big loops described in here (around Qua, Wildhorse and Kututle peaks) are world-class adventures, but none are easy in bad weather, so save them for a sunny day if at all possible.

Whether you get socked in whiteout or blue sky, a week at the Ymir lodge should be on every skier's bucket list!

Routes included