The Real Ski Report for January 19th

Cold days and epic powder. Paul Karchut tells us about what some of his ski reporters are calling the best skiing they've had. Take note, World Snow Day is Sunday (not Saturday). Youth 17 and under can ski for free that day at the Canmore Nordic Centre.

Download Flash Player to view this content.

It's a rare gift to get conditions like the ones we had at Rogers Pass over the weekend. My buddy Cam and I hit the road on Friday evening in Frank (the truck camper's new name). While we had dry roads all the way to the pass, the moment we pulled into the parking lot, snow started to hammer. And it just kept falling!

On Saturday morning, there was already close to a foot of fresh sitting on the hood of the truck. The trail breaking was nasty, hard work and as my lungs laboured, it was a reminder that I'd spent a little too much time skiing at resorts over the holidays. The fresh storm snow had a strange, sort of sandy consistency to it that didn't fully allow the skins on the bottom of our skis to grip. For every step of deep trail breaking, there'd be half a step back.

But getting to the top of the "Teddy Bear trees" and pointing our skis down the slope, suddenly put all that hard work into perspective. Picking up a bit of speed before dipping into my first turn, there was that sudden sense of weightlessness, diving from one face shot to another. Looking back at Cam as he charged down the slope, powder swirled over his head and broke off his chest like a freighter punching through the ocean.

It always amazes me to see how many French-Canadians are skiing at Rogers Pass. It's like a pilgrimage for young Quebecois. But we all know about the quality of skiing that Quebec most often enjoys - more ice than snow, really. There's a certain rhythm that you need to find in your powder skiing and a very specific balance point: too far forward and your tips will dive; too far back and you'll wash out your turn. Both totally ruin the flow and can make powder skiing more of a frustration than a nirvana. I couldn't help but wonder how our ice-accustomed Quebecois friends were fairing in the surrounding valleys. This would be a rude introduction to the world of pow skiing!

The following morning, we woke up to more fresh snow and a sky breaking into patches of blue. The Parks Canada officials told us that a bunch of terrain was opening up following some avalanche closures so we again, hacked our way up for some fresh tracks in Hermit. Everything was perfect - the kind of day you dream of and only have the opportunity to ski a few days a season, if you're lucky.

This taste of perfect powder skiing has been my fuel all week through the cold snap we've had to live through. If winter can bring us that kind of quality powder skiing, I'm cool with hunkering down through a minus thirty cold snap from time to time.