Let’s Talk About Snow

Let’s Talk About Snow

It’s a myth that Canada’s Inuit have hundreds of words for snow.  Counting generously, according to anthropologist Franz Boaz, experts can come up with about a dozen. I’d counter that the English-speaking subculture of skiers and snowboarders reigns supreme when it comes to terms for Ullr’s gift to winter sports. … Read more

Skiing the Powder Highway

Skiing the Powder Highway

To celebrate another new year of skiing, I ventured down British Columbia’s Powder Highway for the first time to see if it truly was the skier’s ultimate pilgrimage. The numbers make a strong case:  the circular route links 8 ski resorts in interior British Columbia that average 50 feet of … Read more

Skiing Canada’s West Coast

I’ll never forget my first day skiing at Whistler Blackcomb. Freshly laid-off from a seasonal job in northern British Columbia’s oil and gas industry, I headed south to Whistler with no goal other than to lose myself in the snow for the remainder of the winter. It was snowing the … Read more

Skiing in the Alberta Rockies

Skiing in the Alberta Rockies

It’s no accident that I call the Alberta Rockies home.  I didn’t even have a job lined up when I moved to Jasper, Alberta; I just knew I wanted to spend my days skiing the Rocky Mountains. The region is so beautiful that it inspired the first two Canadian National … Read more

Skiing in Canada

Skiing in Canada

I’m a skier.  That’s probably the most accurate introduction I can offer. It’s a good thing, too, because I live in the Canadian Rockies, a region with snowy winters harsh enough to single-handedly make it responsible for Canada’s “Great White North” nickname. More often than not there’s snow in my … Read more