Phoenix, the resident Bernese mountain dog at Selkirk Snowcat Skiing, greets us with something between a bark and a celebratory howl. Much like Selkirk’s West Kootenays tenure, Phoenix is big, beautiful, and friendly to all shredders. Though he doesn’t ski, this dog’s life is nonetheless enviable: he makes 24 new friends at Meadow Mountain Lodge every week—the maximum number of guests skiing or riding at one time in Selkirk’s terrain, almost double the size of Whistler Blackcomb.

by Ned Morgan   ::   photos by Glen Harris

Just once during our on-mountain time did we encounter the other guests, swooping down a chute so far in the distance they were less than gnat-sized. This is a portion of Kootenay mountain powder so generous that even in the 5 day/6 night package offered by SSS, you will barely scratch the surface.

The ML crew spent three powder-infused days at Selkirk, our guides leading us into countless pillowy glades, uncarved bowls, and joyous runouts. The snow quality here is evident by the fact that when we arrive it hasn’t snowed for almost a week, but our guides have no trouble finding freshies for us all day, every day.

Stay tuned this fall for our in-depth profile of the personalities and terrain of Selkirk Snowcat Skiing.