MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2021

64 words :: Melanie Chambers A SNOWY ROCKET SHIP I was begrudging the snowmobile ride. Instead of swooshing down the open slopes of the Rockies or working up a sweat nordic skiing in the forest, I imagined sitting like a small child, immobile and frozen, on a chunk of gas-spewing metal. Clutching the handlebars and squeezing my knees to stay on, my machine burst through the powder, sending plumes of glittering snow into the air. Lurching around the mountain, I could see a pit of rock and snow the size of a football field, where snowmobilers were doing donuts and climbing onto the banks oh-so-high, I thought they’d tip over. This wasn’t a noisy and smelly hunk of metal—this was a snowy rocket ship! An Aussie in our group steers his machine up the slope and takes off. The Toby Creek Adventures guide zooms after him to haul him back. Can’t blame the Aussie: Paradise Bowl beckons all types. A century ago settlers and prospectors arrived with gold rush fever. Or silver rush fever. Between 1901 and 1953, almost 23 million tonnes of silver were extracted from the Paradise Mines. I park my machine in front of the old mine entrance; a sign says 1898. Inside the hut, we munch on giant gooey chocolate cookies and sip cocoa. It’s a different scene than the pictures on the walls of dirt- faced miners in suspenders and plaid shirts. PANORAMA: ENDLESS OPTIONS A four-hour drive from the Calgary airport along the Powder Highway through the Rockies, then another half-hour drive from Invermere, following a wide river and carved-out mountainside, Panorama is the end of the line. The road stops here. For me, experiencing Panorama Mountain Resort is akin to speed- dating a room full of young Tom Sellecks. Should I pick Magnum in his red Ferrari, Magnum paddling or Magnum playing volleyball? You can’t just pick one. At Panorama there’s a plethora of adventures vying for my attention: “Pick me, Melanie! No, Melanie, over here!” SPEED-DATING PANORAMA RESORT TRIP WEST There’s a lot to get acquainted with at this resort in the B.C. Rockies