When Dean Wormer put the hammer down on the Delta house in Animal House, the boys were only left with one thing to do. No, I'm not talking about chugging a whole fifth of Jack Daniels like Bluto did. I'm talking about a good, old-fashioned... Road Trip!
With all of life's daily responsibilities, obligations and challenges for all of us adults, many of us have lost our sense of adventure and fun. Ask yourself: When's the last time you decided on a whim to get in the car and go on a short trip without weeks or even months of research and preparation? I'm guessing many of you are still thinking about it.
With this season's early snow drought, right now more than ever is the time to break routine and hit the road chasing snow. It doesn't have to be quite like the road trip in Animal House, but if it was... just think of all the stories you could tell on Monday morning around the water cooler.
With today's technology, all the reservations, ski reports, snow forecasts and most anything else you need for travel info are all at your fingertips. While you're driving, your spouse or buddy can be doing all the research for a spontaneous ski weekend.
Down south, there's Grand Targhee — even if it is a hefty eight-hour drive from Spokane. The Ghee, as the locals call it, is a 15-minute drive up from the cool mountain town of Driggs, Idaho, that hasn't been too terribly impacted by big dollar out-of-towners. Both Driggs and the small Idaho town of Victor have the ski town vibe going on — after all that's where many of the Jackson Hole locals live because they were driven out by the huge cost of living in that Wyoming town.
The Ghee has that down-home feel that ski hills used to have. The mountain has some legit terrain, and it's big, with 3,000 skiable acres and over 2,400 feet of vert that should get those legs burning. For après, the Trap Bar is legendary. I highly recommend Wydaho Nachos made from fresh cut waffle fries smothered with all the traditional nacho fixings. The mountain has lodging, as does Driggs.
A little farther south in Utah lie Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton. They've been having decent snow accumulation, and they're part of the IKON Pass. You can expect to spend 10 hours in the car getting there from Spokane. Might be a good time to use those frequent-flyer miles, as both Delta and Southwest airlines fly direct to Salt Lake City. Each of these resorts is just a 45-minute drive from SLC, so lodging shouldn't be too much of a challenge.
And let's not forget about Powder Mountain outside of Eden, Utah, the largest ski area in the United States by skiable acreage, covering 8,464 acres — huge considering that Schweitzer has 3,200 acres. Who knows? Maybe you could get lucky and be in the Wasatch Range for one of its infamous Utah dumps?
If you're thinking north of I-90 and a little closer to home, British Columbia's Panorama is doing excellent snow-wise this season. (Check out John Grollmus's story on page 22.)
Lake Louise and Kicking Horse are not much farther north. The Lake and the Horse are awesome places to ski, and if the terrain doesn't get your heart pumping, the scenery at each resort will. Trust me, the Canadian Rockies are a sight behold.
Five hours northwest of Spokane is Big White, on the outskirts of Kelowna, B.C. Big White is a fairly large resort with 16 lifts and over 2,700 patrolled acres. Just a half-hour away, Kelowna provides lots of options for food and lodging. If you're a wine aficionado, you'll like Kelowna, which has more than 40 wineries within a 20-minute drive. This could be a whole new road trip movie, a mix between Aspen Extreme and Sideways.
One other big advantage of heading to the Great White North is the exchange rate; you're going to get more bang for your buck with the U.S. dollar being worth a whopping $1.34 in Canada.
There's been good snow news in our region, with a nice dump of local snow just after the New Year, and hopefully more to come both here and in the outlying resorts mentioned above. You only live once, so get out and make an adventure of your next ski weekend. Or just think about the impact that legendary road trip from Providence to Aspen had on Harry and Lloyd. What more can I say, other than... if some kid offers to trade you — straight up — your Subaru for his mini-bike, you'll know what to do. ♦
Bob Legasa has been a Snowlander contributor since 1994. He's also a Hayden-based independent videographer, TV producer and snowsports event promoter with his Freeride Media company.
CANADA LOWDOWN
If you're looking to dream about a trip to Canada, take a ride on the Powder Highway... via the information superhighway. The Powder Highway connects eight resorts in the Kootenay Rockies in a huge loop that runs just north of here: Panorama, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Kimberley, Fairmont, RED Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie. You can tour all they have to offer at powderhighway.com.
Heidi Korven says the area's winter has been a lot like ours — a little slow to start, but with typical snowfall since the new year. As media relations specialist for Kootenay Rockies Tourism, she's up to speed on all that's shiny and new.
"Whitewater, they just installed a new quad chair," Korven says of the resort just above Nelson, B.C. "It really spreads the skiers out so you don't have to wait in lift lines. It also gets you more access to new terrain.
"RED Mountain brought back their single ride snowcat, Mt. Kirkup Cat Ski," she adds. "Every Saturday and Sunday, for you and 11 other people, it's like you get a whole mountain to yourself — and it's cheaper than a full day of cat skiing." (Which RED also offers.)
Post-COVID, a lot of things that were put on the shelf are coming back, too. "The Fernie Ice Bar is open again, and RED has its Rafters Bar — they win a ton of awards, kind of like the Griz Bar at Fernie."
She also points out that the summer is getting a big boost, too, with more mountain coasters coming online later this year. Similar to the Alpine Coaster above Leavenworth, Panorama is building one, while Kicking Horse above Golden, B.C., has a new sky bridge attraction.
— TED S. McGREGOR JR.
Learn more at powderhighway.com. To follow the snowfall in what's been a tricky year, check stay tuned to onthesnow.com and snow-forecast.com.
GETTING THERE
Sometimes it almost seems like Canada is another country or something, but check the map and you'll see it's all pretty close for a multiday road trip. Here are some drive times from Spokane:
Big White: 5 hours
Fernie: 4.75 hours
Kicking Horse: 6 hours
Kimberley: 4 hours
Lake Louise: 6.5 hours
Panorama: 5.5 hours
RED Mountain: 2.5 hours
Sun Peaks: 7 hours
Revelstoke: 6.25 hours
Silver Star: 5 hours
Whitewater: 3 hours
Learn more about skiing here in the Inland Northwest and up into Canada by picking up the 2023-24 Inlander Winter Guide on Inlander racks and at visitor centers around the PNW.