From Golden our great ski trip continued south towards Cranbrook and the Kootenays. It's a good 250-kilometer drive between the two, offering some splendid views of Pursell Mountains and the Rockies along the way.
Big horn crossing.
Just open road.
Cranbrook had just got dumped by almost a meter of snow, which was very evident in downtown. Too bad we didn't have much time to explore the small city buried in snow.
Our accommodation in the area was the very nice St. Eugene which is an old 20th century First Nations schoolhouse turned a golf and casino resort. The historic main building has been restored fantastically and acts as a fine hotel.
I can tell you that there was nothing better than relaxing in the outdoor pool after a long day of skiing.
Just like the exterior, also the historic interior was very well preserved, honoring the old style in all places.
Our first night there happened to be on Valentine's Day which naturally called for a nice steak dinner. The smokehouse at St. Eugene was fantastic.
Next day was a cloudy and we decided to head to
Fernie for our fourth ski day. Fernie was nice, but thanks to the passing Pineapple Express, the weather was wet and windy with many icy runs, which deterred some of our excitement. With more fresh snow our experience might have been very different, as the runs seemed fun.
Last two days were spent in
Kimberly which is a smaller family-friendly resort. On our first day the weather was appalling with heavy rain (and snow at the top), but the second day was much, much better.
What a fantastic last day!
Finally it was time to head back home. It is 840 kilometers from Cranbrook to Vancouver and we split the drive in two, spending a night in Osoyoos. Along the way driving conditions varied from one extreme to the other, but we didn't have any problems getting back home. Our 2500-kilometer road trip had come to an end.
All in all we had a great trip with lots of sunshine and four very different ski resorts. We liked them all for different reasons and the main reason for choosing these particular resorts was the RCR Card they share, which offers very inexpensive multi-day skiing. I highly recommend getting it if in the area.
While winter feels far away, the next is never too far and we are already making plans for it. More on that later on.