BC in BC

With me unemployed and Laura looking at a three-day weekend, we decided to get out of town. We went to British Columbia.

We drove past the Missions.



And then Flathead Lake.



We camped at a still-open state park near Eureka, a half-hour shy of the border. On Friday morning, under lightly-snowing skies, we crossed into Canada and went to Fernie.



We toured downtown and took a short hike before heading over a quite snowy Kootenay Pass to Salmo and then on to Nelson, where we gave in and spent $74 on the cheapest hotel we could find. I love BC, but man, is it expensive. The cheap combo meal at A&W is nearly $10, and gas rang in at about $4.40 a gallon.

Pretty place, though.



In the morning we headed up to Whitewater ski area, which was closed but sporting a few inches of new snow and a parking lot half-full with locals skiing, hiking and sledding. Laura took a short cross-country tour while I skinned up to overlook Ymir Bowl.



Parties toured higher. There was about a half-meter at the base and a meter or more at 6,500 feet -- enough to ski, but not enough to venture into the rocky bowls.

This party went halfway up The Nose before dropping in.



With it still snowing lightly we went back to Nelson to visit its great coffee house, Oso Negro. Nelson is truly a spectacular town but we did not want to blow more money on sketchy hotel rooms, so we drove back to Whitewater, this time in heavy snow, and camped in the parking lot. The wind blew all night long.

In the morning we headed down to Salmo and then up Kootenay Pass, the highest "all-use year-round paved road in BC," or so the sign at the summit stated.

With light snow and low visibility our few ours on the summit was more a tour than a ski, but I did get in some turns.



We crossed into Idaho south of Creston, stopped for a coffee in Sandpoint, and took a swing by Lookout Pass, which had just opened for the season.



Back home by 7, happy and tired.