If you are a keen skier, passionate about skiing and or just want to hear perspectives from some of Canada’s top ski media, you will want to take part in a session called "What will the next 50 years bring for the sport of skiing and current ski trends?" led by Iain Macmillan—editor of Ski Canada Magazine; mountain sport writing legend, Whistler local and editor emiterius of Skiing Magazine, Mike Berard; and the very talented Krista Turcasso, who can not only rip on skis but is a top mountain biker and founder of local success story, the Fernie Fix.

This is sure to be a lively session as each one of them will have a dynamic and different perspective. Next up is Al Raine, mayor of Sun Peaks resort municipality, who will share his wealth of knowledge and expertise on the "History of Ski Development in BC and the Future of Mountain Living Towns." Ending Ski Heritage Week will be a spirited session by Sheldon Decosse, Decosse Custom Skis, and Mitchell Scott, publisher, Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine, called "Building Brands for the Future."

If all of this is not enough, during Ski Heritage Week, the celebration of 50 years of skiing is taken from the mountain to main street, as everyone in the community of Fernie celebrates the "Powderful tradition of Skiing, People and Passion" in this mountain town cradled by the Rocky Mountains.

The endless fun continues with a community street party with a live band on Mainstreet, BC Telemark Association Race Weekend, Ski Instructors Reunion (a la the movie Hot Tub Time Machine), torchlight ski run, fireworks and ends with the Griz Bar Heritage Ski Party (famous for keeping Rippers Ripped).  And if this still is not enough . . . snow and more snow keeps on falling in Fernie, close to 40 centimetres of fresh powder fell in 24 hours and more than 100 centimetres new this week. Fernie, home of the legendary powder, continues to have some of the deepest snow in North America and the most snow in the Canadian Rockies; now that is powderful history!

Through a contest on Facebook which received over 600 entries, Fernie has chosen a lucky winner to get the very first public chairlift ride on Polar Peak immediately following the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 11 a.m.  Mark Gallup from The Guide Hut along with some ski buddies will have the privilege to ski the peak first. 

“The staff at Fernie Alpine Resort has worked tirelessly to install this lift over the summer and early winter here in Fernie” said Matt Mosteller, vice-president of sales and marketing at Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. “We are very proud of all the effort from everyone here at the resort and can’t wait for Fernie to now have the most vertical and the most ski runs in the Rockies.”

Along with the grand opening of Polar Peak it’s also Avalanche Awareness Days in Fernie Alpine Resort, learn about the environment around you from the Fernie Alpine Resort Pro Patrol, activities for the whole family.

Full schedule of the day:

11 a.m.: Polar Peak Grand Opening, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Chairlift Base Station.

There will be guided tours for our guests – please note the terrain accessed but the Polar Peak Chairlift is suitable for advanced level skiers and snowboarders.

4 p.m.: Ski the Peak Aprés Party in the Legendary Griz Bar featuring an Avalanche Awareness Days Fundraising Auction and live music from local band Shred Kelly!

Official Website – www.skifernie.com

Potter was drawn into the Rossland life after one short visit three years ago.

“Basically I came (from Calgary) with my wife, we biked for a couple of days in Rossland, and that was it. Within two weeks we had found a place to live. This is our home now. This place is paradise,” he said.

Potter’s long-standing relationship with skiing and mountain biking drew him to Powderhound, where he can let his expertise shine. Customers will see the same great service that they came to expect from previous owner, Don Vockeroth, with a greater focus on technical outerwear, and catering to the backcountry crowd.

“I’m super passionate about skiing,” Potter laughed. “If I don’t ski, it’s not good for the health.”

There’s something else he wants customers to know.

“I’m trying to make sure in the store that everything is strictly MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) or less. It’s pretty important, I think. I was just looking online and saw some of my skis are actually $200 less than MSRP”.

Visit the new Powderhound website here, and get updates on sales and products on the company’s facebook page.

With the completion of the sale, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort now joins Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc., one of the largest private ski resort owner/operators in North America.

"We are proud to be joining the RCR family of resorts. I'm confident there will be strong synergies across all resorts and opportunities for continued growth" says Steve Paccagnan, who will remain leading the resort forward under new ownership as President of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.

“"We are equally as excited to have Kicking Horse Mountain Resort become part of Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.  The addition of Kicking Horse brand to RCR adds another one of North Americas top destination resorts to our family of resorts” says John Shea, Chief Resorts Officer, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc.

It remains business as usual at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, all existing ski packages, passes and joint agreements will continue to be honoured. The resort has had strong start to the season with over 370 cm of snowfall season to date.

Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc. is one of the largest private ski resort owner/operators in North America, now owning six ski resorts across Canada. In addition to the ski resorts, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc. also owns and operates a number of accommodation properties, golf courses, and a central reservation agency.

Every year Business in Vancouver (BIV) newspaper publishes a chart of the largest ski resorts in British Columbia -- ranked by annual skier visits. We have calculated the estimated revenue of resorts in the Kootenay Rockies by multiplying the daily lift price by the estimated annual skier visits. Most of the ski resorts in the Kootenay Rockies did not release their number of skier visits but we have estimated them based on where they appeared on the BIV list (if no number was stated we added 10 per cent to the preceding figure). This estimate does not include any additional revenue garnered from food and beverage, accommodation or ancillary products. Here is how the resorts in the Kootenay Rockies were ranked:

Fernie Alpine Resort    

Provincial Ranking (8)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $68

Annual Skier Visits 385,000                                            

Estimated Revenue (millions) $26.2

Panorama Mountain Village

Provincial Ranking (12)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $73

Annual Skier Visits 165,000                                         

Estimated Revenue (millions) $12.1

Kicking Horse Mtn Resort Golden

Provincial Ranking (14)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $75

Annual Skier Visits 150,000                                       

Estimated Revenue (millions) $11.2

Kimberley Alpine Resort

Provincial Ranking (16)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $63

Annual Skier Visits 154,000                                      

Estimated Revenue (millions) $9.7

Revelstoke Mountain Resort*

Provincial Ranking (--)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $74

Annual Skier Visits 130,000                                      

Estimated Revenue (millions) $9.6

Red Resort – Rossland

Provincial Ranking (18)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $66

Annual Skier Visits 115,000                                      

Estimated Revenue (millions) $7.6

Whitewater Ski Resort

Provincial Ranking (20)

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $63

Annual Skier Visits 66,000                                      

Estimated Revenue (millions) $4

Industry Totals

Daily Ski Pass (Adult) $69 avg price

Annual Skier Visits 1,165,000 skier visits                                     

Estimated Revenue (millions) $80.6 million ski lift revenue

*Revelstoke Mountain Resort did not appear on the list, we have simply estimated their numbers as being in the middle of the pack.