Kanada

Catskiing at Island Lake Lodge was on the agenda for the last day of our BC road trip. Also known as a cheap version of heli-skiing, cat skiing involves being transported to the most beautiful peaks in the remote backcountry by a snowcat with a passenger cabin.

Endless expanses far away from civilization, good terrain. Light and deep powder snow that disappears behind a white wall at every turn and lets you sink in up to your stomach when you get out of your bindings. Trees so deeply snow-covered that you can barely make them out. Meter-high pillows? these are all thoughts that make you dream of a skiing adventure in Canada – something like the snow conditions in the Alps this season. But then, when envy soon made us burst, then came the turning point?

At four hours, the stage from Whitewater to Fernie was the longest on our tour. Of course, on a trip like this, it's easy to fall back on one of the countless fast food restaurants in the land of endless expanses. A&W became our burger joint of choice. And what can we say: really tasty! You should definitely try it on a trip to Canada.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, we set off from Revelstoke in a southerly direction. Our next destination: the small town of Nelson BC with its Whitewater ski resort. We are lucky that we left Revelstoke so early. The road along the Columbia River in the sunshine is simply a hit. Exactly how you imagine Canada to be. The slopes of the Rockies rise up to the right and left of the river and the glaciers twinkle in the distance.

After our first stop at Kicking-Horse, we continued over the Rogers Pass to Revelstoke two days ago. The first surprise: halfway through the 120 kilometers, we crossed a time zone border, which extended our day by an hour.

A snowstorm greeted us when we arrived in Calgary on Saturday evening. Without any local knowledge, we were glad that a Banff Airport cab pulled out of the airport exit directly in front of us, so we simply followed it in good faith. And as we all know, trust is rewarded, we left the city limits with less than 10 meters of visibility and took Highway 1 west. Shortly before the Rocky Mountains, the snowstorm fortunately cleared, so that we reached the Kicking Horse River Lodge in the small town of Golden shortly before midnight, our accommodation for the next two days.

"Seek and ye shall find." This truism has proven to be true to a large extent on our trip so far. In our search for snow, we found Retired heating engineers, car mechanics who can't help, party mad snowboard pros, the nicest ski resort staff, cool locals and a first timer. Only the much-praised Canadian fresh snow is a master at hiding.

Fog. Gray, dreary weather, long faces. Everyone absorbed in themselves. Welcome to the bus heading to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Unlike the many students, however, it is supposed to take Michi and me to the "Museum of Anthropology". Museum of Anthropology? Never heard of it! And anyway, what does this have to do with our sport of powder skiing?