FINNISH UP A GREAT DAY
What’s better than returning to a backcountry lodge in a pristine alpine setting after a day of ski-touring? Watching the setting sun give way to the twinkling stars and spotlights on the snow-weighted tree boughs from the sauna’s picture window. Selkirk Mountain Experience’s new build, set on a cliff overlooking the powdery Monashees, is triple-layered cedar inside with a wood-fired steam sauna stove imported from Finland. Steven Threndyle’s backcountry lodges roundup begins on page 20 this issue.
Red Mountain’s end-of-summer welcome into the Ikon Pass club is one reason to consider this classic Kootenays destination of challenging slopes and boundless powder. Reflecting on it from one of The Josie’s new slopeside, cedar-barrel saunas (after an indulgent spa treatment at the boutique hotel) is another. A first stop on eastern B.C.’s Powder Highway, Red is in North America’s top-10 club of most terrain—and number one for terrain per skier. Ikon pass holders get seven days at Red with no blackout days.