I’ve been backcountry skiing in Rogers Pass (Glacier National Park, BC) for the last seven years and I still have a few routes to check off my bucket list. Rogers Pass is known within the ski touring and ski mountaineering community as a mecca for the sport. The area offers epic mountain scenery, bountiful high-quality snow and exciting ski touring routes accessible from well-maintained parking lots strewn across the Trans-Canada Highway. Let’s talk about the terrain – it’s from another world! It’s almost as if it rose from the ground specifically for backcountry skiing. If you’re there for a few days, you’ll have a chance to explore expansive alpine bowls, old-growth forests, steep couloirs and high peaks. You’ll find below all you need to know for backcountry skiing in Rogers Pass, BC. While the terrain caters more to advanced and expert backcountry skiers and splitboarders, a few areas will ease you into its difficulty.

When To Visit

The ski touring season generally runs from November to April, with December-March being the prime months for skiing at Rogers Pass. The season can be divided into several sections.

Early Season: Stretching from November to mid-December, it’s usually a stormy span, featuring bad weather, high snowfall amounts (or rain) and poor visibility. Granted, you’ll find some calm periods between storms when you can chase the alpine snow. It’s a great time to avoid the crowds and get some so-so-sweet faceshots. While the fresh snow is plentiful, the base isn’t built up yet. The sharks are out! Keep that in mind when taking your brand-new skis for a spin in November. You’ll mostly meet locals doing some tree skiing pow laps and guides giving out avalanche courses.

Mid Season: Stretching from mid-December to mid-March, it’s the bulk of the skiing at Rogers Pass and a great time to visit. Yes, you’ll fend off the crowds but you’ll also find a great balance between storms and bluebird days. By January, the snow base is deep and you’ll hardly hit any rocks. The later part of the mid-season, past mid-February, tends to offer more sunshine and less snowfall, perfect for the high alpine trips.

Late Season: Stretching from mid-March to late April, This is the spring skiing season and one for the ski-mountaineers out there. It’s the season of sunny skies, icy uptracks, ski crampons, peak bagging, and epic glaciers. The low-elevation forested skiing tends to lack in ski quality at that time of the year. You have to fight your way through that elevation band to get to the good stuff in the alpine.

Getting There

The Flight: You can either fly into Kelowna, BC or Calgary, AB, both having well-established airports. If staying in Revelstoke, Kelowna makes more sense as it shortens the drive and avoids potential road closures when catching your flight back home. If Golden is the destination, the Calgary airport offers a shorter drive and frequent flights.

The Drive: Nestled at a high point in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Rogers Pass is accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1). It’s approximately 65km east of Revelstoke (a 45-minute drive) and 80km west of Golden (a 60-minute drive). Remember that the drive may be longer due to poor road conditions, common during the winter months. The drive from Golden to Rogers Pass is generally in better shape since it’s in the range’s rain shadow, and sees lower precipitation amounts and cooler temperatures. I may get struck by lightning for writing this: Revelstoke has slightly better amenities than Golden. After all, Revelstoke is a bigger town. Make sure your vehicle (rental or not) is equipped with winter tires. I cannot overstate how bad conditions can get on this stretch of the highway, especially for drivers unaccustomed to Canadian winter roads.

Avalanche Control And Parks Canada Permits

Rogers Pass is known for its spectacular backcountry skiing and splitboarding, but its terrain also poses a significant avalanche risk. Avalanche control is crucial for ensuring the safety of travellers on the Trans-Canada highway corridor. Parks Canada uses artillery shells and remotely detonated explosives to trigger avalanches in suspect start zones. Authorities prohibit highway travel when avalanche control is in progress. After all, you wouldn’t want to be doing avalanches as you travel through our beautiful mountain scenery

Parks Canada has established the Rogers Pass Winter Permit System to ensure backcountry travellers don’t interfere with the avalanche control program which protects the highway. The winter permit system depends on user compliance. Parks Canada allows us to go skiing in Rogers Pass. Failure to do so would force authorities to prohibit access to the park for backcountry skiing and splitboarding. I cannot say this enough: read about the Winter Permit System before visiting the area.

Terrain, Snowpack, Avalanches

Skiing at Rogers Pass is so good. The simple answer is TERRAIN! I used to call it the mini-Alps of Canada but with better snow quality and slightly gentler terrain. Everything is skiable and featured here! You’ll find old-growth forests, alpine bowls, knife-edge ridge tops and complex glaciers. One day you can be skiing the deepest powder you’ve ever encountered and the next you’re scrambling across a ridge with skis on your back and then skiing down a gnarly couloir. There’s so much variety to be had! Granted, most of the skiable terrain in Rogers Pass is better suited to advanced and expert skiers with good fitness due to the nature of the terrain and the length as well as the elevation gain required to complete most routes.

It also requires a healthy dose of avalanche awareness and some knowledge of avalanche terrain management. Due to the high snowfall, deep snowpack and steep terrain, the area sees very frequent avalanches. Some pose a real hazard to backcountry travellers. It’s worth checking out the daily avalanche bulletin released by Avalanche Canada’s very talented forecasters.

The area harbours an inter-continental snowpack, meaning large amounts of dry-ish snow, on average about 10m of snowfall at treeline. Arguably, the ski conditions found in Rogers Pass are some of the best in Canada – and maybe even in the world! This also comes with its fair share of avalanche problems including persistent instabilities (buried surface hoar, crusts or facet layers) and surface instabilities (storm and wind slabs). Our snowpack depth varies from 200-400+ cm depending on the season. Generally speaking, the growing snowpack smoothes the terrain roughness (boulders, trees, small cliffs, etc.) by mid-December or January depending on the season.

Recommended Routes

Skiing at Rogers Pass involves choice. There are hundreds of known backcountry routes to the point where you can tee up classic trips and get an epic day out of it. However, not all routes are viable options given the snow quality, weather and avalanche stability. Avalanche skills training, backcountry experience and prior terrain knowledge help decipher where and when to visit certain areas. If at all in doubt, don’t hesitate to hire a certified ACMG ski or mountain guide. ACMG guides are the only individuals who can offer guided services within the Glacier National Park’s boundaries. If you’re comfortable in avalanche terrain and have a solid group to go out with, here are a few route recommendations from a guy who has seen quite a bit.

For an appetizer: The Macdonald West Shoulder, otherwise known as the NRC Slopes, is a great introduction to skiing at Rogers Pass, better suited to novice backcountry skiers and splitboarders who have prior avalanche skills training. It’s a great area to learn and get some quality powder laps.

For some blower powder: The Bonney Moraines offer short laps full of pillows and natural booters. Given its northern aspect encircled by glaciers, the snow tends to stay dry and fluffy even during warm periods. The large prominent moraine provides shelter from the constant downflow wind.

For some quality tree skiing: The Ursus Minor Trees are unbelievable at times. It’s a popular tour that’s accessible to a wide array of backcountry travellers and generally well-sheltered from the elements. Gaining access to this treed shoulder involves crossing many crowded avalanche paths as you follow Connaught Creek.

For skiing on glaciers: The Dome Col Traverse is an absolute classic involving uptracking and skiing two glaciers, a short bootpack and some of the best views in the area. I complete the tour every year, with guests and friends alike and it never ceases to make my jaw drop.

For the ski-mountaineers: The Jupiter Traverse is one of my favorite tours in Rogers Pass. If you can muster the 1700m vertical gain, you’ll get a chance to bag three peaks, scramble across the Jupiter Massif, rappel into a line and ski some cold smoke on the Asulkan Glacier. What a blast!

Parking Lots and Backcountry Huts

Parks Canada maintains and plows several parking lots that provide access to our world-class backcountry terrain. Each parking lot gives you access to distinct valleys offering various tours and a specific flavour. Here’s a list from east to west:

Related: The Backcountry Huts of Rogers Pass: Cozy Up And Shred

The park also has three backcountry huts (more like 3-1/2 huts) operated by the ACC (Alpine Club of Canada): the A.O. Wheeler, Asulkan, Glacier Circle and Sapphire Cabin. They can be rented by the day. Plan your trip well in advance to book your stay. While the first three are comfortable huts with a dedicated sleeping space, well-stocked kitchens and some form of heating, the Sapphire Cabin is a glorified steel box at just under 2600m. You are guaranteed a cold night while up there. The Glacier Circle Cabin is seldom visited as it’s remote and doesn’t offer many skiable routes. It’s often utilized on the Bugaboo To Rogers Traverse, a 9-day adventure through the Purcell and Selkirk Mountains.

Resources For Getting Around Rogers Pass

There’s a plethora of terrain and weather resources to plan your ski trip in Rogers Pass which you can find in this article: Planning A Ski Tour At Rogers Pass.

In addition to the content found on The Uptrack, Douglas Sproul‘s book, Rogers Pass: North and Rogers Pass: South is an awesome resource for getting around. It offers detailed terrain photos and a brief route description summarizing his 28+ years of experience in the area. He also sells a topographic map including all the routes. Unsurprisingly, both this website and Doug’s book complement each other well. You’ll also find the Parks Canada staff at the Discovery Center very friendly and helpful.

As with all wilderness areas operated by Parks Canada, Glacier National Park follows the same rules. You’ll need a daily or yearly park pass to visit the park (unless you’re simply travelling through it). In addition to that, you’ll need an overnight parking permit if staying at one of the three backcountry huts operated by the ACC (Alpine Club of Canada) and a wilderness camping permit if pitching your tent within the park boundaries.

Gear Rental

Many folks ask me where they can rent ski touring gear including the avalanche tools (probe, shovel, and transceiver), necessities for skiing in Rogers Pass. Both Revelstoke and Golden have shops that offer backcountry gear rental.

Revelstoke:

• Powder Rental
• Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Golden:

• Higher Grounds Sports
• Avalanche Safety Solutions (avalanche equipment only)

Closing Statement

Now you know what I know about skiing in Rogers Pass – well not everything but I’ve got to keep some secrets to myself. If you’re new to ski touring or backcountry skiing, don’t hesitate to check out my article on How To Get Into Ski Touring. It’s a great spot to learn about the outdoor sport, the gear and training required as well as some of the resources useful to plan a tour. I’m truly passionate about Rogers Pass and the skiing/mountaineering it has to offer. I hope you do to after reading this post. See you on the slopes!