Living the Canadian Winter Dream at Logden Lodge
Living the Canadian Winter Dream at Logden Lodge
OCTOBER 5, 2017 • WINTER JOURNAL • BY DutchiesDoSki
Being passionate powder skiers from the Netherlands, the question we get asked the most is: “What is your favourite place to ski?” Over the years we have made some exceptional and unforgettable trips like skiing down an active volcano in Japan, hiking up an unpronounceable summit in Iceland surrounded by Aztec blue fjords or ski-kiting in Spitsbergen, where we had to carry a riffle to protect us from polar bears. We simply love to travel to exotic locations and to go on new adventures.
However, for the past few winters, we returned to the Canadian Kootenays. It has simply become our recipe for success to satisfy our need for limitless powder.
The annual snowfall of twelve metres, the easy pace of life, the breath-taking dense outdoors and of course the mountains of powder makes it our all-time favourite place to ski. Having now discovered the peaceful, cosy, inviting and luxurious cabins at Logden Lodge, I know without doubt we will be back for more!
The Kootenays are located at the heart of the Powder Highway, where you will find over fifty ski operations, eight ski resorts and dozens of heli- and cat ski operations. The readers of Powder Magazine – the largest ski magazine in the world – have voted Nelson, together with the neighbouring town of Rossland, "Best Ski Town in North America," and we couldn’t agree more – as this was our sixth visit.
Like the year before, last February we stayed in the perfectly located boutique cabins of Logden Lodge again.
The Lodge is only a 15-minute drive to Whitewater, 30-minutes to Kootenay pass, or less than an hour away from Red Mountain and multiple cat ski operations like Valhalla Powder, White Grizzly Cat skiing, Selkirk Wilderness and Retallack. If you are not sure where to go cat skiing, the owners Paul and Annelies are more than willing to help you arrange your trip, from booking a cat or heli ski trip in the region or making sure the bath is ready to go when you get home!
After a long day of ripping powder around Whitewater the roaring fire is inviting and we simply can’t wait to take off our ski boots to enjoy a nice cold beer in front of the fireplace, with only the sounds of the crackling fire and the small running Elise creek. The relaxation and unwinding continues with a nice long soak in the big, deep bath, followed by a lovely home cooked meal.
Sitting in front of the wood burning stove in the soft, fluffy robe I check if our gloves, boots and hats have dried out as tomorrow is supposed to be another big powder day, filled with the legendary B.C. "cold smoke," – powder so light that your spray follows you like a cloud of smoke in the air.
The four secluded cabins are located on 42 acres of private land in a dense old growth forest and because the cabins are spread out, it feels like you are staying in your own private forest, just outside the small town of Ymir (pronounced as Waimer), with only a few hundred inhabitants. Back towards the end of the 19th century, Ymir was home to a full-on gold rush and the accompanying pioneering spirit is very much alive today.
Paul and Annelies the owners of Logden Lodge are two former Dutch diplomats who decided to immigrate to Canada to live in the outdoors. In only seven months’ time they designed and built the four logged cabins from scratch!
In case you want to take a day off from skiing, you can do all sorts of fun activities from your porch: there are cross-country and snowshoe trails right from your doorstep! And should you not be much of a skier, in spring, skis and boards are gradually replaced by hiking boots, mountain bikes and kayaks.
Other blogs you might like:
Discover the area, the Nordic way
Why you'll want to explore the area on snowshoes
How to Beat the Traffic to Whitewater Ski Resort