The ultimate year in BC: snowboarding and biking in Fernie

There’s no telling where a winter season could lead. This time next year, you might be teaching in Japan, working in France, or living year-round in Canada.

For Charlie, his Nonstop snowboard instructor course was the start of an adventure that led to an awesome life in the mountains of British Columbia.

The powder plan

For me, signing up for the Fernie 11 week snowboard instructor course was a big decision. I’d planned to blow my savings on a dream-come-true powder adventure through Japan. No work. Pure riding.

I’d spent my past three winters working and snowboarding in Val d'Isere. Life was good but I worked a lot and I was sick of missing those precious pow days. Time to treat myself.

My dreams shifted from Japanese onsens to Fernie hot-tubs and BC snow.

Then I discovered Nonstop – a company that offered a way I could still ride that pow, yet walk away with a wealth of new knowledge. After doing some research, my dreams shifted from Japanese onsens to Fernie hot-tubs and BC snow.

It was on. I booked the course and found some flights for early January. With a Fernie season pass waiting for me, I headed out a few weeks before the course started to get to know the mountain and settle in. As the other Nonstoppers drifted into town, we got to know one-another before the official fun started.

Best season of my life

It didn't take long to feel at home in Fernie. It had taken eight years or so of exploring the world, dragging a bike or snowboard around with me, to discover this little gem in the Rockies.

Crazy snow, both in amount and quality. I've ridden all over the world, but the snow here is different. Such low water content that it's tough to catch your breath as you rip down another untracked tree run.

I was stoked to end the winter with my CASI level 2 and park level 1, plus a bunch of new experiences under my belt and a whole load of solid friendships. It’s got to be said, cheers Nonstop for the season of my life. And that's saying something.

I was stoked to end the winter with my CASI level 2 and park level 1, plus a bunch of new experiences under my belt and a whole load of solid friendships.

Spring sessions

As I waved goodbye to the rest of the Nonstoppers it was time for my next adventure. But I wasn’t ready for these good times to end just yet.

That spring, I headed to Alberta with a few friends to ride out the rest of the season on a Sunshine Village Spring Pass – a few hundred bucks for five weeks extra springtime skiing in Banff. Such a fun time was had, forming a formidable crew for the spring sessions.

Coming back to Fernie after six weeks away, I realised how special the place was to me. It was stunning with the spring melt in full swing and a lot more colour on the trees. Something came over me and I knew I was meant to be here. I had to stick around for my first full summer and see the seasons come and go.

Mountain bike season

In early June, my Canadian work visa came through, so I got stay out for the summer mountain bike season. I worked as a painter-decorator, out in the sunshine all day, tunes going. I also worked for Fernie Alpine Resort as a part time lift-operator – a great way to get a free pass and meet fellow mountain bikers.

It was crazy to ride the same mountain on two-wheels, with dirt beneath me rather than snow.

Biking on the ski hill is awesome. It was crazy to ride the same mountain on two-wheels, with dirt beneath me rather than snow. That mountain is steep when you're on a bike, and those trees get pretty damn scary. Downhill biking in the Rockies has without doubt given me a newfound respect for those guys in the big bike movies.

And there's so much to do in summer, with events happening most weekends in town – movies being filmed, the Trans-Rockies mountain bike race, plus 2-3 months of constant high 20s sunshine. If you’re proactive and positive, things seem to happen. Doors open if you get out there, make friends, get a bike, go for a hike and get involved.

SUSTAINING THE ADDICTION

As signs of winter began to emerge, snowboarding was back on my mind, and I got a job at Edge of the World, a snowboard shop in downtown Fernie. Inside this place, the walls are covered in snowboards that have been donated by the likes of Jake Burton and Craig Kelly over the years – it’s a shrine to snowboarding.

Whether you're 18 or 48, have skied the glitzy French resorts, or learnt the ropes at your local snowdome, Fernie and Nonstop will show you the time of your life.

For now, I’m gearing up for another winter in Fernie. And if you're headed to Fernie too, then lucky you. Seriously. I've been there, I know the feeling. That stress-free, healthy lifestyle in Canada is so close it hurts. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

Whether you're 18 or 48, have skied the glitzy French resorts, or learnt the ropes at your local snowdome, Fernie and Nonstop will show you the time of your life.

Start your own Fernie adventure by checking out our ski instructor courses / snowboard instructor courses.