It's Called 'Powder King' for a Reason

Rating

By: Jon Faulknor & Tyler Gigg Photos: Jon Faulknor

It's February 5th 2005. It's been raining for the past 2 weeks here in Whistler. This is the Longest down time I have ever had in my skiing Life. Talk About depressing. I'm not the only one feeling this. Myself, and two local Whistler Skiers, Alex Vu from Head Tyrolia-Carrera and Tyler Gigg from Salomon started checking out different ski resort web sites searching for snow and nothing looked promising at all, until we hit Powder King resort, located 2 hours north of the infamous logging town of Prince George. 120cms in the past 7 days read the snow report. That was all we needed to see.

A week later the truck was packed and we were on the road. Ten hours later and fueled by Base Energy Drink and Tim Hortons Coffee we were in Prince George. We woke up February 11 in some overpriced motel situated next to the local fire department in Prince George. That was the fastest departure from any motel I have ever experienced. After a quick breakfast at White Spot we were on the road again. Two hours later we arrived at the base of Powder King Ski Resort with the presence of 50cms of fresh, light, dry powder. This is what we had dreamed and longed for all season in Whistler but Ullr had denied us of our staple to live: powder.

We scrambled to get our skis on in true Whistler fashion and fought for the powder from the seemingly non existent crowds that we were used to. For a powder day with so much snow, there was no one around to take what we drove so far for. Lap after lap on the old rickety triple diesel powered chair we took our fair share of lines and then took more. Every lap back we were expecting to see some sort of lift line. Not at Powder King, where 40 people on the hill is a busy day. When 3:30 rolled around there were still fresh lines to be had. As we headed for the bar from the Chateau Atco where we had been graciously put up, and the snow was still falling. With only two groomers I understood why they never got used. The amount of snow falling from the sky explained it all. After looking out the window, after each pitcher, we then realised the tracks from that day had already filled in and it wasn't even 6:00 yet. We knew the next day would be epic as well after talking to some of the locals that frequented the bar.

That night we met Terry, son of Richard Doyle who owns Powder King, and Terry agreed to take us for the locals tour of Powder King the next day. He went ever further than we expected and arranged for a couple of locals to tow us out to the summit of Aszu Mountain so that we could ski down the Easter run. We knew this was special treatment that people rarely get around these parts. We were super stoked for this. This would normally take an hour hiking in waist deep snow, but Terry had delivered us to our newly found playground. This was by far the best run Alex, Tyler and myself have had this season. Skiing down the Easter run was like being in a totally different world. Deep powder, small cliffs and well spaced trees were just some of the features that made this run so unforgettable. As we reached the bottom of our epic run, it felt as though we were skiing in Japan. Willow trees and small shrubs litter the bottom half of the locals well hidden secret.

We got to the bottom and Terry had arranged for a vehicle to pick us up and transport us back to the resort. Twenty years ago Powder King was named Aszu Mountain, but for the past ten years, Richard Doyle and partners have taken it over and kept it's realistic back woods feel. If your ever up for some deep powder tree skiing, don't think twice. Head up to Powder King.