Our winter weekend getaway to the new-and-improved Panorama Mountain Resort in southeast B.C. took us to the top of the world--here's our itinerary to help you achieve great heights, too.
stay: Cosy and hugely convenient, accommodations at Panorama range to suit all tastes and budgets, with many literally a snowball's throw from a chairlift. Between the upper and lower villages, your options are wide open (bonus: a free gondola runs between the two areas all day and late into the night).
sup: Top-notch dining experiences include the recently opened Monticola, with fresh Italian-fusion fare and a mouthwatering list of handcrafted and expertly executed cocktails (try the Italian Gunfire--a reimagined Old Fashioned with, wait for it, a red wine float--or a house Caesar with homemade clam juice). Or head over to Cliffhanger at the Greywolf Golf Course, where delicate modern European dishes satiated our fancy appetites. A meal at one of the resort's three mountain cabins is also worth doing; it's just a short chairlift ride to Panorama's Mile One or Summit hut, where you can enjoy a cheese and chocolate fondue feast, or, ski to Elkhorn cabin for raclette--a traditional Swiss alpine-style cheese grill--and an exhilarating night ski down to the base when you're done. All serve delightful B.C. wines and brews to wet your winter whistle.
spa: No ski weekend would be complete without some well-deserved downtime. Pop over to Pure Massage for a hot-stone massage and coconut passion fruit wrap (talk about yummy). After you're sufficiently blissed out, slide into Panorama Springs Pools--Canada's largest slope-side hot pools--to soak away those aches and pains après. With three steaming in-ground pools set right at the base of the mountain, you can bathe with a view (in other words, the perfect end to a perfect day).
So many (new) reasons to strap on those skis. --Amy Dillon
Panorama Mountain Resort, 2000 Panorama Dr., Panorama, B.C., 1-800-663-2929, www.panoramaresort.com