In the life of an aspiring freeskier, there are as many stress-filled nights as there are powder-filled days. It’s an endless tug-of-war between following your passion and finding security; a game that’s rarely won. Filmmaker Daniel Thomson and skier Alex Armstrong chat with us about Daniel’s new film ARMY, what it takes to make skiing happen as a lifestyle, and why it’s worth it.

It’s an intensive course that doesn’t feel intense. Like the layers of an unpredictable snowpack, the lessons of an immersive AST 2 course in the backcountry settle gradually. Here at Purcell Mountain Lodge, you don't learn behind a desk. The lessons seep into the stories you swap around the dining table and in the pause for thought on the uptrack, where a few feet to the left makes all the difference...

In Volume 4 of the Canadian Rockies Annual, our Rocky Mountain Round-Up features the best local spots to catch the northern lights. Check out these resources suggested by Paul to help aspiring astro-photographers make the most of their time under the stars.

Mountain biking season is here. Wondering where to start? Here are our top early-season trails to get the wheels turning and the legs burning.

Some trips are about the destination, others are about the journey. The backcountry trips that stick with us most are the ones that captivate us every step of the way. A hike connecting North Molar Pass, Fish Lakes and Molar Pass (also known as South Molar) is one such unforgettable adventure. Expansive alpine meadows, impressive rock headwalls and encircling peaks will have you spinning round and round in slow-motion 360’s as you soak up the infinite views.

“We don’t always think of our own local history as necessarily being of any greater importance than just to whoever is living here at the time.” Colleen Skidmore, curator of This Wild Spirit at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, gives us insights into the legacy of the women who were pioneering explorers in the Rockies and why their trials and triumphs still resonate with us today.