If you’ve ever been to Lake Louise Ski Resort, you may have wondered what lies out of sight just beyond the slopes. Whatever you’re picturing, it’s all that and more. The Skoki Region offers some of Banff’s premier multi-day hiking, backpacking and camping experiences. Trips are easily customized by linking various campgrounds, or tacking on exciting scrambles and side-trips. Don’t forget your camera as the mountain passes and alpine lakes on this trip will have you filling up your memory card in no time.

Traversing three alpine passes, lush forests, lunar scree slopes and heavenly wildflower meadows, the 55-kilometre Rockwall Trail in the Kootenay Valley is a Rockies hiking gem. Along the route, hanging glaciers and waterfalls burst out of the Rockwall itself, a 900-metre-high rampart of limestone and dolomite that looms over the trail for much of its length. Enthusiasts can hike the whole trail in two days, taking an overnight break at Numa Creek Campground (20 km), but a four-day trip gives more time to enjoy the epic scenery.

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.

With six national parks and eight provincial parks within just over an hour’s drive, Golden, British Columbia, has rightfully been dubbed the “Heart of the Parks.” But, what’s even closer than a handful of these famous parks – and equally impressive – is the Blaeberry Valley, less than 20 kilometres from downtown Golden and ripe for untamed adventures. Abby Cooper gives us the inside scoop.

Anyone willing to put in some mileage on their hiking boots should consider a multi-day trip into Egypt Lake in Banff National Park. Forested valleys, striking pinnacles, clusters of small lakes, and exciting alpine passes distinguish this area from its other backcountry counterparts. Hit it up in July to enjoy carpets of wildflowers, and warm weather that’ll make you eager to jump into one of the many lakes along the way.

When wildflowers take over the once snow-covered mountain slopes, avalanche specialists in the Canadian Rockies are far from done their job of keeping us safe. Come summer, many professionals from Avalanche Canada and Parks Canada are still busy with avalanche work. What are they up to when the snow stops flying?

Opening Day. It’s the day all ski and snowboard enthusiasts look forward to – a chance to be among the first up the chair and down the slopes. But opening a mountain for skiing isn’t as simple as turning on a lightbulb – far from it. Sarah Magyar from the Lake Louise Ski Resort walks us through what goes on behind the scenes.

Calling off a mission is not easy. Mountain folk tend to suffer from serious FOMO and have a hard time saying “no” to the peaks, their friends, and the potential for a great time. But, sometimes bailing on an adventure is the right thing to do. Abby Cooper outlines the factors that influence these decisions and provides a mental checklist to help you make the right call.

Ask Dave Carlson where the name ‘Unlimited’ comes from and he’ll tell you it’s all about optimism, opportunism and having a “no boundaries” attitude. We caught up with the Banff/Canmore storeowner to get behind the scenes at one of the Bow Valley’s favourite independent retailers. We came away with a whole lot more.

Only one woman can become the first woman to ski down Mt. Everest. It was a lofty goal for Canmore’s Maegan Carney, and one that slipped through her fingertips in 2003. Lynn Martel reports on how Carney’s journey intersects with Kit Deslauriers’ successful descent of the world’s highest mountain in October 2006. Deslauriers recently presented her new book, Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits, at the 2015 Banff Mountain Book Festival.

It’s hard to come by a better spokesperson for avalanche safety than Marty Schaffer. This ACMG Ski Guide has grown up in the ski industry his whole life, works closely with Avalanche Canada, and now runs his own ski guiding operation, CAPOW – Canadian Powder Guiding. He gives us the low-down on why backcountry ski and snowboard enthusiasts should upgrade their Avalanche Skills Training, what an AST 2 course has to offer, and what the biggest mistakes are that he’s seen in avalanche terrain assessment.

Christine Feleki is a Canmore native who is about to push some serious boundaries. Contributor Abby Cooper caught up with Christine to hear about her current venture to become one of the first female splitboarding guides to take the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) test. Turns out, she is one of those incredibly humble and driven human beings that make you want to live a better life, love more, and be a better person. She must be from Canmore…