How To Not Go Skiing In Nelson, B.C.

What’s more tiring, skiing, or hearing about skiing? Your wife’s been bragging about her Kootenay winter vacations for years: “Last year it snowed 80 centimetres the week I went to Whitewater Mountain Resort!” Enough already. Next she’ll be on about how they kept the grassroots vibe even though they added a new lift in 2023, boosting up to 3,247 skiable acres — and she still never crosses a track until noon on a powder day.

Then there was the year she decided to start ticking off her “bucket list” and go cat-skiing. And then again the next year when she went heli-skiing, because there are more backcountry operations around Kootenay Lake than anywhere else in the world, and the terrain is “unmatched.” This winter she wants to try ski touring, and you just know it’s going to be the same endless gloating at the end of each day.

So what’s a man of more discerning tastes do to occupy himself while she’s off living her best life? Well, sir, you can treat yourself, too, even if skiing’s not your thing. Ever been to Ainsworth Hot Springs? It’s a natural delight whose rejuvenating waters work magic to peel back big-city stresses. Or you can go even deeper at an Ashram, in true Kootenay fashion.

But maybe breweries are more your thing. There are three in Nelson, and one in Kaslo. There are also more restaurants per capita in the Queen City of the Kootenays (that’s Nelson) than in Vancouver, San Francisco and even Manhattan. It’s a culinary scene that foodies around the world flock to, crammed into the equivalent for four ornate city blocks.

A walking tour likewise feels especially storybook in winter, highlighted by centennial Victorian architecture and dozens of curated murals. Getting around by foot is quick and quaint, offering time to escape into one of many independent bookstores, or dozens of cafés—many of which roast their own beans and are award winners. Locals here have coffee for blood.

Art’s also on tap all winter long at the Oxygen Art Centre, as well as a plethora of galleries and artisan studios. The Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery will take you back to the frontier years, as will a visit to the S.S. Moyie Sternwheeler up in Kaslo: the oldest intact vessel of its kind in the world. Kaslo’s Langham Cultural Centre showcases contemporary and traditional exhibits as well — a cosmopolitan amenity in an impossibly cute village framed by snowcapped peaks and a placid lake.

Back in Nelson there are always shows at the Capitol Theatre featuring local and national talent performing dance, theatre and musicals. Music, by the way, pulses winterlong at venues like Bloom Nightclub and Spiritbar; Nelson is a sleeper hub for electronic artists the world over.

But if you want to keep it simple there are of course plenty of pubs, and that Canadian staple of the good, old hockey game. The Nelson Leafs are a Junior A championship team that seldom disappoints. It is an elbows-up kind of moment, after all, and supporting the home team has new meaning these days, even when it comes to picking a getaway. Not everybody loves sliding on snow, and we get that—but everybody loves winning. Visit Nelson and Kootenay Lake, and it’s bragging rights for all.