Pow skiing in Powell River? Only a Knucklehead would believe that.

Powell River’s Knuckleheads is a mountain region home to some epic turns.

It’s a pretty sweet feeling once the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) finally breaks through the trees and magically pops into a landscape of alpine bowls and well-spaced glades. The most prominent is Sentinel Ridge, which offers a stunning view over the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island and eastwards across the endless waves of Coast Range peaks and valleys.

Like most creative endeavours, the idea for building a cabin hatched around a table in Powell River’s outstanding Townsite Brewery tasting room. Raising the necessary funds took a couple of years but once the money was in place, the hut was quickly built. The walls and floors were pre-fabricated in town and slung up to Sentinel Ridge by helicopter. This was built by volunteers over five  x 7 day work partys, requiring ~ 2000 volunteer hours, and it will continue to be run and maintained by the KWRA, a volunteer operated associated.

Better than slogging up a logging road, the SnowSeekers received royal treatment from the local ATV club.

Our journey began with a hour-long jaunt up a 4x4 only logging road, a half hour hike and 20-minute riding on the back of an ATV driven by members of the local Powell River ATV club. From there, Jackson and company donned climbing skins and slogged up Sentinel Ridge for about 50 odd turns down an untouched mountain face in surprisingly dry – for the Coast Range – powder. After negotiating some mean-ass slide alder and grinding his skis along a logging road, Jackson said, “Yep, it’s pow-town. But you’ve got to work to get there.”

There is no charge to use the Vic Cole cabin, which sleeps 10, but donations are suggested by us here @SnowSeekers. Always leave it better than you found it.

The ski runs from Vic Cole Hut are in the 300 to 400 vertical metre range. A short patch of glades above the cabin provides the perfect slope to practice those telemark or splitboard snowboard turns. And with the Knuckleheads whizzing by every few minutes, you can likely hitch a short ride to the top to do it all over again.

Townsite Brewing

Townsite Brewing’s Belgian brewmeister create's some delicious brews, including Sentinel Ridge – perfect for pow fans.

Sunshine Coast locals are truly fortunate that Belgian brewmaster, Cedric Dauchot set up shop in Powell River’s historic Townsite neighbourhood.

The brewery is ensconced in the refurbished brick Federal Building two blocks up from the pulp mill that is still a major economic driver for this city of 13,000. Built over a period of 20 years from 1910 to 1930, the Powell River Townsite was one of North America’s most socially progressive and attractive company towns. It was built to house employees at a pulp and paper mill that would become the largest producer of newsprint in the world by the 1950s.

Townsite Brewing’s tap room features everything from robust Tin Hat IPA and Perfect Storm Stout to small-batch sours, saison biere, (seasonal beer), wheat beers and something called “oud bruin.” The tasting room ambience is both whimsical and educational; “question and answer” flip cards provide visitors with details about the unique Belgian brewing process.

It was hard to figure out what Ean Jackson enjoyed more – the Pow Town pow or the Townsite draft. As a self-proclaimed “beer bagger,” – slang for a beer connoisseur who goes out of his way to sample local craft beers, Jackson says Townsite is at the ‘top of the hops’ when it comes to craft beer excellence. As a one-time home brewer himself, Jackson knows quality when he tastes it. “It’s worth coming up here just for the barrel-aged Cardena Quad,” he says.