Deep in Canada's Kootenay Rockies, a helicopter dropped off me and nine other eager skiers on what seemed like the top of the world.

A 360-degree vista of icy slopes dazzled my eyes, with blankets of pristine snow spilling from the mountain summit where I stood, skis in hand. Jagged cliffs ran to every horizon, descending into the vast Columbia River valley in southeastern British Columbia.

I arrived at my high-altitude perch during a trip to the north end of the so-called Powder Highway, a massive loop of roads running about 800 miles through the Kootenays. The highway delivers snow-seeking visitors to myriad ski operators in Canada north of the Washington-Idaho border. It serves over 75 different skiing operations, including eight downhill ski resorts, 14 cross-country centres, 23 backcountry lodges, 18 heli-ski outfits and 14 "cat ski" companies that use motorised snow cats to transport schussers to deep powder.

This may be the world's single greatest concentration of ski-related attractions — and right now they're a relative bargain for Americans, thanks to the strength of the U.S. dollar. (At press time, one greenback was worth 1.3 Canadian dollars.)

I recently spent a week exploring the northern segment of the Powder Highway, discovering the benefits of a midwinter road trip through Canada, both on and off the slopes.

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