The ever-expanding Fernie Alpine Resort is BC's next big thing

Ski-mad British Columbians will slide down just about any mountain with snow on it.

As well as downhill skiing and snowboarding, there's plenty of opportunities in BC for more adventurous backcountry exploration - be it heli-skiing, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. For safety reasons, most Canadians wear a helmet when they hit the slopes.

For top skiing, you needn't travel much further than the jagged peaks surrounding Vancouver. On the city's north shore, the slopes of Grouse, Cyprus and Seymour mountains - only 30 minutes from the city centre - have long been a magnet for winter day-trippers, although in recent years global warming has significantly interrupted the season.

For serious snow bunnies, the enormous Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort - the largest in north America - lies only 120km north of Vancouver.

British Columbia's arid interior is a veritable powder paradise. The giant Sun Peaks Resort, the second-largest in BC, is located some 50km north of Kamloops. It is spread over three mountains and has 117 runs and 40km of cross-country trails.

South of Kamloops, the Okanagan region boasts a glut of world-class ski resorts, namely Apex Mountain near Penticton, Big White near Kelowna and Silver Star near Vernon.

Some of BC's smaller resorts, such as those in the Kootenays region, offer holidaymakers a more intimate experience. Here you've got Powder Springs ski area in Revelstoke, Red Mountain in Rossland and Whitewater in Nelson. Not far from Nelson you could brave the frequent avalanches for some backcountry skiing in Kokanee Glacier National Park.

Heading east of Nelson towards the border with Alberta, the impressive ski resort at Kimberley has long attracted those in the know, while the ever-expanding complex at Fernie has a youthful atmosphere and is fast earning a name for itself as a world-class ski destination.

North of Fernie and not far from the border with Alberta, the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden has really taken off in recent years. It boasts 2,750 acres of the white stuff.