Where is the heart of skiing in North America? Does it beat most vibrantly in ever-popular Colorado? How about Utah, with its talcum snows? Or perhaps Lake Tahoe?

No. No. And no.

Oh, those are all worthy destinations, but my vote goes to a region that many American skiers and snowboarders have never even visited: the southeast corner of British Columbia. Perhaps no place else on earth possesses such a wealth of ski options as here in the Kootenay Rockies, where the topography accordions spectacularly and winters of 50-foot snows aren’t uncommon.

Consider the evidence: eight Alpine ski resorts; 11 Nordic ski areas; 15 snowcat-skiing operations; nine heli-skiing operators, including Canadian Mountain Holidays, which has several operations there. (In fact, the world’s first commercially successful snowcat and heli-skiing operations were born here.) Now add the embarrassment of riches of backcountry skiing for skiers who like to explore beyond the lifts: at least 22 catered backcountry-skiing lodges; plus more than 30 backcountry huts that are mostly booked through the Alpine Club of Canada. And everywhere are mountain ranges, their names talismanic to anyone who adores high peaks: the Gothics. The Adamants. The Selkirks. The Bugaboos. The Valhallas.

What makes the region so special, though, has less to do with how it skis than how it feels: The Kootenay Rockies don’t yet feel as though they have joined the tourism-industrial complex. The ski areas are often a bit more modest. The mountain towns have yet to be overrun. The road less traveled passes right through here. Everything is a little more basic, a little less convenient. You have to want to come here, and to be here. The locals like it that way. I do, too.