Rocky Mountain High

I have a confession to make: until a week ago, I'd never skied in Canada ('Get out of here!', as the locals would say).
But I've been making up for lost time: 4 resorts later and a trip across the Rockies, west to east, I'm even getting to know the wildlife. The critter count includes one moose, an elk, a coyote which circled our stationary car 3 times (looking hungry), a snowshoe hare and loads of Canadian skiers (when there's a hint of snow in the air, they'll drive for hours to make turns at the weekend), along with a sprinkling of Australians, Kiwis and Brits.
The route so far: Whistler, Jasper (Marmot Basin), Lake Louise and Kicking Horse. Highlights to come in later posts, but for now, a couple of things: what is it with North Americans and coffee? They discuss it in Canada and in the US like it's a matter of life and death, and then they serve you a cup of brown water. Please, go to Italy, just once, even if there isn't much snow there right now, and learn about real coffee.
The other thing: any Europeans going to the trouble of flying all this way should arrange their trip to include more than one resort, if possible, and some off-mountain stuff too. Yes, the snow is frequently great and the lift lines are mostly short, but the resorts are not where the essence of the country resides. You get the full flavour on the move, whether it's on the coast road north of Vancouver, the VIA rail journey across the Rockies, or the Icefields Parkway through some of Canada's most impressive scenery. Some resorts talk of developing their bases and on-mountain facilities to make you feel more at home, but essentially these are still places to ski and board to the max and then leave at the end of the day. A magical exception is the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, which might just be the most perfect winter getaway in the world, never mind the Rockies. You'll have to skin or snowshoe for your turns out there, but even die-hard piste bashers would get the point in these surroundings.