Kicking Horse or Fernie as a shoulder to a trip to Revelstoke

Revelstoke is my favorite destination among the resort I have visited in BC to date for the quantity and quality of Powder, the terrain and the lack of lines and crowds. I have usually been flying to Vancouver or Kelowna and tried several resorts along the way but wanted to discover something else and this time we will be flying into Calgary for a 10 days trip (in February)and wondering if we should try Kicking Horse or Fernie "on the way". I know Kicking Horse is more on the way but I have heard good thing about Fernie.
The criteria are the quantity and quality of powder, the terrain and possibility to explore away from the tracks and laid back atmosphere and absence of crowds/lines.
Another option might be to hit the two resorts but that seems a bit challenging in 10 days.
Maybe there is something else better (Sunshine?)
I have been on Hyw 1 sveral times but I am not sure either about the difficulty and conditions of the road between Fernie and Golden in the winter time (I will be with a rental car with alas no winter tires)?
Thanks for any tips or advices!

You can easily take in both Fernie, Kicking Horse and Revelstoke from Calgary. Potentially, the most problematic part of the journey, is the Rogers pass between Golden and Revelstoke, which occasionally gets closed after large snowfalls for avalanche control. You will need to drive this sector to get to your principal destination anyway, so adding Fernie and Kicking Horse makes little difference in your case.

From Calgary, take highway 2 south and then the 3 west for a night or two at Fernie. Then head west on the 3 and then north on the 93 all the way to Golden (Kicking Horse). Kicking Horse is having a decent season so far this year, and be sure to check out the new 4th bowl (Superbowl)!

Also, in Golden town, check out the fantastic new restaurant, 'The Island Restaurant'. Golden is turning into something of a gem in the Rockies for dining, with some of the best independent restaurants in the region. (e.g. Eagle Eye, Cedar House, Whitetooth Mountain Bistro, Eleven22 etc...). Be sure to check out at least one of these out when you are there. (As you can tell, I'm a big fan of Kicking Horse and Golden!)

You can then drive west from Golden to Revelstoke on the TCH. You can also stop at Lake Louise or Sunshine on the way back from Revelstoke to Calgary if you wanted to pack in another resort.

Combining Fernie, Kicking Horse and Revelstoke from Calgary makes for a great road trip. Each sector is between 2-4 hours (except Revelstoke to Calgary) which means that you can drive and ski in the same day comfortably or take a day off and have a leisurely drive through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

Thanks for you quick answer. I am familiar with the Roger pass so knowing that it is the most problematic part makes me more comfortable to include the Calgary-Fernie-Golden into the journey.
Thanks also for the restaurant tips as a bonus!

) I just returned from the Kootenays and have been hanging out for the last 20 years.

The short answer is that it depends on the weather. I would not make decision until the day you need to. Go to either depending on the weather.

Red Mountain is another fine choice. Red gets a ton of snow, no crowds and inexpensive lodging at the base. Contact Val Ash for deals on condos.

I personally like to avoid the pass, so I fly into Spokane, stop at Red and then travel to Revelstoke or Fernie.

Have just spent a week in Golden/Kicking Horse.

The resort has great conditions at the moment with regular dumps of fresh snow. They seem to be a month ahead in snowfall this season. It is dumping heavily on Golden and Revelstoke right now with the Rogers pass closed for avalanches as of this morning.

Thanks for your answers. We actually are in Golden now. We were in Fernie yesterday but drove to Golden as indeed there is a lot of snow here. It looks likenthey have reopened the hyw 1 westbound, so we should be able to continue our journey to revelstoke.

Lolo64, you have definitely found yourself in the right place at the right time . On the website, I can see over 50 cm's fresh over the weekend !
Hope you enjoy the all the fresh snow.