Club feature: Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski Club.

The Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia has more days of sunshine than any other region in all of Canada. With over 23 feet of dry Okanagan powder snow dumped annually and ample blue sky, you know the skiing there has to be good.

Dominated by the stunning 60-mile long Okanagan Lake, the Okanagan Valley bisects huge, rounded mountains. Near the north end of the lake and just 30 minutes up from the city of Vernon sits Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre. Just above at 5,200 feet in elevation, Silver Star Mountain Resort attracts locals and travelers alike. Although Sovereign Lake and Silver Star could easily stand alone as a superb cross country ski areas, together the two are seamlessly joined to form one of the finest Nordic ski areas in North America.

Although their trails connect, each area is very different in terms of how they operate. One is a nonprofit club. One is a corporation. Operated by the Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski Club, the ski area maintains trails in Silver Star Provincial Park. Silver Star Mountain Resort is a mid-sized alpine ski area with Nordic trails included.

But to us lucky skiers the areas are very much alike. The terrain, the sub-alpine forest, the superb snow and the same high standards of grooming make it almost impossible to separate the two. Over the years the club and company have integrated well together to provide skiers with over 105 km of trails.

Skiing on and around Silver Star Mountain really started in the late '30s with the formation of the Silver Star Ski Club. In the early days before the road to the mountain was built, hardy skiers would climb up to enjoy the great snow. In the late '50s, installation of the first small rope tow at Sovereign Lake shifted the main focus of the club to downhill skiing.

By 1974, the rope tow moved up to Silver Star Mountain. The area around Sovereign Lake turned into Silver Star Provincial Park, and the Nordic faction of the club split off, forming the North Okanagan Nordic Club. For the next 15 years, the club built ski trails in the park, but the park staff groomed the trails and managed the ski area. Finally in the '90s, the park turned over all the Nordic ski operations to the club. The club, now known as the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, is one of the largest ski clubs in Canada with over 1,600 members.

Club members donate over 10,000 volunteer hours a year! Besides trail work, club members coach 240 kids in the Rabbit program, assist in teaching almost 700 children from local schools to ski, work to produce races and events and maintain club buildings and equipment. Rob Bernhardt, the club's friendly and capable president, credits about 100 really active club members and another 400 semi-active members for doing all the work.