PlanetSKI Resort Review: Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada

At first glance the piste map of Revelstoke, looks rather unremarkable.

Just another North American ski hill that most skiers could whip round in less than a day.

One main gondola, Revelation, with a mid-station very near the bottom rather than positioned in the middle where it should be.

There are two main chair lifts, Ripper & Stoke, and a small one, Stella, that doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

In total, three and a half lifts by PlanetSKI’s count.

There’s a few blacks runs cutting through the trees and what appears to be a bowl, The North bowl, at the top.

Then The South Bowl on the front of the mountain that doesn’t look like a bowl at all.

Plus, a couple of on-mountain establishments for food, Outpost and Revelation Lodge.

And that seemed about it.

Hardly something to fly across the Atlantic for.

How wrong can first impressions be?

About 100%.

Revy, as everyone calls it, is an absolute gem of a Canadian resort.

The Real Deal.

Whether on the groomers, in the powder, tackling the moguls, skiing the glades, hitting the park or taking a guide and going into the serious back country offerings.

Then there’s the heliskiing, cat skiing and snow-mobiling.

The town itself is a 10-minute drive from the ski area and seen from the hill is somewhat unremarkable in its grid layout.

Another completely wrong first impression – there are great bars, a wide choice of restaurants and a fascinating history.

In short Revelstoke is a bucket list ski area, with a genuine Canadian ski mountain town.

The Ski Area of Revelstoke

Revy has the largest lift served vertical descent in North America, starting at 512m and going up t0 2,340m.

You can ski the longest green run in North America, the Last Spike, which is 15kms long.

Or tackle some seriously steep terrain in the North Bowl that is accessed by a short boot up.

Or access the lower parts of the North bowl by a simple traverse or short walk.

But what surprised me most was not the fabulous trees skiing or the challenging terrain in the North Bowl.

I was expecting that.

Rather it was the groomers – wide, fast and mostly empty.

Most of the skiers & snowboarders here are Canadians, with the next being those from the USA and Australia.

I’m pleased to say us Brits are in fourth place.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort (to give it its full title) opened in 2007 – December 21st to be precise.

But skiing had been here long before.

The Scandinavians introduced “ski running’ in the 1890s.

At the turn of the century a ski club was formed, and by 1917 it had 300 members.

In 1964 an Austrian ski instructor, Paul Mair,  and a local logger, Don Sinclair, opened the Mount Mackenzie Ski Hill on Mount Mackenzie, the site of today’s Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

In 1973 a double chairlift was installed.

In 1977 a helicopter skiing operation started, and in 1978, a cat skiing operation also began.

See here for the history of skiing in Revelstoke

There are expansion plans with a new lift rising above the Stoke chair that would open up some advanced and intermediate terrain.

The ski area is not in the Revelstoke National Park, so getting permissions for development is far simpler.

Once again though lift pass prices in Canada are eye-wateringly expensive compared to Europe.

$199 (£106) for a day pass.

It is $524 (£280) for three days.

OK, Revy has great terrain, but it only has four lifts with the Ripper chair closing at 2.30pm.

But what resort do you know that has a free-to-enter art gallery on its slopes?

The same style of art can be seen in town as well.

It’s even on display by the bins.

The Town of Revelstoke

It is a genuine and authentic mountain town.

It has a fabulous selection of bars, restaurants and good ski shops.

Grab a beer in here at The Village Idiot.

A cocktail here.

And some of the best Vietnamese food you’ll ever eat.

$19.95 (£10.70) for some of the tastiest Beef Pho we have ever had.

And if you want one of the best restaurants in town, then look no further than Alfred’s that was just across the road from our accommodation.

You will need to book.

The original town of Revelstoke was built on the back of the railways in the 1880s and remains a railway town to this day.

Revelstoke was named by the Canadian Pacific Railway in appreciation of Lord Revelstoke who saved CPR from bankruptcy in the summer of 1885 allowing the railway to reach completion.

There’s a fascinating railroad museum in town if that takes your fancy.

Plus, a more conventional offering.

But back to the skiing…

Revelstoke is seen as the birthplace of heliskiing and is known as the heli-skiing capital of the world with multiple operators offering its delights.

It claims 1m acres of accessible terrain.

• See here for more on the heliskiing in Revelstoke
• And don’t forget the cat-skiing in Revelstoke.

The cloudy weather prevented heli-skiing this time round, but when I was last in Revy a decade or so ago we took to the air.

And took a bit of air in the trees too.

So, as an overall package, what does Revelstole offer?

Here’s Laura Meggs from the resort’s tourist office.

 

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I now have a serious question to answer, and a not-insignificant judgment to make.

Which Canadian resort is better – Revelstoke or Kicking Horse?

Kicking Horse is our next stop on this Canadian road trip so I will be pondering the question.

This was only my second visit to Revy and I have been utterly bowled over, and seriously impressed.

Kicking Horse I know well and have visited more than half a dozen times.

When asked which my favourite resort in Canada is I don’t hesitate and always say Kicking Horse – with a shout out to Red & Whitewater and a mention of Fernie.

Perhaps that judgement needs to be revised.

Revy has shot up my list.

I will give it some thought.

Do check back…..

We are self-funding the Canada trip and retaining all editorial independence so we can post as we see it without influence and spin + do what we want.

Airfares, accommodation, lift passes, car hire and day-to-day living expenses are covered by PlanetSKI.

Though if a resort wants to buy us a beer or lunch it would be rude to refuse!

To find out more about skiing in Canada check out what is on offer from the UK operator Inghams Ski or the UK ski agent, SNO.

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