Whistler may get all the glory in the wake of the Winter Olympics, but there’s a new kid in town when it comes to world class skiing and boarding in British Columbia.
About 600 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, lies unassuming little Revelstoke, and the all new Revelstoke Mountain resort on Mount Mackenzie. Here you’ll find some seriously rad skiing and boarding.
Since opening just three years ago in late 2007, Revelstoke continues to attract more and more hardcore adventurers with the highest lift-serviced vertical in North America, and it’s the only resort in the world to offer gondola, cat-skiing, and heli-skiing together in one place.
At its peak, the mountain receives an average of 1,200 centimetres of snow a year, which is 20 per cent more than Whistler. The price tag to create all this fun is estimated at about a billion dollars, but when the resort is finished over the next decade, it’s expected to be more than 10,000 acres, making it the biggest in North America.
After a hard day on the slopes, it’s always great to unwind in nearby charming downtown Revelstoke. Now, this little town doesn’t quite have that trendy upscale Alpine Village feel of Whistler, but the drinks are cold and the people are friendly.
I found myself trying my very first “ski-shooter” at Grizzly’s bar downtown. This is where a bunch of like-minded patrons drink simultaneous shots from shot glasses mounted to a snowboard. How cool is that?
Revelstoke Mountain may not be on every skier’s radar just yet, but with future plans to build as many as 25 lifts, it just might be the next Whistler!
