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Revelstoke 2/16-2/22

Zermatt

Active member
Joined
Mar 13, 2016
Messages
644
Points
28
Location
Connecticut
We skied Revelstoke for 7 days from Sunday the 16th through Saturday the 22nd.

Had quite a bit of fresh snow Sunday that lasted in the trees until Monday/Tuesday. Still plenty of soft snow around Wednesday and Thursday but definitely hit more groomers those days. I did some side country touring on Friday and easily found deep, untracked snow. Friday night delivered a nice 6" refresh to parts of the mountain for Saturday. Drove back to Kelowna Saturday night for a red-eye to Toronto and was back home in CT by noon on Sunday.

We got to Kelowna late Friday night and stayed by the airport. Woke up early to stock up on supplies at Wal-Mart and Costco then made the easy two hour drive to Revelstoke (could have easily skied this day as well).

Tree skiing was amazing. Countless acres of perfectly spaced pine trees at every angle you could imagine (good for my kids and wife). Inbounds bowls were so easy to access and held fresh snow for days. Side country access was also very convenient with minimal touring needed to get to deep fresh snow.

When the powder got hard to find inbounds I skied some steep groomers that literally had me gasp in awe. Pitch Black was my favorite. An endlessly steep and wide run that disappears into the black conifers contrasting again the white floodplain of the Columbia River.

It took a few days just to grasp the immensity of the resort. The trail map is nice, but it just doesn't accurately represent what you are skiing. After a few days it becomes clear and you realize that tiny section on the map is like skiing top to bottom at Stratton and after that you have to do it all over again plus add in a run down Mount Snow. I've skied 7,000' vertical in Zermatt but that is spread out over a huge horizontal distance and long flat sections. I was actually getting motion sick doing top to bottom hot laps from the rapid pressure change. By the end of the trip I started to take more breaks to give my inner ears a rest.

At the tops of the lifts it was consistently busy, but as soon as you started skiing everyone was just gone. It was rare to see more than a few people on a groomer and often they were totally empty. In the woods it was even more empty, like scary, glad I have a whistle empty.

Might add some pics. Let me know if you have any logistics questions.
 

Zermatt

Active member
Joined
Mar 13, 2016
Messages
644
Points
28
Location
Connecticut
Did you try any cat or heli ops while you were there?

Was 7 days too much at Revy?

I was thinking a revy, kh, ss, ll trip next year with the family.

Sent from my SM-G973U using AlpineZone mobile app

Nope, I just did a guided group tour with Revelstoke Backcountry Guides. Next year I'll probably do a solo guided tour so we can cover more terrain. If it was snowing all week though I wouldn't even bother.

For a first trip 7 days was fine. So much to explore and it took a few days just to get our bearings. Again, I think people look at the map and think there are only 3 lifts so it must not be very big but you just can't grasp the terrain until you see it. Next year we may take a side trip to the hot springs or Rogers Pass if conditions aren't great.

Also I hate moving around with the family. I like to setup camp in one location for as long as possible.
 

Tonyr

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Jan 6, 2019
Messages
782
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63
Looks like it was a great trip. I'd love to try Revelstoke one day, how long was the trek out there?

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Zermatt

Active member
Joined
Mar 13, 2016
Messages
644
Points
28
Location
Connecticut
Looks like it was a great trip. I'd love to try Revelstoke one day, how long was the trek out there?

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using AlpineZone mobile app

We were originally on a 3pm flight from LGA with a scheduled arrival in Kelowna at 9pm Pacific time. But over the summer WestJet changed their schedule and the connection time in Toronto was too short so we got on a noon flight from LGA and had almost a 5 hour layover in Toronto. It was fine, we had lounge access but it really dragged the trip.

We ended up landing at 8pm and it was really easy to get our car and luggage but we still stayed the night in Kelowna at a nearby airport hotel (clean, nice and new). If the weather was always good we could have made the 2.5 hour drive to Revelstoke that night but I didn't want to risk it and waste an expensive hotel night at the ski area. This also allowed us to stock up on cheaper groceries in the city. We were in Revelstoke by noon on Saturday morning and got right into our room. Like I said, we could have easily skied that afternoon.

11pm flight out of Kelowna wasn't that bad either. We skied all day and I was falling asleep on the plane before we even took off. I literally slept the entire flight, didn't wake up until we were parked at the gate (window seat was a huge help). Even though it is an overnight red-eye you are still on a short haul domestic flight with cramped seating and no pillows.

Going through US customs in Toronto was also a bit of pain and very slow (not for me, I have Global Entry). Also, make sure to wait for your bagsto clear customs before you go through border patrol, otherwise you just go to the back of the line. It all pays off though because when you land back in the US you are already cleared through everything.
 
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