Revelstoke

Revelstoke was created as a rail town during the 1880's and also at the 'second crossing' point of the Columbia River. When Lord Revelstoke of Baring Brothers bank found the necessary investment to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway the town was renamed from Farwell to Revelstoke in his honour. The area originally gained importance as a mining and logging area but began to grow as a tourist destination after the Trans-Canada highway reached the town in 1962.

Although there was a single short chairlift accessing the lower slopes of Mount MacKenzie from the 1960's it was not until 2007 that the modern base ski resort at the foot of the mountain was opened and named: Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The two stage gondola accesses the mid mountain area and from there are two fast quad chairs that reach the upper slopes. The area is now one of the largest (over 3,000 acres) in Canada with a huge vertical drop of over 1,700 metres from top to bottom.

The ski area is best for expert skiers who are either happy in the trees (on bad weather days) or cruising the high altitude powder bowls best accessed by helicopter or snow-cat when the sun shines. There is nothing that an intermediate would be happy tackling. On skiers' left there are very long groomed black runs (not overly steep) and on skiers' right there are the ungroomed bowls like North Bowl. The access to the latter is through a cliff band which can be 'tricky' to 'alarming' depending on your entry point. Below the bowls are large areas of gladed tree skiing - perfect on a big snow day.

Revelstoke is one of Canada's snowiest resorts. In the 1971-72 winter it received over 80 feet of snow. A more normal season still gives over 40 feet of snow (13+ metres). It's no wonder that Selkirk heli-ski operate from here, along with various cat skiing operations.