Revelstoke is located in British Columbia and home to the longest lift-served vertical descent of any ski area in North America at 5,650 feet. It's also known to many skiers and riders as one of the top destinations for steep-and-deep powder.

I made my first visit to Revelstoke for two days during this past February and as you might expect, the skiing and riding did not disappoint. 

Let's get started with a quick overview of the mountain before jumping into the details of my time on the resort. 

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RESORT OVERVIEW

Revelstoke Mountain Resort offers 3,121 acres of skiable terrain, accessed by 3 lifts, 75 trails, and 4 alpine bowls. The mountain stretches from a base elevation of 1,650 feet to a summit elevation of 7,300 feet.

Our friends at Zrankings list Revelstoke's True Annual Snowfall at 367 inches. 43% of the mountain is considered intermediate terrain, 30% easy, and 22% difficult terrain. 44% of the mountain features a west-facing aspect, 36% north-facing, 26% south-facing, and 4% east-facing.

The lift operating hours run from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (weather and lift depending).

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We arrived in Revelstoke on the morning of February 13th after skiing at Lake Louise near Banff, Alberta and Kicking Horse outside of Golden, British Columbia. We'd already spent five hard-charging days in the Canadian Rockies but we couldn't wait for more. 

When you first look at the mountain stats and terrain map of Revelstoke, you notice that there is only one gondola and two high-speed chair lifts. This makes you think that there are limited options but think again. This mountain is chocked-full of tasty hikes and easy traverse lines, even for snowboarders. 

Each day started with a quick ride up the Revelation Gondola from the base area. This takes you about halfway up the mountain so we're already talking about 2,500+ vertical back down to the base. From here, it was over to 'The Stoke' chair, which is skiers-left on the mountain.

Once you're at the summit of 'The Stoke', it's time for the fun to really begin. We opted for the short hike to the summit of 'Sub Peak' each morning but the possibilities are endless. Jump on to 'Pitch Black' for a quick groomer, traverse skiers-right to 'Separate Reality Bowl' to really get your legs going, or traverse skiers-left for soft bumps down 'Tally-Ho Glades'. 

The photo below is taken from the hike up to 'Sub Peak' and as you can see, the views of the Columbia River and the surrounding mountains are nothing short of spectacular on a clear day.

Once you reach the summit of 'Sub Peak' after the 8-10 minute hike, take a moment to catch your breath and soak in the views of Mt. Mackenzie. 

We noticed hikers going further out along the ridge toward Mt. Mackenzie and the spicy line that dropped back down into 'North Bowl'. More on this line in a minute. 

From the summit of 'Sub Peak', we opted to try the east-facing lines directly off the summit. This rattled the nerves at first but thanks to a refresh of 3-4 inches over the previous day/night, the turns were delicious. 

After entering the 'North Bowl, you can either quickly traverse left to get back to 'The Stoke' chair or continue skiers-right for a long runout down to 'The Ripper' chair. We opted for 'The Ripper' chair after our first hike and enjoyed a fun run through the 'Top 40 & Back 40 Glades'.

'The Ripper' chair features north-facing glades and groomers. This area must be fantastic on a deep powder day as each glade run features well-spaced trees, including my personal favorite, 'Glades of Glory'.

While 'The Ripper' chair offered a variety of terrain, our focus was drawn back to 'The Stoke' chair and the hike-to terrain.

The spicy line that I mentioned earlier came on our second morning. This line is properly named 'Powder Assault' for its steep and continuous pitch through 'North Bowl'. 

To access this area, you'll once again hike up to the summit of 'Sub Peak' from 'The Stoke' chair and then continue along the ridge to the edge of the resort boundary. We skied a lot of tasty lines during our week-long Canada trip but this might of been my favorite.

Other interesting areas that didn't require a hike up to 'Sub Peak' included 'Unlimited Assets', as well as 'Separate Reality Bowl'. Each area offered chalky snow, which was perfect for steep, north-facing terrain. 

Once our legs were cooked from multiple hikes during the morning, we jumped onto the grippy groomers and soft bumps.

Our favorite bump run was the 'Tally-Ho Glades', which is skiers-left off 'The Stoke'. This run offered beautiful views of the Columbia River, as well as the expansive mountain terrain to the south. 

When the days were coming to a close and the sun was quickly setting behind the western mountains, we hopped onto 'Pitch Black' for 5,000+ vertical feet of skiing back down to the base area.

It was sad to leave but after two incredible days, we couldn't help but think about next winter and another trip north to Revelstoke.

Looking for steeps? Revy has it. Searching for endless glades? Revy has it. On the chase for powder? You know where to find it.

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Visit RevelstokeMountainResort.com for all lodging, event, and other ski-related information. 

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OPENSNOW RESOURCES

Snow Forecast & Report: Revelstoke, British Columbia

Skiing in Canada: The Mountains

Skiing in Canada: Snow & Weather

Download: OpenSnow Mobile App

SAM COLLENTINE