The Road to Revelstoke

19th February 2016 | James Cove, British Columbia, Canada

Last modified on August 31st, 2021

The PlanetSKI Canadian ski road trip in British Columbia heads to Revelstoke. We sunk deep into the best powder snow so far.

We had reached the heart of the Powder Highway as we set off on the 250km journey from Nelson to Revelstoke – see here for our latest exploits in the ski resort of Whitewater near Nelson.

I’m travelling on a 12-day, 5-resort road trip with the ski writer and my good friend, Alf Alderson.

Unbelievably, after over a week on the road, we are still friends.

Beer helps.

Cheers!Image © PlanetSKI

Alf knows this part of British Columbia well.

“We should see some fantastic scenery on this journey so keep your eyes open and your camera at the ready,” he advised.

So I did.

British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

This was a short journey by our past standards with good weather – see here for the 10-hour trip from Sun Peaks to Red Mountain with thick snow at the end.

It took us 7 hours but we went at a leisurely pace.

Lunch stop. Image © PlanetSKI

On the road again . Image © PlanetSKI

Big mountain scenery. Image © PlanetSKI

And it included a crossing of Upper Arrow Lake as the road simply stopped.

Lake crossing. Image © PlanetSKI

Upper Arrow Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

Our camping spot in the main parking lot at Revelstoke was perhaps not quite so scenic.

Revelstoke Parking Lot. Image © PlanetSKI

Now PlanetSKI and Revelstoke have two very important things in common.

We share the same birthday – November 2007.

And we also share a love of deep powder and freeride skiing.

The resort is the newest in Canada and it boasts the biggest vertical descent of any resort in North America – 1,700m.

‘We have had a great season so far and the snowfall is above the annual average for the time of year,” said Liz Craig, from the resort’s tourist office.

“We have seen an increase is visitors this year and also some more British guests too,” she added.

And we were lucky enough to hit it on a powder day.

Pow in the trees. Image © PlanetSKI

We were shown round the resort by Christl Unterberger.

And if you think that is not a very Canadian name then you are right.

She comes from Leogang in Austria.

“I have lived here for 27-years and Canada is my adopted home. There is a greater free spirit here and in terms of the skiing we have less people, more trees and it is far more relaxed and in contact with nature,” she said.

And we had a visitor to our RV.

My son, Alex, is spending the winter in nearby Banff working as a ski instructor.

He came to join us by Greyhound bus for a few days.

More Pow in the trees. Image © PlanetSKI

He slept in the RV with us.

Morning all. Image © PlanetSKI

He ‘enjoyed’ Alf’s cooking.

Bon Apetite. Image © PlanetSKI

And even did the washing up (somewhat reluctantly).

Washing up. Image © PlanetSKI

And then we hit the powder.

Again.

Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

I would like to be able to do the same but his legs are 21-years old – mine have a combined age of 114.

Though I tried my best.

Despite the recent birth of the ski resort the town itself has a history of logging and the railroad.

It feels like Canada should do and is justifiably proud of its heritage.

More recently two huge hydro-electric dams have been built and it now supplies up to 30% of all the power used in British Columbia and BC is 50 times the size of Wales.

It is also a centre for cat-skiing and heli-skiing with numerous operators.

In our 2-day visit we decided we couldn’t come to the heli-skiing capital of British Columbia without indulging ourselves.

We will have a full article on the heli-skiing experience later this week on PlanetSKI.

Suffice to say Revelstoke was a highlight of the trip.

So far.

Next stop Kicking Horse – perhaps my favourite ski resort in Canada.

This road trip is most definitely getting better as it goes on.

For a related article by James about life in the RV then see here.

FACT BOX

CanaDream offers a winter RV that can accommodate up to four adults and two small children from $121 per night plus tax or $1694 plus tax for a 14 night trip.

This includes kits (dishes, pots, pans, bedding) that is normally an extra cost in summer, an additional driver (in summer $5.00 per person per night), free use of generator (a charge in summer) and other items designed to make the winter ski experience in an RV comfortable and cosy.

CanaDream is the only RV company in Canada able to provide Guests with an RV built to withstand the Canadian winter. These RVs enable Guests to use full facilities (including shower, sink and toilet) in temperatures as low as -30C).

For more information on British Columbia then see the web site of Destination BC.

For more details on the resorts James is visiting then see here:

Sun Peaks – see here for further details about the resort

Red Mountain – see here for further details about the resort

Whitewater – see here for further details about the resort

Revelstoke – see here for further details about the resort

Kicking Horse – see here for further details about the resort

Air Canada offers more daily flights from the UK to Canada than any other airline, with 63 non-stop flights scheduled per week to seven major Canadian cities. From London Heathrow, the airline operates daily services to Vancouver during the winter season.

Air Canada operates new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its flights from London Heathrow to Vancouver – this aircraft features a new Premium Economy option for those looking for more comfort and space, complementing International Business and Economy class.

Return Economy flights from London Heathrow to Vancouver start from £591.05 (1 November – 12 December 2016, incl. taxes). Find out more at www.aircanada.com or call Reservations on 0871 220 1111.

See here for the main PlanetSKI news page with all the latest stories from the world of snowsports.

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