Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Revelstoke Mountain Resort
View from mid-mountain
Location	British Columbia, Canada
Nearest major city	Revelstoke
Vertical	1,443m/4,735ft
Top elevation	2,227m/7,300ft
Base elevation	782m/2,565ft
Skiable area	607 hectares/1,500 acres
Trails	25 Designated Trails 7% Beginner 37% Intermediate 56% Expert
Longest run	13.2 km/8.2 miles (Last Spike)
Lift system	4 total (1 High Speed Gondola ski lifts, 1 High Speed Quad Chairlift, 1 Double Chair, 1 Magic Carpet)
Snowfall	12.00 m/year
Website	Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Revelstoke Mountain Resort is a major ski resort currently in operation on Mount MacKenzie, just outside Revelstoke, British Columbia in Canada. When complete, the resort will offer about 20 km² of skiable terrain and a vertical drop of 1,845 metres (6,100 ft), with 25 lifts and 100 ski and snowboard trails. Revelstoke will offer the highest vertical drop of any resort in North America, as well as having the fourth highest drop in the world. In terms of size, it will be about the same as other major resorts like Vail or Panorama, and about one-third the size of Whistler-Blackcomb. On its peak the mountain receives an average of 1,200 cm of snow a year, about 20 percent more than Whistler which receives an annual average of 1026 cm per year. It's higher overall altitude and location in the interior mountains, should also offer better, more consistent quality snow as well.

A single two-seat lift has been operating on the hill since the late 1960s, known as Powder Springs. More recently a cat-ski operation has offered "lifts" to higher elevations. In order to build the local economy, the City started the process of finding outside investors to dramatically expand the ski area and build a large resource complex at the base of the mountain. Funding was eventually secured from a group of private investors that appear to have since organized as Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The Government of Canada and Government of British Columbia are also involved, but it is not clear if they have a financial stake – BC is reported to have sold them some crown land but is apparently otherwise uninvolved. The development was priced at $1 billion CAD in total, and an agreement among the major parties was signed on 20 March 2005. The complete project is expected to take fifteen years to complete.

Construction began in late 2005 with the construction of a road allowing access to most of the mountain, and the construction of the first five ski trails up to 1350 m elevation, starting at the upper end of the existing lift at 1100 m (3520 ft). Construction on higher-altitude trails was to begin during the summer of 2006, covering the area from 1350 m (4320 ft) to 2300 m (7360 ft). On January 16, 2007, RMR announced its purchase of local heli-ski operation Selkirk Tangiers Helicopter Skiing Ltd. With this addition, the resort will boast over half a million acres (2,000 km²) of heli-ski terrain with access from the resort base.

Revelstoke is one of several new resorts under construction based on the same general development plan. The others include Jumbo Glacier Resort, Canoe Mountain Resort, Cayoosh Ski Resort, Garibaldi at Squamish Resort and a major development of Mount Baldy Ski Area which currently hosts a small resort similar to the one that started Revelstoke.

The resort opened for the first time on December 22, 2007, and was thought to be the biggest North American ski resort debut in twenty years. However the event was tragically overshadowed by the death of an Edmonton ski instructor who disappeared on the mountain's Jalapeno run and whose body was found in a tree well three days later on Christmas Day.

See also

• List of ski areas and resorts in Canada

External links

• Ski BC (2007). Trail Map of Revelstoke Mountain Resort