Mt. MacKenzie looms above Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
We stopped dead in our tracks. The final couple hundred feet to the top had gone slowly in all of the fresh powder, but we finally had 5,620 vertical feet of skiable terrain beneath us - the most of any resort in North America - and nowhere to go but down. Jagged Mount MacKenzie stared us straight in the face and dared us to drop down the backside where only a few tracks quickly faded into giant, open bowls of white.
But there’s a chance Revelstoke might not be for you. It’s for those people who understand that if you put a little more into something, you can get a lot more out of it.
Every visit of mine has started out as a road trip from Seattle, and whether it's for a weekend or a week, it has never disappointed. There’s a welcoming feeling you get when crossing that bridge over the mighty Columbia River and turning into the small mountain town surrounded by impossibly high mountains.
Skier Erin Cunningham rips powder down the back side or Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
There’s nothing complicated or pretentious about Revelstoke, and immediately you feel as though you can let your guard down. Everyone is here for the same reason - to just ski. Really, the only extravagant thing about it is the snowfall at around 35 feet every winter.
The resort itself is only a 10 minute drive or shuttle ride away from town and has one of the simplest and most beautiful layouts of any ski mountain I’ve been to: straight up. Because of its height and size, there’s a lot of different terrain to choose from - big open groomers, endless magical glades, or the giant bowls and steep chutes off the top.
Skier Nick Lake enjoys fresh powder with views over the Selkirks.
One of my favorite things about the mountain is that, after you ski from the top, it takes not one but two lift rides to get back to the top. Why is that a good thing? Because for those willing to go farther, explore deeper, ski harder, there’s always going to be a fresh line waiting for you here.
But even for those who aren’t up for booting or bowls quite yet, there’s so much to discover here! Amazingly, there’s a green run that will take you from the very top of the highest lift all the way to the bottom, meaning all skiers are able to take in the breathtaking views of the Columbia River Valley, Revelstoke National Park, and far off into the Selkirk Range without worrying about getting down.
The author drops into a chute on a powder day at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
I’ve had the joy of skiing legendary powder everywhere from Utah to Hokkaido to the Swiss Alps, but no snow has given more smiles than of that in the Selkirks. Yes, it’s deep and it’s light like the others, but there’s a certain velvety quality to it that makes skiing just a little more fun. If you’ve been privileged to have it beneath your skis before, you know what I’m talking about.
After you have worn yourself out on the slopes (and don’t forget, it’s a long ski from the top to the bottom at the end of the day), spice up your night by gorging at The Taco Club or drink in some local flavor at the Craft Bierhaus. Plus while you’re in town, you should also take a drive up to Rogers Pass to try and catch a glimpse of the magnificent Mount Sir Donald, explore Revelstoke National Park, or have the best ski day of your life and splurge on Great Northern Snowcat Skiing, which you can also book through the resort.
My favorite time to go is in the spring when you get powder on the north faces that never see the sun, but you can ski corn in a t-shirt at the base - all on the same day.
So go ahead and hike a little farther, get a lot more secluded, and have the pure mountain experience that’s hard to find anywhere else. See you there this spring.
Skier Erin Cunningham gets air in Greely Bowl at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
This post is in partnership with Travel Mindset and Ski Canada