Revelstoke Mountain Resort — Attraction in Revelstoke

Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks – A Day with Revelstoke’s Mountain Sports School

Skiing is one of those sports where you can spend decades thinking you’re pretty good—until a seasoned instructor like Ralph politely reminds you that you’ve been doing at least three things wrong since the ‘90s.

Ralph was a patient, knowledgeable, and impressively athletic instructor who somehow managed to teach all four of us something new without making us feel like we belonged in ski school with the five-year-olds. His pacing was spot-on, ensuring we improved without realizing how much work we were actually doing—until, of course, he made us ski The Last Spike to get to Revelstoke Lodge for lunch. If you’ve never skied it, just imagine a scenic, leg-burning odyssey that leaves you questioning your life choices by the time you see a sandwich.

Beyond technique, Ralph gave us a true insider’s tour, leading us to alpine bowls and powder stashes in the glades that we never would’ve found on our own. Let’s be real—without him, we probably would’ve spent half the day “exploring” (a.k.a. getting lost) or skiing the same run repeatedly out of fear of accidentally dropping into something terrifying.

Oh, and did I mention Ralph is bilingual? When he wasn’t coaching us, he was effortlessly helping guests from his home province of Quebec find their way—proving that good instruction, much like fresh powder, knows no language barrier.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort itself is the real deal—a mountain that will humble the cocky and reward the skilled. Whether you’re a lifelong skier or just looking to level up, the Mountain Sports School is worth every penny. Because, as Ralph proved, even old dogs can learn new tricks—especially when properly motivated by the...

You know when things can't possibly live up to the hype? That's Revelstoke. The mountains are beautiful. But the resort leaves much to be desired. They boast the largest vertical drop in North America: over 1,700 meters (5,600 feet). But what they don't tell you is that only the highest 25% of that terrain is consistently skiable with decent snow. Some of that also isn't lift-served. During our visit in mid-February, most of the runs below 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) elevation were closed, a mix of mud, rocks, bushes and sad patches of rapidly melting slush. So this resort is really about 500m of vert, essentially the same as many others you'll get in the western US and Canada. The snow quality is pretty much Sierra Cement; we called it Canadian Concrete. Blower powder? Not so much.

The base village was a mud hole, especially the area around the gondola which is the only way to get up and out of the base, creating a massive choke point and long lines in the morning. The village itself is nice, but pretty limited. There's a bar and an over-priced restaurant and a handful of ski shops. If you want anything else, you have to go into town, which is about 7 km away and serviced by a small bus that only runs about once an hour in the evening.

I've certainly skied worse resorts than Revelstoke, but the price to be paid to reach this remote location, coupled with the drawbacks outlined above, mean I...

5 stars for the location, 1st at for the greed of the owners who are managing a real estate entreprise… Dear Revelstoke, I have been enjoying your wonderful terrain and mountain powder for years. It has been my favourite resort on this continent. Last weekend, we were blessed by fresh powder once again. However, the experience has dramatically changed for worst with almost double prices over a ten year period. Crowds were almost not bearable on Saturday. It could be okay if everyone was in the same boat but the priority system (residents, first tracks premium payers, ..) makes the pill hard to swallow. But the worst is your new camera system. It feels like border security service at a ski resort! In the morning someone was standing ahead of me when the picture of taken. Later in the day I was stoped by the staff because the pictures weren’t matching (duh!). I had my mountain collective with my picture on it, everything in good standing but I had to argue and prove myself to the staff. I understand “fraud” can be a problem but when I am going to ski it is for freedom, not for my picture being taken and stored in a database like in a police state. Please erase those and send me the confirmation. Best regards.

This was sent to their customer service and they didn’t care to reply or...