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 won't be back.