Celebrating turning 50, we extended the trip to 6 days this year (8 days with travel). With a forecast of 45+ cm for Revelstoke the day after we arrived, we rearranged the order of our trip a bit - power-drove from Calgary right to revelstoke and spent the first 5 nights at Sutton Place right at the base. We didn't quite get that much snow (officially 7" during day/night), but with the 8" they had two days before, we were able to find powder stashes for the next four days. Revelstoke moved itself into the pantheon of great mountains (In no particular order - Jackson, Whistler, Vail, Alta, Revelstoke). 5600+ of vertical, all steep, tons of tree skiing and nobody there. Cheap Canadian lift tickets as well ($53/day with Vertical card). Amazing hiking opportunities too. We were shut out of helicopter skiing - apparently, it must be reserved months in advance, so we have to return. Relive the 3rd day of Revelstoke, thanks to Fink's ski-tracker app. 58km of movement (estimated 40km of skiing), 8.5km of descent. We had traditional Frittata (with Jam on our toast!) and good meals all 5 nights, although we didn't make it to Parmajit's kitchen. Lowlight - "going to have to call it on you" as we were turned around on a late day hike off Stoke chair.
But that wasn't the end. On Thursday, we drove to Kicking Horse which is essentially 4 enormous bowls. Even fewer people there, and our morning was disappointing as snow conditions were fair. And then we met Ken, who gave us the guided tour, with historical bits thrown in for good measure. He took us on an intense hike up a ridge to the peak of Terminator, and found us powder stashes almost a week after the last storm. Thanks Ken! Thursday night we stayed in Banff (hidden ridge resort), possibly the quintessential ski town. Great restaurants, many people out walking, stunning mountains (particularly in the light of an 8:30am sunrise), and we had our last day at Lake Louise where the next round of snow began, making for another good afternoon.
1 Comments:
Wonderfully described as always Jon! And what a find this guide, Ken, was. Mark says Ken sent additional photos today of the area you hiked so you could see what the route looked like from afar. The photo of the 3 of you is a definite keeper... still looking great after all these years and ski adventures.
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