Nearest city Revelstoke Top elevation 2225m (7300ft) | Vertical 1713m (5620ft) Base elevation 512m (1680ft) | |
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Location British Columbia, Canada Skiable area 1214 hectares (3031 acres) | ||
Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR) is a ski resort on Mount Mackenzie, just outside Revelstoke, British Columbia in Canada.
Contents
Currently, the resort has a 1713m (5620ft) vertical drop, Revelstoke has the longest vertical descent of any ski resort in North America. In terms of size, it is about the same as other major resorts, such as Breckenridge and Panorama, and about a third the size of Whistler-Blackcomb. When completed, it will have 10,000 acres (40 km2), which will make it the largest in North America.
History
Mount Mackenzie and the surrounding area has hosted a number of skiing operations for many years. Starting in the late 1960s a single two-person lift has been operational on the lower slopes, forming the basis of a resort known as Powder Springs. More recently, both Sno-Cat and Heliskiing operations have operated in the bowls on the upper elevations.
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 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.
During the summer of 2008, further trail cutting in the "North Bowl" area extended the skiable area and added a number of expert runs and glades. The Ripper, a second four-person chairlift, was added in 2008. The gondola was extended down the hill in December 2008, from the original base area to the new village area further down the hill. With this extension the lift-served vertical increased to 5,620 ft (1,710 m), overtaking Whistler's 5,280 ft (1,610 m), making it the largest in North America.
Construction
In order to build the local economy, the City of Revelstoke started the process of finding outside investors to dramatically expand the ski area and build a large 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 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 completion of a road allowing access to most of the mountain. Construction of the first five ski trails started at the top of the existing 2-person chairlift at 1100 m, extending up to 1350 m. Construction on higher-altitude trails began during the summer of 2006, covering the area from 1350 m (4320 ft) to 2300 m (7360 ft). The chairlift was removed and replaced by a new eight-person gondola, running from the original "base" area to the mid-mountain area, while a new four-person high-speed chairlift ran from that point almost to the top of the mountain.
On January 16, 2007, RMR announced its purchase of local heli-ski operation Selkirk Tangiers Helicopter Skiing Ltd. With this addition, the resort controls over 2,000 km² of heli-ski terrain with access from the resort base.
Lifts
The hill is served primarily by a high-speed gondola lift, Revelation, that rises from the base area through the mid-mountain station and allows access to the upper lifts. Two smaller chairlifts operate above the gondola, a detachable quad (The Stoke) serves to access the sub-peak, while another detachable quad (The Ripper) provides access to the North Bowl Area. A magic carpet next to the Mid-Mountain Lodge serves a small beginner slope.
A smaller fixed-grip double (The Powder Slug - a relic from the old Powder Springs) was removed in 2008 after the first season of RMR.
The ski lifts at RMR can enable access to North America's most vertical feet of lift accessed terrain.
Terrain Aspects
Events
From the 2009/2010 season, RMR is the host for the Canadian Championships of the Freeskiing World Tour, the largest competitive Big Mountain competition. By hosting this event annually, Revelstoke Mountain Resort joins other mountain resorts such as Kirkwood, Snowbird, Squaw Valley USA, and Telluride on the World Tour, helping add to Revelstoke's reputation for big mountain terrain.
Future plans
The Master Plan calls for the eventual construction of as many as 25 lifts in total, both in the currently opened western face of the mountain, as well as the bowls to the south currently served by the cat-ski operations.