Revelstoke: Heli-ski Capital of the World?

Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, in September

When I passed through the picturesque town of Revelstoke, British Columbia in September, I know that it was a quaint little ski town, with world famous helicopter skiing opportunities in the surrounding mountain ranges. I had grown up seeing the Monshees and Selkirks highlighted in the ski movies by Warren Miller (now +Warren Miller Entertainment), so it was great to be seeing the place in person, a bit of a pilgrimage for a powder skier. I was pleased to find that the town hadn't been overrun with condominiums and other development, like so many other North American ski towns. It's a real town, with actual inhabitants. What a concept!

Upon arrival in town, it was nearly sunset, so I found a pond for reflections. There wasn't much beyond the sky and reflection for a subject however, so I moved to a view where I could see one of the surrounding peaks with the last light of the sun on it.

The hotel I was staying in had a lot of skiing images on the wall, so I walked around admiring them. As it turned out, it was the base for CMH, Canadian Mountain Holidays, one of the well known heli-skiing operations in town. I've skied all of my life, and I had avalanche training along with the 12-week Outdoor Emergency Care course given by the +American Red Cross when I was on the National Ski Patrol at +Squaw Valley Resort for a few years.  With ski season on the way, I was tempted to fill out a job application! Somehow I resisted the temptation. Maybe next year....

What I didn't know at the time was that my brother would be skiing in Revelstoke this winter. With the American dollar strong, he and his friends looked into dates and prices, and decided to go with +Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing.  I couldn't join them this time, but at least I know what I missed, via his +GoPro video from the trip:


I have to admit that I'm more than a little jealous... it's definitely a "bucket list" trip that I'd like to take sometime!

 The next day there was a dusting of snow on the surrounding mountains, but the storm was already breaking up, so it was a perfect day to head into adjacent Revelstoke National Park to enjoy the views. I was planning on heading in the general direction of Lake Louise and Banff, so I couldn't go on any long hikes.

 As it turned out, the scenery was spectacular as I headed east, and the weather kept the conditions interesting for photography, so it was a great day to be on the road. I passed a few national parks that I didn't have time to explore; I'll definitely have to allocate more time to enjoy the area on my next pass through.

#roadtrip #travel +Tourism British Columbia +Visit Canada