Solid conditions for beginners and plans for a large brand new beginners’ area!
Revelstoke is already beginning to be known as a resort exclusively for intermediate and expert skiers. Its relatively small proportion of easy trails (marked green in Canada) – less than 10% - seems to support the misconception. Yet, even if it doesn’t jump right out at you from the trail map, if you look a bit more closely at the ski area itself, you will also find good beginner terrain. True beginners, or anybody looking to get a warm-up run in before moving on to longer trails, should catch the Revelation gondola to the mid-way terminal and from there take the short beginner trail “Little Bit” back down to the Mid-Mountain lodge. The magic carpet right next to it gives you a nice and easy ride right back up to the start of the trail. That’s the area that newbies are going to want to spend the most time in honing their skills before taking on one of the longer trails leading down to the base terminal of the gondola. Once you are ready, it’ll be useful to know that the intermediate (blue) and relatively broad trails, “The Last Spike” and “Tickle Trunk,” are the easiest ones that’ll take you back to the base. More experienced beginners ready to explore some steeper varieties can take the Revelation gondola all the way to the top. From there, the easy trail, “The Last Spike,” will take you directly to the more challenging runs “Feller Buncher,” “Wooley Bully” and “Snow Rodeo.” One of the advantages of those three trails is that they are intersected by the easy trails, “The Last Spike” and “The Sunshine,” so if you need to, you can change over to an easier option along the way. Only skiers and snowboarders who already have experience on challenging terrain should board the chairlift “The Stoke.” Beginners can look forward to the continuing expansion of the ski area, since the construction of a large beginners’ area directly above the Nelson & Village Lodge is in store. With that area, Revelstoke Mountain Resort will have a very good shot at improving their score of 3.5 stars in the Beginner category.