AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
Working for TRACKS definitely has its advantages. One is that we get to test ride most of the new snowmobile models before most snowmobilers even know they exist. And, second, se get to travel across the snowbelt to some very exciting and incredibly beautiful snow country areas.
Now, when you can combine new sled testing with visiting an absolutely stunning snowmobile area, well, even the most jaundiced journalist has to believe that he has died and truly gone to heaven. For me heaven is the mountain terrain surrounding Revelstoke, British Columbia. It is totally unlike anything in Lake Country. And, the beauty of Revelstoke is that about the time the final snows have left Lake Country, the conditions are nearly perfect in this B.C. snowmobile heaven.
Now, then, if you've seen a new Ski-Doo brochure or watched a Ski-Doo movie at a dealership, then you've seen Revelstoke. Ski-Doo has tested and shot its promotional photography there for the past couple of seasons. Looking at the results tells you why the company chose Revelstoke.
This western Canada city, which bills itself as British Columbia's Mountain Paradise, is home for about 8,500 of the luckiest people in Canada. Set in the mountains west of Banff and its famed landscape, Revelstoke is definitely a winter mountain paradise. With an annual snowfall that measures 630 inches, you can bet that when most of the rest of the snowbelt has lost its snow cover, the snowmobiling is still good to excellent in Revelstoke.
Terry Fleming, the local Ski-Doo snowmobile dealer, and his son Kevin, who has been a stunt rider on the '88 Ski-Doo sleds in Bombardier's advertising and movie presentations, are very involved in trying to get the word out about the local beauty of such places as Boulder Mountain, Catherine Lake and Wap Creek Valley. They feel that Revelstoke will have arrived as a snowmobile area comparable to West Yellowstone in the U.S. once the secret is out about the "snow ghosts" on Frisby Ridge or the magnificent scenery that can be enjoyed along the many miles of alpine snowmobiling.
The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, which was chosen as Canada's top snowmobile club in 1985, and the local tourism association are very serious about promoting this area as a world class destination snowmobile area. If world class requires excellent lodging choices, a variety of restaurants and, of course, an excellent snowmobiling area with mapped and marked trails, then Revelstoke will qualify. For a city of less than 10,000 people, Revelstoke is blessed with an abundance of hotels and motels that offer everything from budget lodging to plush rooms with kitchen facilities, indoor swimming pools, saunas, whirlpools and all the other features that appeal to snowmobilers who want to relax after a day of putting on "hard miles."
You will find snow. Snowmobiling, which is generally good throughout the winter, takes on a special attraction in the Spring, which is when most serious Revelstoke snowmobilers enjoy their best riding. The days are longer, the snow more settled, and those hard-to-reach higher spots are easier to get to then.
Revelstoke "pro's" say that March through May offers some of the best snowmobiling. If you think May is late, consider that one of Ski-Doo's stunt riders told us that he has snowmobiled the Revelstoke area into mid-June! He had to trailer a little higher up the mountain roads, but he said he still had lots of good riding.
No matter what time of year you visit, the big reason you'll head for Revelstoke is for snowmobiling the area itself. To ride up to Frisby Ridge to visit the "snow ghosts," actually snow-caked trees, you would ride to an elevation of about 6,200 feet. The trail head has a parking area where you can unload your trailer. To get up to Frisby Ridge you'd ride 15 miles of groomed trails leading to the top of this alpine ridge. Once on top, you can enjoy miles and miles of ridge riding. Frisby Ridge is just one of the places to ride! If you ride up Boulder Mountain, you'll find a chalet. It's maintained by the Revelstoke club and open for everyone's use.
Be sure to take along a small camera and lots of film. Stop frequently and record the scenery. On Frisby Ridge capture the snow ghosts. And on the way up, you might want to take a picture of your snowmobile group breaking through the low-hanging clouds that frequently cling to the mountainside. Turn around once in a while, too. Look back down the mountain toward Revelstoke. You'll see an incredible panorama of rugged mountains which look as though they are cradling the city. And look for the man-made lake behind the huge hydro dam. From high up on the sharply angled mountain trail, the city and dam below may look like toys in a kid's sandbox, but they aren't.
There's a peace and perspective that you'll appreciate when snowmobiling above Revelstoke. I've been very fortunate to have been able to snowmobile in a great many places, but there is something special for me about Revelstoke.
The snowmobiling is excellent. The scenery is world-class. The accommodations are very good. The people in the area are extremely friendly, very courteous and sincerely seem to appreciate outsiders taking a little time to enjoy what many of them have been enjoying for a lifetime. It's not a single thing that makes Revelstoke a special place. It's bits and pieces of a lot of things. It's a great place to snowmobile, and, I think, it is a great place to visit.
I'm not alone, TRACKS' reader Wil Johnson, on a tip from us, took a tour to Revelstoke. He called to tell us that everything we had said was absolutely true. In fact, he said that the photos we had taken didn't do the area justice. Was he excited about the trip? You bet. For about $750.00- which included airfare, ground transportation to and from Revelstoke, all rooms, all sled rentals, all but two meals, and a superb time- Wil said that it was one of the best and least expensive five day vacations that he had ever taken.
Hey, we didn't pay him to say that- after all, it was his own money. It is a great place.
Revelstoke, it's truly like dying and going to heaven- with one advantage. They have snowmobiles in Revelstoke.