Off-season quest in Kootenay Rockies
Powder may have gone, but fun remains on and off the slopes with resort’s mountain coaster
KOOTENAY ROCKIES, B.C.— I’m on a gondola, heading up the ski hill at Revelstoke, but instead of a parka and toque I’m wearing a T-shirt and sandals. The slopes are no longer covered in powder; instead, they’re sprinkled with pink and purple lupines. But I’m still going to be racing down this mountain — just not on a pair of skis.
Now in its second season, the Pipe is Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s newest summer activity — a mountain coaster that takes you 1.4 kilometres through glades and forest at up to 42 km/h, with a 279-vertical-metre drop, all in about three minutes. The monorail is built close to the ground, meant to simulate downhill mountain biking.
I’m a bit nervous as I buckle into what looks like a bright-yellow kiddie sled. There’s nothing else but a manual brake: pull back to slow down, push forward to speed up. But once I fly out of a tunnel into the wilderness of the Kootenay Rockies, I can’t stop giggling. When it’s over, I want to head back up the gondola and do it all over again (it’s worth opting for the two-ride option).
Sure, there are no upside-down loops, but there are a couple of steep drops and wicked turns — and the natural setting beats any man-made theme park. If you were to see a bear, it would be a real one.
When the coaster opened last summer, the resort wasn’t exactly prepared for the response. “We were expecting it to be a highlight for the area, but . . . it just exploded and our video went viral,” said Carly Moran, spokesperson for Revelstoke Mountain Resort, who rides the coaster after me, despite the fact she’s on crutches (which seems to embody the adventurous spirit of the people who call Revelstoke home). “At that point, we knew it would be a bigger deal.”
This year, they’re prepared, so when you buy a ticket you’re given a loading time — which means you don’t have to waste time standing in line. Instead, you can ride the upper gondola to Mackenzie Outpost and hike the newly opened Cupcake Loop, an easy 2.3-km alpine trail with viewing platforms overlooking the Monashee Mountain Range and Columbia River.
Or skip the gondola and hike there, on the new 3.7-km double black diamond trail with mandatory ladder climbs on the Kill the Banker ski run. “We’re kind of equating it to the Grouse Grind,” said Moran, of “Mother Nature’s StairMaster” near Vancouver. “It’s technical and super steep — anybody who’s skied it in the winter can attest to it being a steep, hard run.”
There are also two new intermediate blue-graded single-track hiking loops, Bottoms Up and Take It Easy.
For those who don’t feel like breaking a sweat for summit views, Mount Revelstoke National Park is the only place in the Canadian national parks system where you can drive to within a couple minutes’ walk of a summit.
“It’s our claim to fame,” said Rick Reynolds, a manager with Parks Canada, who leads us to a new ski jump exhibit, which opened in time for Canada 150 celebrations. To get there, we walk through the world’s only interior cedar rainforest — another of Revelstoke’s claims to fame. It’s also a big draw for thrill-seeking mountain bikers.
Most mountain biking in Canadian national parks is done on fire roads — but not here. “About 30 years ago we built the first single-track dedicated mountain bike trail in this area, which is now a mountain biking haven,” Reynolds said.
In the Revelstoke area, downhill mountain bikers can tackle roots on Boulder Mountain, Blanket Creek and Sale Mountain, or cruise the alpine on Frisby Ridge and Keystone Standard Basin.
Matt Yaki, owner of Wandering Wheels, meets us at Skookum Bike Rentals in Revelstoke, where we pick up our bikes before heading out to Mt. Macpherson for a guided ride on a “green” trail. Yaki says the green (easy) trail should probably be a blue (intermediate) trail, but it’s the easiest trail they’ve got.
I thought I knew how to ride a bike — until Revelstoke taught me otherwise. This is the real deal and whether you’re a newbie or want to brush up on your skills this is where to come.
The Kootenay Rockies is home to four mountain ranges, each with its own character — and plenty of outdoor action throughout the year. While the region is known for skiing and snowboarding, it’s amping up the outdoor fun year-round.
Another new attraction is Kokanee Mountain Zipline, which offers a guided zip line tour with 1.5 km of zip lines at speeds of up to 100 km/h. After two “warm-up” zip lines, you find yourself stepping off a platform with a 90-metre drop to the Kokanee Creek canyon below. There are six zip lines in total.
With so much going on, skiers and snowboarders may want to consider an off-season trip, when the snow melts to reveal a whole new world of outdoor adventure — no mud room required. Vawn Himmelsbach was hosted by Destination B.C., which didn’t review or approve this story.