Revelstoke vs. Red Mtn

[Dr. Lobotomy]

2nd week of January.
Choosing between Revelstoke and Red.
Red is more convenient for me as I'm in Portland, but not necessarily for friends in Detroit.

Don't have any personal experience w either. Seem similar, except for Revy's extra vertical.

Fill me with wisdom, ye maggots.

[steezybomber]

Both great mtns but a different feel. I've skied both a bunch and prefer revy, but it is a haul to get to. I usually hit both, any reason u cant ski em both? If I had to choose I wud pick revy just for variety of terrain, but the vibe at red is hard to beat.

[Primasativa]

Love them both...but Red has more interesting terrain options IMO...but less snow typically. I also prefer Rossland over Revelstoke town wise. Part of that bias comes from knowing more people there

[Shredhead]

2nd week of January.

Fill me with wisdom, ye maggots.

Red's a better mountain if they have the snow, which can be a big if.
Have your MI buds fly into GEG and choose which one that day and don't forget to factor in WW.

[2wheeler]

Although Red is a smaller mountain its density of incredible skiing is unmatched. The top third of Revy is a beautiful thing, but the lift setup can be frustrating. The bottom half of the mountain can sometimes feel like a chore to get back to the lift. I like Red's backcountry more as well, it's a little less alpine and a little more trees. If your friends from the East want that big mountain western experience then Revy is hard to beat. If they're more into the chilled out ski town atmosphere then Rossland would be better.

Red has the best on hill ski pub bar none.

[Dr. Lobotomy]

Would I be correct in assuming that snow is more consistent/reliable at Revelstoke because it is farther North?

[Danny Noonan]

Would I be correct in assuming that snow is more consistent/reliable at Revelstoke because it is farther North?

You are never going to be able to predict that in BC. They would be marginally different as Red is closer to the ocean too. Both can be really good at that time of year. For me, Red Mountain (and Whitewater which is only 40 minutes away and needs to be visited if you are going that way) are slackcountry paradise. Red has some incredible terrain and I agree with above post that the towns surrounding these are hilarious and fun. You will see dudes at Red and WW that are 80 and have skied there for 65 years straight with their grandkids hucking cliffs. Rowdy crowd.

Revy is in my opinion the best skiing in North America. The terrain is sick and gives you everything you could want. Huge vert and some pretty intense stuff but way more expensive to stay and ski (especially to stay on hill). You basically ski two chairs all day and get everything you could ever ask for with a little boot pack. The vertical does give you a bit more luck with snow but again it is a toss up.

Sort of depends on what you are looking for. Both mountains have ripping locals, one is the small town, awesome ski experience, at a super unique hill in the Rossland and Nelson area. The other is a big mountain resort that can host FWT events and has huge options for terrain and leg burning lines is Revy.

[Schemeboat]

^^ Revy is more consistent at a higher elevation, but the bottom is sometimes questionable, but not usually a problem if they have a good opening (they will) subject to some interesting wx patters being in the middle of a wagon wheel of monashee-selkirks. No reason to stay on the hill, lots of air bnb etc throughout the town. cheapish hotels as well, wont take much. Its still a town on the side of the trans canada so you can still find a cheap motor inn.

Red gives you the option of skiing whitewater, which is mega fun.
Revy gives you the pass and Kicking horse.

I'd say for a mountain experience, check revy as you get way up there. but for a mountain-life experience with awesome shredding, go for red as its got a super history and if conditions permit, equally great steep skiing.

[gramboh]

I'd side with Revy. Going to be a lot more impressive to the eastern friends.

Do you have the cash to try to swing a day of cat skiing? Can always try stand-by with the various ops in the area (the ones you can drive to the staging area like K3 and Retallack). I would not do the resort cat skiing since it's easily hit by people touring.

[Bobcat Sig]

I've never skied Revy, thought it's on the list. I have skied Red a few times and I'll just say this: believe the hype. To this day, I had my best tree run of my life there. On a weekend.

I did find Rossland to be a super dead town. Not that I was looking for a raging village like Whistler, but it seemed like there was nothing there. And beer was retarded expensive. Nonetheless, I will definitely go back. Fun experience all around.

[AlexC]

Revy is pretty much guaranteed good snow on the upper mountain (Stoke and Ripper chairs) unless you get hit by a pineapple express, which usually happens once a winter. The terrain below the Stoke is awesome, but the snow is less reliable. When the snow is good down low, Revy is the best. When it isn't, it's no better than Red or WW.

[The SMP]

2nd week of January.
Choosing between Revelstoke and Red.
Red is more convenient for me as I'm in Portland, but not necessarily for friends in Detroit.

Don't have any personal experience w either. Seem similar, except for Revy's extra vertical.

Fill me with wisdom, ye maggots.

Did this exact trip last year. I drove from portland through spokane and skied Red for 2-3 days. Then over to kelowna to pick up some east coast guys before heading to revy for 10 days. I don't mind the driving and really hate airports so it was a non-issue for me.

We did get bad snow at revy, so it is possible. There was no precip for ~4 weeks late jan/feb and I was there right at the end. It was cold as shit and bombing the groom got old fast. The pattern was get up at 10am, freeze for 3 hours, get drunk on hill, stay drunk in town, and repeat.

Now I don't think you should judge anyplace based on weather which you can't predict. If my friends hadn't booked a flight I would have tried to cancel as the pattern was pretty locked in. I had pretty similar conditions at both places and in the suck conditions Red was more fun.

In good snow I can see how people really like revy. But it kind of skis like 2 resorts, each with a single chair. As mentioned above, the lift setup is kind of a pain and I can only imagine the lineups when it dumps overnight. It also felt like 2 different worlds in terms of vibe. On hill is corp with heli folks, places that tell you how many stars they have, and ski valet. Town felt like half salt lake (meth'd) half jackson (Bro'd).

Red I thought was a blast since it has a ton of different areas that are all connected, kind of like Vail in that respect. The gladed areas were more developed where at revy it sometimes felt like I was backcountry trying to get back to the valley. All the Red lifts are solid. Most you can lap and ski fall line back to the Q. On mountain vibe is more skibowl and the bar in the attic is great. Rossland is awesome, like some east side neighborhoods.

I'll be going back to Red or WW very soon. Not likely to head back to Revy until I can afford some heli days. If your EC buddies want to see huge mountains or want to ski +5k vert then revy. If you're there to ski and then get drunk go to red. Also, I don't go on vacation to tour so didn't even consider BC at either place.

[wolfelot]

I gotta get to these places.

[uglymoney]

For what I like Kicking Horse kicks the shit out of Revy but Revy is pretty fun and I loved the town and the people and didn't want to leave (except to ski Kicking Horse). We stopped by Red and had a beer and look see on the way to Spokane for our flight and I can't wait to get back and ski that place. The whole area is a wonderland.

[clarkee]

Go with the snow we stayed in Nelson and skied whitewater and red these two days are still in my top 20 days ever. Probably top 10 if i gave that much of a shit

[The Duke of Hurl]

Not much to add to the above, Red for volume of snow, trees, ledgy terrain. Revy for vert, alpine bowls. Seems to snow (and rain) more often at Red. I also prefer Kicking Horse to Revy for open steeps. Whitewater, especially since the Glory chair opened, should be on anyone's list. Also Fernie and the Castle but they are farther east than your proposed ideas. Drive to Spokane, pick up your friends (who should definitely fly to Spokane for this trip) then drive to best snow conditions at any of these resorts. None of these places will be lacking last-minute lodging options. How many of them you hit is a function of how much you crave variety as opposed to how much you hate driving. They're all about a 2-3 hr drive from the next one.

And tour Roger's Pass, if you're interested in a life-altering experience.

Edit to add: And, as towns go, Nelson. Best of the three, by far.

See you up there.

[ghosthop]

This thread and the fernie v whitefish thread seriously deliver, thanks for the info

This is all pretty timely as I'm planning on crossing the border for spring break and have been eyeing up all the nearby resorts in Alberta/BC. I'm curious to know if WW offers up anything different from red or if its just a chance to get on a different set of lifts if I'm in town for a few days. Also, I'm assuming like jackson, revy and kh aren't really worth doing for just a day and are worth their own trip.

[kootenayskier]

Depends what you're looking for. Revelstoke is a flashy new real-estate play which ticks all the big vertical/snowfall/views boxes. Red/Rossland is the quirky end result of generations of dedicated skiers.

[XXX-er]

I can't be bothered to look up elevations but I think its Red and that would play a big part when temps go up, you also got KH real close with Rogers pass in the middle which is a huge plus

Close to Red you got WW also Big/White SS , I am pretty sure Big White is higher than any of them

Did this exact trip last year.

We did get bad snow at revy, so it is possible. There was no precip for ~4 weeks late jan/feb and I was there right at the end. It was cold as shit and bombing the groom got old fast.
.

rogers pass was great during that ^^ drought, for 2 weeks we could go anywhere and do any objective and actually see where we were going, got 2 new tours in that my buddy had never done and he's been going to the pass for >20yrs

[PNWbrit]

Revy is in my opinion the best skiing in North America..

That is quite a bold statement.

[Dr. Lobotomy]

I was under the impression that drive times were much longer than are suggested here.
What's typical drive time for:
a. Spokane--Red
b. Red--Revy
c. Calgary--Revy

?

[whyturn]

Spokane to red is 3 hours
Red to revy is 5
Revy to Calgary?
Just drive back from revy to Nelson hit whitewater then 3-4 to Spokane

[Eastcoastdan]

This thread and the fernie v whitefish thread seriously deliver, thanks for the info

This is all pretty timely as I'm planning on crossing the border for spring break and have been eyeing up all the nearby resorts in Alberta/BC. I'm curious to know if WW offers up anything different from red or if its just a chance to get on a different set of lifts if I'm in town for a few days. Also, I'm assuming like jackson, revy and kh aren't really worth doing for just a day and are worth their own trip.

I stayed in Golden for a week last year in March and it is definitely worth it to rip over to KH for a day from Revy or vice versa. Just keep in mind that there is a time change. If staying in Golden you can wake up and take your pick because you gain an hour on the way to Revy.

[Buster Highmen]

In our experience, Spokane to Red is more like 2+ hours in normal road and border conditions.

[AlexC]

Not much to add to the above, Red for volume of snow, trees, ledgy terrain. Revy for vert, alpine bowls. Seems to snow (and rain) more often at Red.
...

Most of your post is bang on, except Revy gets way more snow than Red (10 metre average vs 7.5 metre average).