Schweitzer/Kicking Horse/Revy ?

[reckless toboggan]

I agree that KH has some kick-ass terrain. I hesitate to say this here, but it was a little TOO kick ass for me. Some of that had to do with the fact that I was skiing with my wife and I get nervous taking her on terrain I don't know, but that's an important factor in a group situation.

This is a really good point, but I look at it as a positive.

The gnar skiers take the ridgeline and ski down to the flatbottom of the bowl.

The blue/green skiers take the gentle blue/green run and ski down to the flatbottom of the bowl.

At almost all times, the skier(s) on the ridge can look down into the bowl and see their less aggressive partner(s).

At almost all times, the skier(s) in the bowl can look up and see their more aggressive partner(s).

Same goes for the gentle cat track that winds all the way down the bottom half of the mountain, and the shorter steeper treed runs that are interrupted by that same cat track.


Pretty much an ideal set up of constant and visible meeting points for groups of varied skill levels, IMHO. I've use the terrain this way many, many times.

[Mofro261]

For KH this is ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Average Snowfall		Elevation		Snowfall
Lower Mountain		1,300 metres (4,263 feet)		252cm (100″)
Mid Mountain		1,722 metres (5,646 feet)		360cm (142″)
Alpine Snow Stations		2,150 metres (7,049 feet)		650cm (256″)
Summit Snow Stations		2,450 metres (8,033 feet)		750cm (295″) \\

If you are there when some of those limited inches them fall, it's fuckin awesome and ALL TIME!

If you are there when they don't...yeah it sucks horses ASS. Like, worse than every other ski trip you've ever taken 'cept it's in BFE-Canada and any alternatives to skiing are almost non-existent. Just my own personal experience based and based on several trips, with the caveat that ANY place getting snow is awesome and any vacation to a resort without new snow sucks ass, but with KH maybe being the MOST disparate location to go with a forecast of NEW SNOW vs. NO NEW SNOW. This is based on a couple of trips...where it didnt snow... but locals correct me if I'm wrong.

I'd still say Revy, KH, Schweizter in that order; but Revy and Schweiz both get more snow than KH. Tho' KH with out a doubt has better terrain than the Schweiz, which is fine in it's own right and I've been over there yearly the past 5yrs, but for a truly expert skier is almost devoid of challenge.

[CascadeLuke]

Can anyone comment on White Water or Red? Chatting it up in Revy several claimed White Water a hidden / local gem. As well as Red

[mntlion]

Can anyone comment on White Water or Red? Chatting it up in Revy several claimed White Water a hidden / local gem. As well as Red

WW gets snow, but limited lifts/terrain/vert if you stay in bounds. They have a strong hike/tour culture.
Red = bigger, snow, more terrain. Lots less dirty hippies too.

I would suggest a get a place in KH, plan a day trip to reve, and if people are stoked, do more. If its raining, then lake louise is also close (no rain, and skis better with less snow then other places)

also remember that if its raining in town, it MIGHT be snowing up higher. (or it might not be)

[californiagrown]

the Schweiz, which is fine in it's own right and I've been over there yearly the past 5yrs, but for a truly expert skier is almost devoid of challenge.

Youre not wrong, but Schweitzer is a really fun mountain. It will not really challenge an expert skier, pretty much at all, but it has a TON of blue/black pitched gladed trees and generally fun terrain that is pretty dialed for family time where no one is out to get rad. But even advanced skiers will find lots of fun stuff, its just not going to challenge the more bro-brah big air slay the gnar kinda folks out there. If certain lines fill in with fresh snow though, you can for sure get rad in a number of spots. the one caveat is that schweitzer will give anywhere a run for their money on fog (both amount of foggy days, as well as thickness)... as my home mtn in college its where i learned to ski braille, and i became pretty damn fluent in it. It also doesnt get a ton of snow and the weather can be really, really variable with brutal cold and then rain events midwinter a week apart.

Also, and this is super underrated... The views on a clear day of the lake are as good or better than those from heavenly or anywhere in tahoe. Its truly beautiful.

[TahoeJ]

Skied both Revelstoke and Kicking Horse last February - both are awesome mountains. There is no doubt that KH would be better if they had a mid mountain lift (or gondola mid station) taking you back up to the top. But that lower runout terrain can also be fun if you like to be creative and playful.

I give a slight edge to Revelstoke simply because lapping the stoke chair up top is so damn fun (including side country laps with a traverse / short skin back inbounds). This is about 5 minutes into the skin outside the ropes at the top of Stoke Chair... lots of options...



If you're going up there, I'd recommend going to both places.

Whatever you do, try to avoid driving over Rogers Pass (the highway between Golden and Revelstoke) during a storm. Holy shit, that is sketch.

[PNWbrit]

Can anyone comment on White Water or Red? Chatting it up in Revy several claimed White Water a hidden / local gem. As well as Red

Whitewater and Nelson both kick ass.. Not the gnar or reputation/marketing hype of KH or Revy or Red. But just a truly nice place to ski. and Kick ass Town.

Mofro nailed Revy's issue about snow conditions.

And just go where it's snowing.

Why the fuck would anyone travel all the way from CT to ski at Schweitzer?

[reckless toboggan]

Just here to eccho what mntlion and pnwbrit said re: Rossland/Red and Nelson/Whitewater.

Lived in Rossland for a while and really enjoyed the mountain there because it's a bit bigger and more "gnar". Whitewater is great too, but more a more mellow and slack country type place. Both are great towns, but I prefer Rossland for its slow, small, relaxed, minimal style; however, Nelson is probably a better town if you're looking to party in the evenings.

Revy is great too. Lots of slack country options. Bottom 1/3 of the mountain is generally painful to ski due to rain/slush/socked in almost all winter.

KH has a great location with shogrt-ish trips/access to Revy, Lake, Fernie etc. which will all ski differently for a given storm cycle. So in addition to skiing the Horse, you can easily pick and choose what/where you want to ski based on snow conditions and weather.

[GoldMember]

Youre not wrong, but Schweitzer is a really fun mountain. It will not really challenge an expert skier, pretty much at all, but it has a TON of blue/black pitched gladed trees and generally fun terrain that is pretty dialed for family time where no one is out to get rad. But even advanced skiers will find lots of fun stuff, its just not going to challenge the more bro-brah big air slay the gnar kinda folks out there. If certain lines fill in with fresh snow though, you can for sure get rad in a number of spots. the one caveat is that schweitzer will give anywhere a run for their money on fog (both amount of foggy days, as well as thickness)... as my home mtn in college its where i learned to ski braille, and i became pretty damn fluent in it. It also doesnt get a ton of snow and the weather can be really, really variable with brutal cold and then rain events midwinter a week apart.

Also, and this is super underrated... The views on a clear day of the lake are as good or better than those from heavenly or anywhere in tahoe. Its truly beautiful.

I've been skiing Schweitzer for the past 28 years as my home hill. What's stated here is largely true but I would offer that there are areas that are steep and challenging for experts. There's just not enough of it and it's sort of a pain to cycle it. The Lakeside Chutes are steep and fun, just not very long and a bit of a pain to cycle. Same is true for the South Bowl with the R Chutes and that area. As for amount of snow, depends on the year. We may have had some drier winters when you were here for school, like in the early-mid nineties, for example. This past winter, though, we cumulatively had over 450" over the course of the season; a really good year. And yes, we do get fog and some mid-season rain but I've had that happen in Revelstoke before so it's not that unusual at northern ski areas with somewhat lower elevations than, say, Colorado mountains.

Schweitzer is great for me as my home mountain but I would put Revy ahead of it as a destination. I've never skied KH but have heard great things, not to mention access to Rogers Pass for those thinking of touring while in the area.

[2FUNKY]

Why the fuck would anyone travel all the way from CT to ski at Schweitzer?

This. No one needs to stop here. Please just keep on driving.

[Shredhead]

And just go where it's snowing.

Why the fuck would anyone travel all the way from CT to ski at Schweitzer?

Last minute on Southwest into GEG, is a lot easier for most yanks, than YYC. Rent a mini van and make a loop.
The opportunities are endless, depending on your budget.

[GoldMember]

Last minute on Southwest into GEG, is a lot easier for most yanks, than YYC. Rent a mini van and make a loop.
The opportunities are endless, depending on your budget.

Depending on how much time OP has, I was going to suggest this. Fly into Spokane, rent a van, head for Rossland/Red, WW, Revy, KH, Fernie, Schweitzer, back to Spokane and out. Or just follow the storms and go wherever.

[PNWbrit]

Looking for some recommendations for a large group (9-11).

So what you really need is somewhere with lots of flights, that's really easy to get to from the airport and doesn't need a bunch of rental cars to get around while you're there. Somewhere with lots of choices of things to do in the evenings. Skiing for mixed abilities.

Why not Whistler?

[DougW]

not much to add but if its raining at KH its certainly raining at Revie just a bit lower elev wiser and was very very probably ( almost 100% ) raining yesterday or today in WW, Red and Fernie. You can always look up the advanced weather and see the temps over night by hour and snowfall per hour.

Reckless left out Taps as a good place to go though he mentioned Riv House? ( cough.. dirtbag) Taps is packed Tuesday night for trival night

Cedar House is a great place to go ( haven't been lately YRMV) to lose weight. You will leave hungry and your wallet will be noticeably lighter. The Island can be hit or miss depending who is cooking. Wolves Den for very good burgers. Finer dining 1122 or Whitetooth Bistro.

[reckless toboggan]

Reckless left out Taps as a good place to go though he mentioned Riv House? ( cough.. dirtbag) Taps is packed Tuesday night for trival night

Hahaha. Guilty as charged. Taps is good too. You want real OG dirtbag, I used to spend time at the Mad Trapper and the Roadhouse.

[boardtodeath]

I was in revy from 2008-2011 and it's a great spot but I hear it gets pretty busy right now and it's very much choked by the dumbass lift layout. They need 1-2 more lifts on the front side, going towards that bowl over by jalapeno. The area that TahoeJ's picture is from, and beyond.

I literally have never been to KH and I'm pretty ashamed of that. Had a trip planned last season but it got canceled.


Red is the fuckin bomb! WW too but ww is basically just a way to access the BC.

[GoldMember]

Here's a pic of the Revy lift line one powder day...

[PNWbrit]

powder day...

Doesn't look much of a powder day to me.....

[knowsam]

Where are you coming from and will you have a car? You'll do fine at either Revy or KH (my bias is KH, but reasonable people prefer Revy).

If you stay KH/Golden, you're coming from far enough away that you won't be back soon and have a car, spend a day at Lake Louise, a day or two at KH and a day or two at Revy. Ticks off a lot of boxes and you'll have a good time.

Also worth noting, going from Golden to Revy, you cross time zones and gain an hour, which can be a nice touch the morning after apres with the guys (or herding the fuckers into a car).

[TahoeJ]

Here's a pic of the Revy lift line one powder day...

To be fair, that's first thing in the morning and the only place to go, and after the initial wave everyone spreads out and it's not that bad. It's nothing like the KT lines at Squaw where there continues to be a huge line all morning long, even after skier dispersement.

Both Revy and KH could use a few more lifts, no doubt.

[grinch]

Here's a pic of the Revy lift line one powder day...

Or you can show up at 9:30 or 10 to no
line up and still ski 50000 ft. Pow all day and save a couple super fresh lines for last 2 laps . Not many visitors believe me though so you can get in line and be whipped by 2 pm. As Steve Martin stuttered. It’s all “ti ti time time ing timing”

[GoldMember]

Doesn't look much of a powder day to me.....

This is at the bottom of the hill. Conditions, much like Whistler, can be dramatically different up high.

[PNWbrit]

This is at the bottom of the hill. Conditions, much like Whistler, can be dramatically different up high.

I know.



I have been there plenty of times. And on actual Powder days.

Actually met the original ski area's owner when he was (still) waiting for sale to go through.

"what they don't realize is the base is too damn low and the runway too short... but I'm still taking their cash"

Still doesn't look like much of a powder day to me.

Dirty snow, dry pavement.

I am actually helping your point.. this line was on a mediocre powder day.

[GoldMember]

We skied the original area one day when we were weathered out for heli. It was okay but, yeah, too low. We were skiing in the rain/slush. Pretty common on the lower mountain where the original area was.

[DougW]

Hahaha. Guilty as charged. Taps is good too. You want real OG dirtbag, I used to spend time at the Mad Trapper and the Roadhouse.

Well you could have mentioned the Dugout.