I originally intended to highlight a double black diamond run at the Revelstoke Resort but the events this week in Brussels gave me pause. If you have a minute check out the run under the Gondola – the large rocks, cliffs, river and 35 to 50 degree slope are daunting and well beyond my skiing skill level. Revelstoke was the first stop on my Canadian ski trip, the city itself is a classic ski town that was mostly focused around logging before the resort was built. Today it is an international draw for young people who ski and work to make ends meet. We enjoyed the many Australians who take advantage of work visas to spend up to two years in Canada and the many Europeans we met. Everyone is bi to multi-lingual — impressive.
Mount Mackenzie (home to Revelstoke) is 8,074 feet tall or 2461 meters and is surrounded by many other peaks of similar size. The mountain has 1713 meters of vertical drop or 5620 feet. For comparison, Limelight at Sun Valley is about 3000 vertical feet and it seems like you will never reach the bottom. The mountain has 3121 acres, or 1263 hectares, of fall line skiing. No big surprise – 47.5 % of the 65 runs are advanced. A cool fact – if you ski from top to bottom on the extensive cat track system it is 9.5 miles. The lodge and facilities are excellent and the people are engaging and sincerely friendly.
A few day into the trip we caught a helicopter ride into the heart of the Monashee Mountains – to Mustang Powder. I had been there once before with Mr. Holleran and this trip included my daughter Katie. Mustang is primarily a cat ski operation that has unbelievable terrain – 32000 acres serviced by 400 kilometers of cat roads that are built on the nearly 60 feet of annual snowfall. Ali and Nick opened Mustang 12 years ago and they have earned a loyal and raving skier following. Exceptional food, world class guides, the best equipment and a family atmosphere make the time fly at Mustang. The last of our three days was highlighted by an accumulation of new powder that was 3 feet deep in many places. You could totally disappear in the flying snow on each turn.
I have been told that if you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space. I believe that is a relative measurement and for me Mustang provided all of the challenge I would ever want – Katie and John may not have found their personal edges. Thanks to them for picking me up periodically from the deep.
When I played golf in college, I was explaining to my coach that I kept hitting shots both left and right making a difficult game even more challenging. The coach responded ” if you hit it – it is going to go somewhere”. I could not argue with that logic although it was not helpful. D.H Lawrence said “when one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.” He and my golf coach would communicate well. I will leave you with a useful quote – ” life truly begins at the edge of your comfort zone”.
Have a great weekend.