It sometimes pains me to see friends and family wanting to see winter end when it hasn’t even come close to begin in the PNW. It is March, and I still want WINTER. For once, I can say I am jealous of my east coast friends even if it is bitter cold.
Being a new skier makes me itch for getting out on the mountains more, especially after such a great season last year. It makes winter bearable to see rain in the city of Seattle if it means it is snowing in the mountains. However, it hasn’t been cold enough for the precipitation to turn to snow. I might have only had a few pow days this year and skied at my local resort once. Fortunately, the season pass was tied to skiing at Silver Star resort–the main appeal is it is relatively close to Revelstoke. Revelstoke has the longest vertical run in North America, so it is easy to see why skiers want to head to inner British Columbia.
I have been skiing in Canada more than the U.S this year.
Revelstoke
Trips to Whistler have been on the books for months, but I was more excited to check out new resorts. Leaving at 11 p.m. Thursday night, I jumped in the fully-loaded car with my fellow Stevens season pass holders and took the first driving shift to the Canadian border. Stopping and switching drivers as we stopped for gas, we made it to a Denny’s right outside of Revelstoke for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. before heading to the mountain. Then we skied, and skied, and skied as the snow fell.
Good snow, no lift lines, and ski slopes I had to myself at times are only a few reasons why I plan on returning. Perfectly spaced glade runs through the trees were fun as we skied both sides of the resort and long terrain. My legs burned, so I would take breaks that I wasn’t getting from lift lines. Take the Stoke Chair to the top and hike up to Mt MacKenzie or around to the north side and hit the black diamonds down to Greely Bowl.
Revelstoke Day 1 Stats – 20.4 k vertical feet.
Revelstoke Day 2 Stats – 21.7 k vertical feet.
Silver Star
Not wanting to leave Revelstoke, we reluctantly made the short drive to Silver Star. After checking into our rental, we talked so some of the local skiers who told us where to hit if there was enough fresh pow but warned us of the 20 minute flat terrain to get in these fresh turns. The village is ski-in and ski-out with AirBnB rentals available. The village did not have night scene, so it was an early night.
After jumping onto the second chair the next morning, we headed to Alder Point. The traverse was worth it as we had fresh turns from the evening’s dump.
I was then left to explore by myself as the boys ventured off. I enjoyed hitting black diamond runs off of blue runs and had the morning to practice my skiing without the feeling I was holding anyone back. After the morning of self exploration, I headed back to the rental for lunch. The remaining part of the day was spent exploring more of the resort as I tried to ride every lift.
Having to drive back to Seattle the second day, only three of us decided to ride the second day. It was fun, and we learned the resort was the most crowded as one local resident has seen it. Did I mention no lift lines at all? It was baffling so much that I hope to make this a more regular long weekend trip for future ski seasons.
Second chair!
The guys – I need more skier girls in my life…
Silver Star Day 1 Stats – 19.2 k vertical feet that excludes my first run down Alder Point.
Silver Star Day 2 Stats – 15.8 k vertical feet.
As for now, I will continue to pray for snow…Spring, spring go away cause I want winter to stay.