Snowboarding, Snowmobiles and Guns.... Revelstoke

During the biking off-season you can usually find me snowboarding one of the locals, or playing hockey. Thus, when my friend Jen invited myself and my brother-from-a different-mother Jason to join her up at Revelstoke (2 hours NE of Kelowna), I definitely wasn't going to pass on this opportunity. With the roads being a little suspect during these parts of the year, we decided to pack our bags and fly to Kelowna. Being the "go with the flow" kind of guy, I just packed my bags/board and had no inclination of how exactly we were suppose to get from Kelowna to Revelstoke. To my surprise a truck was waiting for us at the airport with the keys left in the gas cap (definitely something you'd never see in Vancouver). After the 2.5 hour trek to Revelstoke, we found ourselves in the remote and cozy house of Jess/Stacey and their adorable daughter Eve.

For those who don't know much about Revelstoke Mountain Resort, it's North America's highest lift-serviced vertical at 1,713 metres (5,620 ft). In it's roughly third year of development, it's coming along amazing and starting to resemble a Sun Peaks/Silverstar ambiance (including the $75 lift ticket prices). Excited for a new scene of adventure, we decided to hit the mountain early morning even though they hadn't received any new snow in awhile; big mistake. The blue runs resembled flat green runs and the black runs we're worn down to moguls.

Day two we were blessed with a 6" snowfall and even though we were sore, beaten and battered, we decided to hit the mountain once again. Amazing! With just a little bit of new snow, the conditions were awesome and a whole lot easier on the body. Besides excellent conditions, being a more remote destination, the mountain was "empty." You could ride an entire run without running into one person; unfortunately for one poor guy, against all odds I managed to run into one of the few people coming down the run lol. My bad.

After two grueling days on the body, we were spent and decided to take on some Revelstoke lifestyle: Snowmobiles and guns! A snowmobile is a snowmobile wherever you go, but when do you ever get to attach a GT racer sled to it..... now you're talking! I'm pretty certain that Jess managed to hit every little bush and "jump" out on the many acres of land they had because after it was over, we were all super sore. As easy as it looks to sit and hold on to a sled, it was actually pretty tiring trying to hold on for dear life while going mach 3 speeds.... thanks again Jess lol.

Day four was left for rest and what better way to rest than to sit on the porch and shoot guns! As a hunting buff, Jess has a plethora of guns and ammunition, almost enough to supply a small country. Shooting guns was... well, you'll see... haha

Of course day five was a snowfall of 1.5 feet, but unfortunately having to head home early we decided to leave it for the next time we're there.

All in all, I had a fantastic time and the rest and relaxation of Revelstoke is exactly what I needed to recharge the batteries. Thanks again to Jess/Stacey/Eve for all your hospitality and home-cooked meals! Jen, Jason and I will definitely be back soon!