Revelstoke off-piste & powder guide

British Columbia, Canada · 515m to 2225m · 3 documented zones

Finding powder at Revelstoke

Revelstoke has the biggest vertical in North America and some of the best inbounds powder terrain in British Columbia. North Bowl holds the steep, technical lines, and it opens on patrol's schedule rather than yours: after a big storm the avalanche control work takes as long as it takes.

Worth the walk — hike-to zones

Every one of these needs time on foot, which is exactly why the snow lasts longer. Walk-in times below are as published by the resort guides.

North Bowl

North Bowl sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

Where the gnarly, steep and technical lines live. Once patrol drops the rope, traverse skier's right from the top of the Stoke for the lower entries, or boot-pack the Lemming Line into the upper chutes.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Access rules

Roped closed until patrol has finished avalanche control. After a big storm that can take a while, and the area closes again if conditions deteriorate.

Lift access
The Stoke chairlift
Walk in
Traverse skier's right from the top of the Stoke chair for the lower entry points, or boot-pack the Lemming Line to reach the upper chutes.
Getting back
Descends back into the Revelstoke lift network.
Known hazards
  • Steep technical lines
  • Closes for avalanche control and stays closed until patrol is satisfied

Greely Bowl

North Bowl sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

On the north side beyond Gracias Ridge, and the alpine bowl that regulars rate above everything else here.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
The Stoke chairlift
Walk in
Boot-pack the Lemming Line, then follow the track over Gracias Ridge.
Getting back
Descends back into the resort lift network.
Known hazards
  • Committing alpine terrain
  • Subject to the same control closures as North Bowl

Sub Peak couloirs

North Bowl sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

The highest point on the mountain, reached by boot-packing straight up, with tight couloirs off the top. Powder Assault funnels back down into the upper reaches of North Bowl.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
The Stoke chairlift
Walk in
A boot-pack straight up to the Sub Peak.
Getting back
Funnel back down Powder Assault into the upper North Bowl.
Known hazards
  • Tight couloirs
  • Exposed high point of the mountain

The avalanche danger scale

Every European bulletin uses this five-level scale. The column that matters most is the last one: around half of all avalanche deaths happen at level 3, not at the extremes, because that is when the snow still looks worth skiing.

1. Low

about 5% of fatalities

Generally stable snowpack. Triggering is only possible with high additional loads, and only in extreme terrain. Natural avalanches are small at most.

The most favourable conditions of the season. Terrain choice still matters in isolated extreme spots.

Forecast on about 20% of the season

2. Moderate

about 30% of fatalities

The snowpack is only moderately well bonded on some steep slopes. Triggering is mainly possible with high additional loads. Very large natural avalanches are unlikely.

Conditions look benign and catch people out. Roughly a third of fatalities happen at this level.

Forecast on about 50% of the season

3. Considerable

about 50% of fatalities

The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes. Triggering is possible even from a single skier. Large avalanches are possible.

The most dangerous level in practice. It carries about half of all avalanche deaths, because the skiing still looks good and the snowpack no longer needs much provocation.

Forecast on about 30% of the season

4. High

about 10% of fatalities

The snowpack is poorly bonded on most steep slopes. Triggering is likely even from a single skier, and numerous large natural avalanches are expected.

Off-piste travel should be limited to low-angle terrain well away from anything steep above you.

Forecast on only a few days a year

5. Very High

rare enough that no share is published

An extraordinarily unstable snowpack. Numerous very large and often extremely large natural avalanches are expected, even on moderately steep terrain.

Do not go off-piste. Roads and parts of the resort itself may be closed.

Forecast on very rarely forecast

Scale and statistics from European Avalanche Warning Services - Avalanche Danger Scale.

What you need to carry

Transceiver

Worn on your body, not in your pack, and switched to transmit before you leave the lift. Every member of the group needs one; a single person without makes the whole group less safe.

Probe

Pinpoints the burial once the transceiver has brought you close, so you dig in the right place first time rather than in a hole beside them.

Shovel

A real collapsible avalanche shovel. Digging is the slowest part of a rescue, and it is what actually gets your partner out.

Airbag pack (optional)

Helps keep you nearer the surface in a moving slide. It supplements the three items above and never replaces them.

How to ski it

Read the bulletin before you go, every day

The danger level, the problem type and the aspects and altitudes it applies to matter more than anything on this page. Conditions change overnight.

Practise with your kit until the search is instinctive

Owning a transceiver is not the same as being able to use one under pressure. Run search drills at the start of every season.

Never ski off-piste alone

Companion rescue is the only rescue fast enough to matter. Burial survival drops sharply after about fifteen minutes.

Ski steep slopes one at a time

Exposing one person at a time keeps the rest of the group free to dig, and reduces the load on the slope.

Hire a guide for terrain you do not know

Local guides know which aspects have loaded, which lines cliff out and where this season's weak layer sits. Every resort guide on this page says the same thing.

Plan the exit before you drop in

Several classic routes finish in a different valley or a long way from a lift. Know how you are getting home, and what time the last lift and last bus run.

Keep planning

Revelstoke snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in Canada