Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Revelstoke Mountain Resort, which opened for its first season last year, is poised for more buzz this year when it opens Nov. 27. The $1 billion resort plans to unveil brand new terrain and claim a record in the process.

A slowing economy, however, may put a crimp in its 15-year development plans. The B.C. resort plans to feature over 100 runs plus 21 lifts, 3,500 hotel suites and condos, 850 townhouses, and an 18-hole golf course when completed. Delays dropped two projects -- the Nelsen Lodge and the Revelation Gondola extension -- behind schedule for opening day.

Resort officials, however, deem development on track. "The real estate crunch will not affect the on-mountain experience," Ashley Tait, Director of Marketing, told Onthesnow.com. "Real estate is also still moving."

The resort will offer the longest vertical lift-serviced skiing in North America this year. The mountain's vertical will increase to 5,260 feet, thanks to an 885-foot extension of the gondola from the new Nelsen Lodge up to the Day Lodge. The new extension, however, will most likely not see its inaugural run for the public until Dec. 20. "The lower gondola is in; just not quite ready yet," explained Tait.

Skiers and snowboarders also can look forward to the new 1,240-acre North Bowl, serviced by a new high-speed quad called "The Ripper." The added terrain doubled the resort's lift-served acreage from last year.

"We will be open for skiing," said Tait. "I was up on the mountain in the middle of blizzard yesterday. You get giddy when you look outside."