Revel! Stoke!?

COULD THE THIRD STOP ON THE TRIP BE THE BEST ONE YET? BIGGER, BETTER, BERMIER? SANNY WAXES LYRICAL AGAIN.

Revelstoke has an enviable reputation for being the snow capital of British Columbia and it lies on the banks of the Columbia River. To the east lie the Selkirk Mountains and Glacier National Park, while the Kootenays and the fabulously named Mount Begbie nestle to the south of the city. I say city, but with fewer than 9,000 residents, ‘city’ is perhaps a stretch. We pulled into the car park of the Swiss Chalet Motel after another picture-postcard drive via Silverton and a free ferry crossing (CalMac take note). Once settled in, we went for a wander around downtown. Compared to Rossland, it felt almost metropolis-like but had an equally appealing vibe to it. All of the shops were occupied and filled with independent retailers – business seemed prosperous, and even on a late Wednesday afternoon in late September, there was a bit of a buzz to the place.

Exploring the high alpine

After some fantastic forest riding in Fernie and Rossland, we were in the mood for something a little different. Entering stage left was our guide for the day, Matt Yaki, co-founder of the Wandering Wheels guiding company. With many years of guiding experience, not just in Canada but also in South America and Nepal, Matt is laid-back, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the trails in and around Revelstoke and further afield to the likes of Golden and New Denver. He set us up on his fleet of Transition lightweight ebikes – no toiling up the climbs for us! We loaded the truck and, within a few minutes, we found ourselves making our way up a bumpy fire service road for several kilometres to reach the car park in the sky. With expansive views down the valley to the Columbia River and mountains beyond, we all sensed that we were in for something just a little bit special.