12 replies to this topic

[hoodoo]

 Helicopter_Begbie_028.jpg (982.01K)
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Flying rebars and bolt cages to chair 14... took a side trip to see the glaciers on Begbie

[hoodoo]

Chair 14 is in the North bowl, on the left side of Mt. McKenzie over the ridge  Helicopter_Begbie_013.jpg (1.06MB)
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[Snoqualmie guy]

Why do they think this project won't turn out the way Tamarack did?

[Peter]

Revelstoke actually has good skiing with North America's highest vertical drop which should help them succeed.

[SkiBachelor]

Skier, on Aug 17 2008, 10:37 PM, said:

Revelstoke actually has good skiing with North America's highest vertical drop which should help them succeed.

I don't know much about Revelstoke's business & marketing plan, but I personally think that Revelstoke will experience its fair share financial difficulty because of its isolation and lack of skiers coming up from the south because of the United States' weak economy right now. Just because the resort might have North America's largest vertical drop, it won't be the main reason why people go there to ski.

The question Revelstoke should ask itself is, "Why should people come here to ski?" If they have a hard time coming up with reasons, well it might be a short dream lived. I'm pretty sure Kicking Horse Resort hasn't succeeded at its goals yet.

Location of Revelstoke: http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&a...c=addr&om=1

[Peter]

True, but Revelstoke does have an airport right at its base. Next season there will be direct service to the resort from Vancouver and Calgary. Kicking Horse's big problem right now is the top to bottom gondola is a big hassle for skiers and there is no air service.

[Callao]

Then again, the real question that resort may be asking now is, "Who will come to invest?" They are developers. They are only interested in skiers for the sake of breaking even on the hill. They would rather focus on the real estate sales. Largest vertical drop? Big sales point! And since Americans seem to think that BC is immune from global warming because it is so "way up there" (even though most BC valleys are as temperate as anything down south), it makes it all the better for investors, who follow hyper-hyping like cats follow mice.

What makes Revelstoke different than Tamarack? Essentially, nothing. This industry has its ups and downs no matter who you are, and nobody is immune. It just so happens that Tamarack is having a tough time during this phase. Revelstoke will also have its tough stages as that company reaches its "adolescence."

[hoodoo]

Well.. RMR is much different than Tamarack as far as the type of ski area it is. It has a lot of expert/advanced skiing for one.. with amazing views of the mountains. It is one of the only places where you can go to the ticket window and buy Heli-skiing, cat skiing or a lift ticket. I think Tamarack is more of a local/Regional area, where as RMR has a lot of appeal to Europeans and US Skiers all around.
It reminds me a lot of Telluride with scenery and airport service also.. I think they will see similiar numbers.... I think they did 98,000 skier visits their first season... Kicking horse is around 100,000 now.
That being said... I heard around 50% of condo sales were from US buyers.

[Peter]

Here is a great graphic from Revelstoke showing the current lifts under construction as well as future lifts.

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[silence]

If everything goes as planned, how long before the mountain is completed? Any ideas of what lift installations are planned for next summer, if any?

[Peter]

They say 15 years and $1 billion is the total buildout. I haven't heard any plan for next summer but I would guess lift 18 is next.

[SkiBachelor]

What's up with lift #9?

[hoodoo]

SkiBachelor, on Aug 20 2008, 04:42 PM, said:

What's up with lift #9?

the mtn. is not as flat as the rendering makes it appear near #9 .. but, they are trying to develop beginner terrain. They re-graded the old t-bar slope this year for that reason. Also, the existing double FG they have is for sale as they do not use it... for anyone interested!