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Thank you Revelstoke

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skientrepreneur
Posts: 358 - Karma: 19
I absolutely loved the resort and the town.  I can't wait for the place to expand!  Even 20% complete it was awesome!  Any locals have any advice on property or land?

 
Mar 3 2008 10:13PM
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Verno
Posts: 542 - Karma: 23
Ya, pay WHISTLER NOW prices even though it won't be Whistler for another 30 years, if ever.
Pricing is outta whack.

RMR will be another Kicking Horse.
THey'll have all these grandios plans, but only the 1st couple of lifts will go up cuz they'll figure out that there aren't close to enough skiers/vacationers/local population to sustain a HUGE mountain resort.

Mar 4 2008 12:11AM
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kenevil
Posts: 1309 - Karma: 31
Negative much?

Revy is nowhere near the prices of Whistler, at least as far as lift tickets, passes, accomodations, ect., though I don't know about the real estate.

The fact that the Revelstoke area gets on average 40-60 feet of snow per year( dry stuff, not heavy coastal snow) and the fact that RMR will have the highest vert in North America will be a big factor in the amount of skiers/tourists that they get.  And if you think about it, none of the other resorts in the Kootneys are close to a huge airport, and they still get tons of business.



 

Mar 4 2008 7:38PM
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InflatableElvis
Posts: 11 - Karma: 10
Real estate is pretty ridiculous now.. I think the average is around 370000$ now where a few (3-4?) years ago it was 120000$.. definately tied to the resort development. Still not whistler by far, but you missed the boat if you were looking for a bargain.
Mar 4 2008 11:34PM
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Verno
Posts: 542 - Karma: 23
$370k buys you a garage at the resort.

It just boggles my mind why they make the same mistakes they make at Kicking Horse.

There, they have all these swank new condos, etc, and they're effectively empty all the time!

Why?  bigwigs go and buy them starting at $500K and then show up two weekends a year.

What's the result, ya, you make money on selling the units, but the resort is absolutely dead at 4pm every day.  You can't "create" a vibrant ski community this way.  Whistler/Kelowna/etc. all started from nothing.  The core people (people there every weekend) had a chance to get in...and that's why they have a resort feel.  Intrawest is smart, man, they buy what's established and improve it.  THey don't start something absolutely new like this and then sit back and lose money on operations/services like KH and RMR.  That's my take on all this.  Things just aren't being developed properly.  Am I wrong???
Mar 5 2008 3:37AM
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bigwhite.steeze
Posts: 8227 - Karma: 1,030
kicking horse really never dropped close to the amount they're putting in at revy. after a few years they started to develop condos and all that and even now theres still not very many. Kicking horse's main problem is snow, if they got more it wouuld be an even better mountain then it is now.

revelstoke and kicking horse could never be the mountains that whistler or mountains in the interior could be solely because of the size of towns below them. Whistler has vancouver that will provide people who dont have passes all year round by itself, and big white and sunpeaks have decent size towns with lots of locals and airports close to accomodate tourists.

Revelstoke is simply not big enough, nor will it ever be big enough to create a resort like whistler. it cannot happen. so they are doing what they have to, to create a fundable mountain, sell alot of condos at ridiculous prices. what do you guys care if its not a super busy village and mountain anyways? less people = more pow. There is too much money invested to just close it anyways if they dont draw huge crowds.

more people doesnt equal a better mountain. I'd sooner rather have a huge developed mountain with few people then an undeveloped small mountain with large crowds. you choose.
Mar 6 2008 11:06PM
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Verno
Posts: 542 - Karma: 23
I agree 100% with your thought on development, however, I'd rather have a place that doesn't have 80% of it's swank condos empty every weekend (bought by foreign investors) only to the detriment of the local townfolk.  At whistler, ya, you pay an arm and a leg, but you knowwhat, you get a tonne of bang for your buck too.  I just don't agree with this type of resort development.
People and local atmosphere make a resort town worth going to, not pricey condos.
That's just my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it. 
Mar 8 2008 12:29AM
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friedcheese
Posts: 1245 - Karma: 23
the average in revelstoke is not 370000. Maybe at the resort but you'd have to have your head up your ass or way too much money to buy at the resort even though I guess there's not much for sale in the town. 400000 gets you a really nice house in a wicked location in town. The average bungalow style home is a lot less. There's mostly small little houses and little dumps in Revy, they are definately not anywhere near 370,000. You guys are overreacting. And verno if you're bitching about people buying empty condos at the hill and bitching about a vibrant ski community you are contradicting yourself. Revelstoke right now is pretty chill as far as a vibrant ski community goes. If your idea of vibrant ski community is smoking a bowl, going to the aquatic center and then getting drunk in an empty sports bar than that's about as vibrant as the revelstoke night scene is right now. If they sell condo's at the resort they bring in people and usually build bars and fancy shops and such.

That being said I don't wanna sound like I want that shit, although it's pretty much inevitable nowadays. I hate seeing little cottage houses everywhere and an overcrowded dumpy lift lodge (fernie), I like revelstoke like it is right now but they have more planned than kicking horse and way more' s invested. WHo cares if it's empty, as long as it's running. I heard they're gonna build a lift up north bowl this summer (if you guys have been there you know what I mean) and the gondola down to the town level (pretty much). Even if there's fancy condoes at the base you still get to ski to them.
Mar 8 2008 3:37PM
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skientrepreneur
Posts: 358 - Karma: 19

The North Bowl area was awesome without a chair this year!  The downtown development center, had mentioned they hoped to get started on the south bowl chair as well, but viewed that as more likely for '09-'10 season. 

Does the town plan on developing any land on the west side of the river across from the ski resort? 

All the new development seems to be next to the airport just to the west of the resort's own development and those lots are going for $400k.

The few lots I saw for $150k were in trailor park zones next to the rail road tracks just as you entered into town off hwy 1 from the east.

Mar 8 2008 8:50PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,785

Revelstoke is amazing. Had 2 of my best days ever skiing there. North bowl is probably the nicest place so ski pow that I've ever been to.
I think they can expand beyond Kicking Horse, because Vernon is the same distance to Revelstoke as Whistler is to Vancouver. Only 2.5 hours or so, and Kelowna isn't much farther, either.
Seriously, I think that Revelstoke can blow up to their expectations.

Mar 27 2008 2:33PM
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Verno
Posts: 542 - Karma: 23
You mean Vernon, population = 4, and Kelowna, population under 65 = 0?
Ya right dude.
You're talking about sustaining a MASSIVE resort in the middle of nowhere.

If you consider that Revy might be open for 120 days this year and hit 100,000 skiers, we're talking about a whopping 850-ish skiers a day...half of which are locals paying next to nothing.  Say the avg. ticket is $50 (that's very high compared to the actual); they're pulling in Revenues of $5M/yr and maybe another $1M or 2 on beer. That's it.  Any idea what staffing, groomers, feul, electricity, NEW LIFTS costs....not to mention how much labour is going to cost up there in B.F. nowhere to actual build the places they've already sold?  A lot.  It's unsustainable.  If Revy puts in three lifts this summer, I'll eat my ski boot.  It'll be another KH.

I was there last SAT for my first time ever.  Great hill.  Far from Calgary or anywhere else with signifigance.
Mar 27 2008 3:00PM
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kenevil
Posts: 1309 - Karma: 31

I live in Vernon, and it has a population of somewhere around 40-50 thousand.
And Kelowna is pretty big, like at least twice the size of Vernon, and they have an International airport.

Mar 27 2008 3:07PM
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skibunnie
Posts: 1756 - Karma: 14
yeah but you could drive 3-4 hours to go to revy from kelowna or vernon, or less than an hour to silverstar or big white. most families are gonna get passes to their local mountains, which are both pretty decent, and go there most weekends. plus they could drive to whistler in around the same time it would take to go to revelstoke. revelstoke is exactly in between vancouver and calgary in terms of driving time. 5 hours to either of the two urban centres closest. that doesn't sound like a good plan to me.

don't get me wrong, it's an awesome mountain with the best skiing. but without a reliable clientele I have no idea how it's going to survive. It is going to be another kicking horse. Possibly even in a more difficult situation. At least kicking horse is only a 3 hour drive from calgary, which is feasible for a day trip and good for a weekend trip. kicking horse is pretty dead most weekdays. there are the local passholders, who create virtually no revenue, and a few tourists. I would guess that they are just barely breaking even after paying for staff, grooming, and running the lifts.

lets face it, people could go from vancouver to whistler, big white, sun peaks, mt washington, silverstar, or baker in less time than it takes to go to revy. there would have to be something really amazing there to attract them. the average skier doesn't care if there is a bit better snow or higher vertical if it takes an extra 2 hours to get there. and people from calgary could go to marmot, nakiska, norquay, sunshine, louise, castle, pano, kicking horse, or kimberley in less time than it takes to get to revelstoke. same question. the die hards will go, but the average family (the biggest revenue maker for resorts) won't bother.


Apr 2 2008 4:42PM
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_alli_
Posts: 1792 - Karma: 34
5 hours to drive from Calgary to Revelstoke? Even when the highways were crap it's never taken me that long to get there.  Usually it takes 4 hours.  Right now not a lot of people are going to be driving there from Calgary when they could go to lake louise, fernie, kicking horse etc. etc. but next year they plan to have a lift in the north bowl, and it'll just keep getting bigger and bigger after that.  Plus, I think a lot of poeple are going to start getting fed up with the managment at most resorts around calgary (read: RCR), which will definitely intice people to drive just a little longer for way cheaper passes, and generally better value for their money.
Apr 2 2008 5:38PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,785
That's the key. People can actually get there.

They aren't marketing for families, and I don't think they ever plan on making a serious effort for them, seeing as silverstar and big white (two of the best family resorts in north america) are both closer to almost everyone.

They plan on attracting the hardcores, the guy in charge said so himself. If they put in these next lifts, they can be well on their way to attracting hardcores from all over the place.
Apr 2 2008 7:43PM
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Jebus1987
Posts: 59 - Karma: 5
revelstoke looks fucking sick.,.. hands down
this is going to be the future of skiing.
with deeper powder in steeper terrain. this is going to attract and create some of the coolest additions to the way we look at a ski feild.  have any of you stopped to look at the terain at hand.  their are more perfict gaps, steep spines and deep shoots than any one of us can comprehend. this is going to be the resort of resorts .

making it fearther into the mountains and cutting out the family bs  is good for a start. it will establish the kind of vacation they are getting into when they do deside to come.   revelstoke is going to be the best of the best. its going to fuck over places like ASPEN WHISTLER pretty much any north american resort.
these guys are going for thoese rich euros  its the euro that will pay the way. whats the diffrence after a 14 hr plane ride is u have a little 5 hr bus ride
plus thier is a train their perhaps they will make it a passinger one in time
May 8 2008 1:07AM
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hollygrove
Posts: 7845 - Karma: 93
I was blown away by north bowl.
May 8 2008 11:36PM
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bigwhite.steeze
Posts: 8227 - Karma: 1,030
some people in this thread have ovbiously never driven there from the places there listing, so i'll map it out nicely for you.

kelowna to revelstoke, 2.5 hours

vernon to revelstoke, 2-2.5 hours

golden to revelstoke, 2 hours

now for distances to whistler which some people seem's to think is closer...

kelowna to vancouver, 3.5 - 4 hours MINIMUM if way over speed limit, +1.5 hours to whistler

vernon roughly same as kelowna

revelstoke to vancouver 5.5-6 hours MINIMUM + 1.5 hours to whistler.

not exactly faster now is it?
Revelstoke is in an average location and i know for sure that alot of people form the interior WILL be travelling there in the beggining of the season before any of the interior mountains even begin to start thinking about opening. i think revelstoke is planned to open at the end of october for the 08/09 season. AND people will do the same if revelstoke stays open as long next year.
May 8 2008 11:43PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,785
With all the construction and blasting going on on the Sea to Sky, Whistler is usually at least 2 hours.

And you don't need to drive from Vancouver to get to Kelowna, because you guys have an international airport. So it is a pretty similar distance.
May 9 2008 1:24PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5977 - Karma: 3,543
i heard north bowl is pretty mellow, especially compared to kicking horse
May 11 2008 11:23PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5977 - Karma: 3,543
cool, i heard that from fellow kicking horsers, so most likely biased. the snow is definitely a plus
May 12 2008 10:02AM
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kenevil
Posts: 1309 - Karma: 31
yeah, north bowl has some really sick lines, although there are some mellow lines too.  But now that they're putting in a chair in north bowl for next season, there's gonna be even more terrain accesible, it's gonna be dope.
May 12 2008 12:31PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5977 - Karma: 3,543
does anybody know daily numbers for the hill this year? steven?
May 13 2008 12:29AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 913
oh boy...   I see a lot of the opinions in this thread as "Internet kid thinking"  in that, push a button and expect instant results. correlation -  build a lift and have 5000 daily skier visits.

naaaaa - I have been extensively looking into Revy. One of the key points that I have been telling people is that it is planned as a 10-20 year project. World economies will fund the speed at which it becomes a self sustaining economy with-in itself. If things are good world wide, then it won't be long - 1 decade.

Hard for a lot of you to think in durations of decades,  when I was in school which seems like yesterday the world population crossed the 4 billion mark.   Just recently I noticed that we are over 6 billiion!  When the f did that happen!?  2024 = over 8 Billion people.

I am still kicking myself every time I read about Revy for not moving there 2 years ago, 1 year ago or this summer.  Build it and they will come.

 
May 16 2008 1:36PM
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TheFugitive
Posts: 60 - Karma: 11

lol how old are you man? It passed 5bill in July 1987, my bday! And I thought I was old on here...


Anyway, every resort has a master plan, revies is sick, butI have my doubts as to how far it will go.

Then again, It wasnt that long ago nobody thought they would actually build a major resort there!

Jun 30 2008 10:14PM
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-Tristan-
Posts: 915 - Karma: 19
It is compared to kicking horse, its just a short bootpack to the backside though, kinda funnels into the bottom of north bowl, and you can get as gnarly as you want there. Plus kicking horse just brings the gnar, period its hard to beat it as far as ridiculous terrain goes.
Jul 1 2008 9:48AM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5977 - Karma: 3,543
no doubt. although I wish KH would get those bottomless days where you can huck and not give a fuck. I'll be back there for this season though
Jul 3 2008 8:22PM
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JATS101
Posts: 882 - Karma: 17
Sorry if this is a repeat of what others have said but I skipped the last 1/3 of the posts. One thing that was brought up about running a business in revy was the lack of local clientele similar to Vancouver or Calgary, my understanding is that the resort is not being developed to attract the near by urban developments, but is gearing up to attract more of a high end European market. This would be similar to some of the destination ski resorts in the States, with plans to expand the existing airport this resort will attract high end clients with its massive amounts of snow and vertical terrain. I do believe it is a big risk, but does this type of development plan even exist in the Canadian Rockies yet, kicking horse had the plan to expand on development, as each stage of development would bring in more money. Revy's plan is that if you go big enough, you will get the big spenders. I think this is kind of similar to D. Trumps business plan, he was however millions of dollars in debt and through is creditors, he asked for even more money to recoup on his losses. Business is risky, but the people on top who have the money and have made their lives through risk assessment, and I would assume that they are comfortable with their risk as they are dropping a lot of cash into this investment. If f everything works in their favour, the noticeably high property costs will be minimal to what they will sky rocket to.
Aug 6 2008 7:10PM
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NaturalRotater
Posts: 433 - Karma: 36
buy a lot at shire properties
Aug 8 2008 1:14AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 913
I am visiting the area the 6th through the 10 of september!
Sep 4 2008 11:26PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,785
Please tell how it goes, and what's going on there now!
Sep 5 2008 6:29PM
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linepowder
Posts: 246 - Karma: 20
revelstoke opens the same as big white and silver star...
Nov 1 2008 3:14PM
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bigwhite.steeze
Posts: 8227 - Karma: 1,030
that post was in may, the opening date has changed since then as you know, alot.
Nov 2 2008 11:39PM
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