Ski Club Stoked on Revelstoke

Mar 31, 2010 by Julia McIntyre-Smith

Snow has been a hard commodity to come by this year.

With such little snowfall, hitting some powder seemed like a fool’s dream, but the Selkirk College Ski Club are foolhardy. Forced to cancel the Red Mountain Ski Night due to lack of interest, the members of the ski club decided the best way to spend their money would be a weekend trip to Revelstoke… and so the adventure began.

The forecast called for snow the weekend of March 13. So not wanting to waste any time, the ski club hit the road right after school on Friday. The first stop was the shack of the Sentinel’s very own food critic and president of the Ski Club, Derrick Statt, for an overnight stay.

After about a two-hour drive and an interesting turn about in the neighbor’s yard, I pull into Derrick’s driveway. I can tell something is amiss as soon as I do. Andrew Hill is holding his finger and appears to be in pain. While cutting kindling for the fire, he just barely nicks his finger with his axe and slices his finger open. On the drive to the hospital his adrenaline wears off and Andrew turns pale and drips beads of cold sweat. He is given six stitches. Although his hand is in quite a bit of pain Andrew hops back in the car and ensures us that he will be skiing the next day.

Catastrophe averted, things start looking up for the ski club, for as we drove back to Derrick’s place the pounding raindrops turn into big fluffs of snow. Upon our return we hear lots of hooting and hollering. Everyone is stoked on the snow and the air of disaster dissipates and in its stead is excitement. We all agree that Andrew’s accident filled the quota for injuries this weekend and has ensured a trip with no further incidents.

As 4:30am rolls around everyone wakes up and packs up their gear. We catch the 5:30am ferry and make it to the base of Revelstoke Mountain right as it is opening. By this point smiles and a sense of eagerness have consumed every member of the ski club. As we make it up the second gondola I don’t even have the chance to put on my skis before everyone has raced off to soak up every bit of powder.

Being extremely exhausted from lack of sleep, I fear that I will not be able to keep my eyes open the whole day, but that worry is laid to rest as soon as I see the staggering view atop the mountain. It was a constant battle for me between stopping to enjoy the view and devoting all my time to hitting the runs.

After our first day of skiing we head back into town. Wanting to sleep in a little more luxury that night, we stay at the Gateway Inn Motel. We discover there is a hot tub and a little bit of relaxation is in order for this group of rapscallions. That night we entertain ourselves by throwing various items into the fan and watching them fly across the room, finding that carrots and beer cans are the best ammo.

The next morning most of the group makes it to the hill as it opens but there are a few stragglers left behind who are a little worse for wear after events of the previous night. Sustenance is needed before we hit the hill. Frontier Restaurant serves up the perfect medicine: a hearty breakfast of eggs in omelet form to get us back to normal.

The second day of skiing turns out to be another sunny day. I run into other people in the group and ski with them on and off. We attempt to stay together for one run but it is far too difficult and many people are lost during the trip down. At the end of the day we all gather in the parking lot and everyone goes over their triumphs and tribulations of the day. Some stories include precarious adventures in the out-of-bounds areas, yard sales, and god-like abilities to control the sunshine.

The weekend of skiing went off without any other incidents. Everyone found what they were looking for, whether that was fresh powder, trees to ski through, or in my case, a run that I could conquer without falling. The Ripper Chair, the Tasty Glades and the North Bowl seemed to be the areas of choice for most of the group.

The drive home included, for most of the group, a stop over at Halcyon Hot Springs. However, four unlucky people missed the boat though, due to my lack of road knowledge. From what I heard, the hot springs were very enjoyable and included an attempt to convince one of the members of the ski club to give another member a bum massage.