Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine December 2022 Winter issue

The road from Ukraine to Revelstoke . p · 12. Christina Lustenberger interview. p · 16. Pivot point. p · 20. R Gear. p · 30.

2023 Editorial plan

The 2023 Mountaineer print issue is to focus energy on great stories about people in the community doing amazing things, our core editorial mission. Support storytelling about interesting Revelstoke residents achieving great things by advertising in 2023.

January: Winter high season features: We share stories about Revelstoke’s diverse winter outdoors scene; food & drink focus; entertainment and arts focus; homestyle feature.

February: Snow season issue features a mix of great stories from the winter season.

March: Gardening and the outdoors: Our spring gardening and home outdoors preview. We collect and share stories of residents preparing for the home outdoors season.

AND: Sustainable community focus: We feature stories on Revelstoke residents’ efforts to transform Revelstoke into a sustainable community.

April: Home style and building issue: Our home-focused issue shares stories from all stages of the home creation process, including architecture, construction, interior design, renovations, retrofits, real estate, development, energy systems, landscaping, and garden design.

May: Community focus: Our May issue focuses on core community stories; outdoors focus; home and garden focus; Summer cycling season preview; season transitions

June: Summer backcountry adventure: We go deep for winter backcountry adventure in the mountains. Look for stories on hiking, biking, climbing, mountaineering, paddlesports, and more. This issue will preview experiences available to summer visitors.

July: Summer high season big issue: The food and drink issue: We focus on Revelstoke food and drink, include local restaurants, catering, markets, and food producers. This issue highlights Revelstoke’s unique food and beverage scene, and shares stories of excellence and unique experiences in our culinary culture.

August: Summer high season big issue: Revelstoke Roots: Our Revelstoke Roots section explores our rich history, telling stories of First Nations history, pioneers, the railway, forestry, industrial megaprojects (dams, highways, railways), and much more. The issue will reflect how our history has shaped our identity as a community and will share unique experiences available to visitors.

September: Revelstoke Arts Annual. Our arts-focused issue will tell the stories of arts and culture creators in the community. We look ahead to the fall arts season and highlight the contributions of our many creative professionals in visual, performing, digital, design arts and more.

October: Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine’s Best of Revelstoke 2023: Our annual best of Revelstoke feature creates unique, creative categories and welcomes readers to vote online. This issue features the Mountaineer’s new annual best-of-Revelstoke list, and feature stories about excellence in Revelstoke across many sectors of the community.

AND: Technology and education focus: Our special section focuses on technology driving chanaaaaage in our mountain community and pairs it with opportunities for all to innovate and improve in our digitally connected economy. Areas of focus include remote work, remote technology, fabrication innovation, civic projects and more.

November: Snow season and gear guide preview: Our look at what’s new for the 2023/24 snow season, including gear, adventures, and planning your winter adventure.

AND: Winter outdoor and safety training focus: Up your backcountry game with courses, guides, education, experiences, and more from local providers.

December: Winter backcountry adventure: We go deep for local winter backcountry adventure stories. AND: Winter photo annual: We inspire with the best photos from the winter backcountry. AND: Winter food and entertainment focus: We highlight the best food and entertainment options during the busy holiday season.

Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine is a free monthly publication featuring the best of Revelstoke outdoor life, food, style, visitor experiences, lifestyles, entertainment, home style and healthy living.

We are an independent, locally owned publication dedicated to showcasing our amazing mountain town and the great people who create the stoke.

Each issue we distribute over 3,000 free copies to over 200 public venues across Revelstoke, including hotel rooms, shops, restaurants, cafes, community centres — everywhere people meet.

For all inquiries, please contact us at info@revelstokemountaineer.com

For Revelstoke daily news online, please see our sister publication www.revelstokemountaineer.com 250 814 8710 info@revelstokemountaineer.com

606 Railway Avenue. Revelstoke, B.C. P.O. BOX 112 · V0E 2S0

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Aaron Orlando aaron@revelstokemountaineer.com

EDITOR

Aaron Orlando aaron@revelstokemountaineer.com

STAFF JOURNALISTS

Nora Hughes nora@revelstokemountaineer.com

EDITORIAL DESIGN/ADVERTISING DESIGN

Chris Payne chris@revelstokemountaineer.com

WEBSITE Chris Payne chris@revelstokemountaineer.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS

Frank Desrosiers, Shoto Ida, Nora Hughes, Keri Knapp, Bruno Long, Alexi Mostert, Zoya Lynch, Drew Smith, Daniel Stewart, Laura Szanto

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Benji Lowclass

COVER PHOTO: This was one of those five-star touring days where the snow was deep, the visibility was good and the company exceptional. Here, local ski guide, Adam Zok, making his way up Begbie Shoulder in Revelstoke, B.C. Photo: Laura Szanto

Revelstoke Mountaineer journalism hyperlocal is for sale!

Revelstoke’s independent local journalism company, Revelstoke Mountaineer, operator of Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine and revelstokemountaineer.com, is seeking new ownership.

This is an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic new proprietors to take over an established hyper-local journalism business and elevate it to the next level.

Revelstoke Mountaineer publishes Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine, a hyperlocal newsmagazine focused on the growing outdoor mountain mecca of Revelstoke, B.C. We also publish revelstokemountaineer.com, a daily news website serving Revelstoke with multimedia stories including text, photo, video, events, social media, podcast, email newsletter, and more.

Established in 2014 by local journalist Aaron Orlando, Revelstoke Mountaineer has grown into a much loved local establishment serving Revelstoke with a mix of news, community, arts, current events, lifestyles and outdoors oriented coverage.

“Operating the Mountaineer in the dynamic mountain community of Revelstoke has been a rewarding experience for me, and I know it will be for the new owners, too,” Orlando said, adding he's got too much on his plate and needs to lighten the load. “It’s an opportunity for new

ownership to bring new energy, resources and direction to the hyper-local journalism brand.”

“I believe the community is open to diverse new directions and appreciates good hard effort that gets results."

What’s for sale?

Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine and revelstokemountaineer.com are operated by Revelstoke Mountaineer Communications Ltd.

The sale includes legal and digital properties associated with the company, and everything you need to transition into successful ownership.

“I’m here to work with new ownership forward to a successful transition,” Orlando said, adding: “This is an opportunity for an ambitious individual or group to operate an established brand, or for an independent to expand.”

To express interest, those committed to bringing resources to an indie local brand should contact Revelstoke Mountaineer soon via email to info@revelstokemountaineer.com

—Aaron Orlando, BA, MJ; Creative Director, Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine, revelstokemountaineer.com

2023 print ad sale on until Dec. 31.

All slopes along the Trans-Canada Highway in Rogers Pass are CLOSED in winter due to the use of artillery and live explosives for avalanche control.

The Winter Permit System was developed to allow Parks Canada to open some of these areas for backcountry skiers and snowboarders with permits when no avalanche control is planned or anticipated.

LEARN

En raison du programme de déclenchement préventif d’avalanches utilisant des tirs d’artillerie et des explosifs, toutes les pentes adjacentes au couloir de transport SONT FERMÉES en hiver.

Le système de délivrance de permis d’accès hivernal a été élaboré pour permettre à Parcs Canada d’ouvrir certaines de ces zones de l’arrière-pays aux skieurs et planchistes titulaires d’un permis lorsqu’aucun contrôle d’avalanche n’est prévu.

Le Permis d’accès hivernal est en vigueur entre novembre et avril de chaque année.

OBTENEZ VOTRE PERMIS. Visitez le pc.gc.ca/skicolrogers et :

• Apprenez le fonctionnement du système

• Planifiez à l’avance et demandez votre permis d’accès hivernal annuel en ligne

• Chaque jour, tenez-vous au courant des secteurs qui sont ouverts.

Entrer dans des zones fermées n’est pas seulement dangereux, c’est illégal.

Les avalanches déclenchées à titre préventif ont pour but d’assurer la sécurité routière et non pas d’accroître la sécurité des pentes pour les loisirs. Les visiteurs sont responsables de leur propre sécurité. Faites du ski et de la planche à neige selon votre niveau de compétences, d’expérience et de connaissances OU engagez un guide.

CONTENTS

7

CARIBOU CLOSURE REPEAL

The B.C. government has lifted mountain caribou snowmobile restrictions on Frisby Ridge that had been in place for over 14 years.

8

CALENDAR: DECEMBER EVENTS

Check out holiday events on offer in Revelstoke in our December 2022 calendar.

10 NEWS BRIEFS

Our December news briefs focus on big events and happenings in the past month in Revelstoke.

12

UKRAINE FAMILIES SETTLE IN REVELSTOKE

We checked in with migrant families from Ukraine who have settled in Revelstoke to find out about the transition to life in B.C.

16

FEATURE: NO PLACE LIKE HOME WITH CHRISTINA LUSTENBERGER

Revelstoke Mountaineer community reporter checks in with pro skier Christina Lustenberger to find out about first descents and the impact place has had on her skiing journey.

18

PHOTO FEATURE

Our December photo feature tells the story behind winter-oriented action shots by Revy photographers.

20

PIVOT POINT

A pro skiing career often means holding an off-season job to make a go of it, and also means a transition into a new career at one point. In her story, Pivot Point, Nora Hughes looks at what local pro skiers are transitioning into new careers. 28

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

Our outdoors briefs explore the Natural Selection tour, the Colour the Slopes initiative, a new album by Revelstoke artist May Davis, and new film Beyond Begbie.

30

R GEAR FEATURE

In our December style feature, we highlight Revelstoke ski, snowboard and boot fitting shops R Gear and Critical Parts 34

LAST WORD

Gaze into the eye of the AI beholder as it conjures up a composite image of Revelstoke, B.C.

CARIBOU CLOSURE NEAR REVELSTOKE REPEALED

By Nora Hughes.

The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club’s voluntary caribou closure on Frisby Ridge was repealed in November after multiple parties determined it no longer supports recovery objectives north of Revelstoke. The B.C. Ministry of Forests decided that despite the 14-year voluntary closure, the Frisby herd is now listed as “functionally extirpated,” says the B.C. Snowmobile Federation.

The BCSF, in partnership with the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club and the Ministry of Forests, announced the caribou closure’s repeal, stating its immediate effect in a press release on November 9, 2022.

In 2020, the estimation for the Frisby-Boulder-Queest herd was six based on an observed total count recorded on the Provincial Caribou Recovery Program’s website.

Mountaineer staff reached out to the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship to ask whether members of the herd are still in the area. The ministry responded by saying there are estimated to be nine caribou remaining in the Frisby-Boulder-Queest area. “Threats that have altered caribou habitat include forestry, mining, oil and gas extraction and seasonal recreational activities,” said a ministry public affairs officer in an email.

The ministry spokesperson says, “Due to the local caribou herd’s small population, the Ministry of Forests, in consultation with the BC Snowmobile Federation and the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, has rescinded this volunteer closure.”

In an interview with Mountaineer staff, the president of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, Todd Dumais, calls the news “fantastic.”

“It’s great news because people get to access more terrain in areas we specifically groom,” he says. “Having this area accessible all year long now is going to be better for the sport; more people can enjoy the backcountry.”

The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club has held a management agreement with

the Ministry of Environment for the past 14 years, and the arrangement did not come about easily. The club’s initial permit application was rejected, with the ministry sighting their intention to close Frisby Ridge to all snowmobiles to protect the caribou.

However, the club fought for a solution. The club’s proposal of a voluntary partial closure to protect critical habitat for mountain caribou helped keep the rest of Frisby open for snowmobiles. The club has enforced the closure to protect wildlife and snowmobile access.

“This is an example of the province working with the BCSF and our local member snowmobile club to ensure that Motorized Vehicle Closures support our original collective objective of recovering caribou herds,” says Donegal Wilson, Executive Director of the B.C. Snowmobile Federation. “If herds again move into Frisby Ridge, the Province, the BCSF, and the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club will work together to create a new plan for how we can best support the recovery of caribou in the Region.”

A ministry spokesperson says that intensive recovery efforts through the BC Caribou Recovery program have led to an increasing population trend in the Columbia North herd, located father up lake Revelstoke, for the past five years to levels not seen since the 1990s. The ministry says the recent growth is likely from a combination of maintaining stable moose populations through regulated harvest and predator management.

The BCSF’s press release mentioned recovery efforts being focused father up the valley, but the ministry says additional closures in the Columbia North region are being reviewed, and no new closures will be implemented at this time.

Caribou closures will still be in effect from Jan. 1 to April 15 at popular snowmobile destinations like Sale Mountain and Keystone and Standard Basins.

Provincial government biologists successfully moved three caribou from the South Selkirk and South Purcells herds to Revelstoke in January of 2019. Photo: B.C. government image

DECEMBER 2022 CALENDAR

DECEMBER EVENTS

THURSDAY, DEC. 1

WINTER ART MARKET AT RVAC

@ Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre

Join us for the first day of the Winter Art Market! For the month of December the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre will be

transforming the entire public gallery into a month long art market. Pieces can be taken home right away making the Winter Art Market a great way to find original, local, handmade gifts. See RVAC website for

more details.

FRIDAY, DEC. 2

REVELSTOKE WINTER MARKET

@ Revelstoke Community Centre

11_3:30 p.m.

Revelstoke's indoor winter market featuring food, crafts and more.

FOR THE LOVE OF FILM SCREENING AND PANEL

@ 6-10 p.m. Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre

Screening three films that explore the topics of place and colonialism in Revelstoke and winter outdoor recreation followed by a panel discussion. Informational tables and social begin at 6 pm and films begin at 7:00 pm with panel to follow.

SATURDAY, DEC. 3

OPENING DAY AT REVELSTOKE MOUNTAIN RESORT

@ Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Dust off your gear, sharpen your edges, stretch out those quads, and get stoked for another powder-filled winter at Revelstoke Mountain Resort!

LUNAR FREQUENCIES

– A REVELSTOKE OPENING DAY PARTY

@ Craft Bierhaus 9 p.m.–2 a.m. In celebration of Revelstoke Mountain Resort's opening day, Dolla Hilz is proud to present LUNAR FREQUENCIES, an opening day party at Craft Bierhaus.

FRIDAY, DEC. 9

BIG EDDY WINTER MARKET

@ Big Eddy Glass Works, 1741 Celgar Road, Big Eddy, Revelstoke. 4-9 p.m.

The Big Eddy Winter Market features holiday vendors including crafts, food, gifts and more in a mixed indoor

The Big Eddy Winter Market features arts and crafts and food in a festive outdoor market. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

SATURDAY, DEC. 10

REVELSTOKE RAILWAY MUSEUM HOLIDAY

EVENT

@ Revelstoke Railway Museum

The museum's holiday event includes special kids’ activities, a visit with Santa, and a take-home treat. Special Christmas trains will run on the model railway, and junior engineers will enjoy the return of the Thomas the Tank Engine tables. And, of course, the Museum Store will be brimming with gift ideas.

MONSTER ENERGY PRESENTS SKIITOUR

@ Traverse, 9 p.m.

Fusing two fresh-off-themountain electronic music addicts, Tim and Dave

together create 12 feet and 350 pounds of turbo-funkboosted, snowsuit-donning man flesh. Hailing from the world famous ski town of Whistler, this dynamic duo loves shredding fresh power almost as much as they love smashing out hit-records in the studio.

YOUTH ACCESS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

@ Revelstoke Secondary School. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

16+ volleyball tournament put together by a local youth, this tournament is a fun way to get our community together for a good cause and play a series of volleyball games. Teams are encouraged to pick a theme for their teamcolors, characters, you name it, we welcome it. Contact Stoke Youth Network for sign

up info.

SWAN LAKE CIRCUS BY CIRCUS WEST

@ Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre, 3 p.m., 7 p.m.

Swan Lake Circus is a CircusWest reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s timeless love story blending, circus, dance, and romance. Under a magician’s spell, a lovely princess must spend her days as a swan swimming on a lake of tears and her nights in her beautiful human form.

SATURDAY, DEC. 31

NEW YEARS' EVE FIREWORKS

@Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Gather at the bast of Revelstoke Mountain Resort for a midnight fireworks display.

www.welldesigns.ca

THE REVELSTOKE MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Revelstoke’s 2022 municipal election had roughly a 30 percent voter turnout. Of the estimated 6,387 eligible voters, residents cast 1,941 ballots, reports chief election officer Cindy Floyd.

In 2018, voter turnout was calculated at 46.05%, and 2,608 ballots were cast. According to Revelstoke city staff, approximately 686 voters took advantage of advance voting opportunities on October 5 and 12. In addition, there were 28 mail-in voters registered for the 2022 local election.

Mayor Gary Sulz was re-elected on October 15, 2022, receiving 75 percent of the votes. Aaron Orlando, Tim Palmer, Lee Devlin, Austin Luciow, Tim Stapenhurst and Matt Cherry will join the mayor on the council, garnering votes in that order.

Aside from Mayor Sulz, the council itself is made up of mostly new faces. Councillor elects Aaron Orlando and incumbent councillor Tim Palmer are the only two candidates with prior local government elected experience.

School District No.19 Board of Education Trustees are Alan Chell, Wendy Rota, Sarah Zimmer, Jodie Allen, and Sasha Walsh.

In CSRD Area B, David Brooks-Hill was acclaimed CSRD Area B director.

Unsurprisingly, most council candidates campaigned on promises to help solve Revelstoke's housing crisis. Proposed solutions vary between candidates, but most expressed interest in enacting plans laid out in the city's new Housing Action Plan, recently passed by the previous council.

Other issues central to the election included CAO retention, addressing illegal short-term rentals, increasing development cost charges, maintaining a diverse economy, and environment and transportation planning. For school district trustees, central issues include equity, diversity, and inclusion and establishing a better relationship with the city council to confer on areas of commonality.

Read our Q&A series with candidates on revelstokemountaineer.com to see where elected candidates stand on these critical issues.

RESIDENTS CAN START COMPOSTING FOOD WASTE AT REVELSTOKE LANDFILL

By Nora Hughes.

Hot on the heels of commercial composting starting up at the Revelstoke Landfill, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) has announced that it is now offering residents and commercial facilities direct drop-off of compostable waste at the site.

Effective immediately, Revelstoke residents interested in bringing their compostable material to the facility will be able to drop it off. There is a $10 minimum fee for disposing of compost, while larger loads are charged at $120/tonne. In addition, they say compostable material can only be deposited in compost-certified bags.

The commercial compost collection program began on November 1. Although CSRD staff say, they will not enforce commercial composting collection fees until late next year. Collection trucks drive around collecting food waste for the program, and businesses pay a fee for this, much like regular garbage collection. However, now that the site has a direct drop-off, businesses can deliver their food waste directly as an alternative option.

Allowing residents to drop off food waste is the next step in the CSRD’s food waste collection goals in Revelstoke. A residential compost collection program would need to be spearheaded by the City of Revelstoke.

Photo credit: Composting material. Edward Howell

THE NEWLY ELECTED COUNCIL’S FIVE MAIN PRIORITIES ARE LIVABILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, SUSTAINABILITY, EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE.

By Nora Hughes

Revelstoke's new city council from left: Councillor Tim Palmer, Councillor Tim Stapenhurst, Councillor Austin Luciow, Councillor Aaron Orlando, Mayor Gary Sulz, Councillor Lee Devlin, Councillor Matt Cherry. Photo: Kerri Knapp

TOURISM REVELSTOKE SURVEY PLANS 50 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Have you ever wondered what Revelstoke will be like 50 years from now? Whether you have or not, Tourism Revelstoke is planning Revelstoke’s future using a long lens. The DMO’s resident survey circulated throughout the community this fall, gauging how tourism affects the quality of life for locals.

Destination and Sustainability Manager, Robyn Goldsmith, says they’re planning 50 years ahead instead of the more immediate future because they want to have more of an impact.

“We put such a long lens on it just because we kind of figured the further you get people thinking into the future, the more ambitious they can be about their planning,” says Goldsmith. “If you think five years into the future, it's a bit limiting, but if you put a longer lens on it, you can think, what can we do with our climate in 50 years? What can we do?”

The survey results will be used to inform Tourism Revelstoke’s Destination Management Plan that, once drafted, will try to keep Revelstoke both competitive and sustainable as a tourist destination.

Goldsmith says they will begin writing the plan at the beginning of December. Tourism Revelstoke has partnered with Destination Think, a destination management consulting company, to draft the plan.

“Myself and the team from Destination Think, the team at Tourism Revelstoke, have a lot of ideas about what we'd like to see out of our tourism industry and how we'd like to see our tourism industry support the community, but it's obviously really important that we consider our residents' perspectives on that as well,” says Goldsmith.

The survey closed on December 1, and Tourism Revelstoke says they will announce the results to the public once they’ve been reviewed.

By Nora Hughes

Community Connections Revelstoke Society plans to break ground on a new food bank garden at their Community Outreach Building location in Revelstoke after receiving funding to bring the project to life.

Non-perishable foods are often the first thing that comes to mind when we think about food bank donations. While they are important, providing those in need with fresh foods has become a major focus for food banks, says a representative for Food Banks Canada.

Canadian food banks estimate that 40 percent of foods distributed are fresh. Community Outreach and Development Co-Director at Community Connections, Melissa Hemphill, says it is probably closer to 60 percent at the Revelstoke Food Bank because food is purchased and donated by community members and local businesses through the Food Recovery Program.

The Food Recovery Program has helped the Revelstoke Food Bank meet the demand for fresh food, but Hemphill says the effort goes beyond keeping the shelves stocked.

FUNDING FOR NEW FOOD BANK GARDEN

By Nora Hughes

“When clients know that food is grown, specifically for them in mind, it carries a different value for the clients receiving that food,” says Hemphill. “It’s not just cast off, it’s not just the stuff that fell off the truck that flipped over, it is intentionally created and grown, for them to nurture them and support their well-being, and that’s super meaningful.”

A grant of $23,969 from Loblaw and Food Banks Canada to boost fresh food capacity will go towards garden equipment, greenhouse equipment, food preserving equipment and some staff funding.

The Union of B.C Municipalities (UBCM) grant awarded to the City of Revelstoke for $30,077 is slated for construction, landscaping, growing beds and a gathering area in the new Food Bank Garden.

THE SURVEY RESULTS WILL BE USED TO INFORM TOURISM REVELSTOKE’S DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN.

Revelstoke, B.C. Photo: Nora Hughes

Photo: Markus Spiske

THE ROAD TO REVELSTOKE: STORIES FROM FIVE UKRAINIAN FAMILIES

SEVERAL UKRAINIAN FAMILIES NOW CALL REVELSTOKE HOME AFTER FLEEING FROM WAR. IN THIS ARTICLE, FIVE OF THEM SHARE STORIES OF WHY THEY’VE DECIDED TO CALL REVELSTOKE HOME AND WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN LIKE SETTLING IN.

By Nora Hughes.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. The impact the war has had on Ukrainians is unfathomable.

Several families have fled to Revelstoke, seeking refuge from the war. I sought them out and sat down with five Ukrainian families and listened to their stories.

As a reporter in a small town, I rarely interview someone on such a sensitive topic. Many of our new Ukrainian residents’ homes have been destroyed, have left loved ones behind, and have had to give up life-long careers. Still, my conversations with Tanya, Denys and Victoria, Artem and Inna, Jenny, Natalia and her son were very open.

The veterinary technician, Tanya

Tanya was the first Ukrainian person I interviewed, and I didn’t know what to expect. She’s kind and funny and told me her story in great detail. Tanya moved to Canada after getting a job offer at the Revelstoke Veterinary Clinic. She’s a dedicated professional and a loving mom to four children. Following the in vasion in February, Tanya, her husband, and their children fled to Poland. She travelled to Revelstoke alone in May before being joined by her family in July.

Despite being in a foreign place, Tanya felt nothing but welcome. Her employer, Rob Sidjak from the Revelstoke Veterinary clinic, picked her up from the airport and helped her settle in.

When I asked Tanya what’s weird about Revelstoke compared to her home in Ukraine, she said, “How Canadians spend free time. A lot of sports, a lot of activities. A lot of my coworkers after work go hiking and biking.” She says that a child’s English fluency still surprises her even though she’s been here for a few months now. She’s also surprised that Canadians don’t lock their doors at night. School in Revelstoke is different for Tanya’s children too. She says the school is very low-stress here and that her children can come home and be kids without worrying about mountains of homework.

The biggest challenge Tanya encountered was securing long-term housing before her family arrived. Another challenge she faced was learning new words involved in the technical nature of her work. At first, she didn’t understand terms like vomit but told me that, in her line of work, some words are learned quicker than others.

She finds joy in watching the seasons change. When she first arrived, Mount Begbie was covered in snow, and then it melted. Her children are excited to see the snow cover the mountain as winter creeps in again.

The store owner, Jenny

Jenny is bubbly and so easy to talk to. Jenny, her husband Artem and their son Timur arrived in Revelstoke in April. In Ukraine, Jenny was a business owner. She owned a retail store that sold supplements and cosmetics. Now, she works at Kat Cadegan Jewellery. Five months ago, she would freeze if someone asked Jenny a question. Now she’s cracking jokes in a language

Jenny, Artem and Timur: Artem Rusiev, Jenny Rusieve and their son Timur arrived in Revelstoke in April 2022.

Photo: Nora Hughes

that is not her native tongue. “It’s so important for me,” she says. “I was born in the south of Ukraine, and this is like the capital joke city in our country. Everybody knows who lives in Odesa: it’s comedy people.”

Jenny and her family moved to Revelstoke after Artem got a job at Revelstoke tech company, Cronometer. When they first arrived, Artem’s friend Dylan Hardy let them stay with him until they found a house. Jenny says that Dylan and all the team members at Cromometer were extremely helpful in making them feel at home.

What surprises Jenny the most is the kindness and honesty of people in Revelstoke. It shocked her to see a Facebook post on the Revelstoke Community page trying to reunite a Dimond ring with its rightful owners. She says this would not happen in a city in Ukraine. She’s getting used to living in a small town with no skyscrapers, no horizon line and bears in her backyard.

Some of Jenny’s most significant challenges were finding a house to rent, securing a credit card, and scheduling a driving test. Jenny has overcome a lot in the last few months, one of the biggest being her ability to engage in small talk through a language barrier. She calls it small talk that is not so small.

The professional basketball player: an interview with Artem and Inna

Artem, Inna and their two daughters moved to Revelstoke in May. Artem is a professional basketball player on the Ukrainian team. His family is used to moving around for his work. Artem estimates that Revelstoke is his daughter’s eleventh or twelfth school. Just three days before the war, the family was in Georgia. While staying with some friends, the family prepared visas to move to Canada. Artem says they chose Canada so that his daughters could have the opportunity to attend post-secondary education.

Their Ukrainian friends Olga and Alex, who lived in Revelstoke before the Russian invasion, helped them settle into their new home. Artem works nights at the Downie Timber Mill, and Inna works at Padrino’s Pizzeria. Inna loves to cook, and Artem says they’re considering opening a Ukrainian food truck in Revelstoke with friends Denys and Victoria.

Like some of the other families, Artem and Inna found their frequent encounters with bears quite surprising. Another thing that will take the family some time is the short commutes. In Kyiv, Artem would sit in traffic for hours to get to work. Here, the five-minute commutes feel strange. It’s something he says he could get used to.

Artem and Inna Family: Artem Butskyi, Inna Butska and their daughters Olha and Yiera arrived in Revelstoke in May 2022. Photo: Contributed by Artem Butskyi

Nataliia and son: Nataliia and her husband made the decision to move to Canada long before the war. She moved to Revelstoke in January and was joined by her son shortly after the war began in February.

Photo: Nora Hughes

Denys and Victoria are an incredibly friendly couple, eager to return the kindness they’ve received since moving to Revelstoke. Denys and Victoria fled to Italy at the start of the war and came to Revelstoke in September with the help of their friends Artem and Inna, who arrived in May. In Ukraine, Denys was a professional boxer and ran a boxing club for children, and Victoria worked in customer service at a beauty salon.

One of the first people to help them when they arrived in Revelstoke was professional skier Christina Lustenberger. Another person to show them extraordinary kindness was Dr. Bret Batchelor, who invited them to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. The day manager at the Ramada Hotel sent Denys a message before they moved and said they wanted to help the couple by providing employment and staff housing. Victoria works at the Ramada now, and Denys works for Jordan Cochrane Construction.

Victoria says one of the biggest surprises for her was coming face-to-face with a black bear on her first day in town. Denys is most surprised by the friendliness of people in Revelstoke. He says the way people who don’t know each other stop and talk in the streets isn’t common in Ukraine.

The couple found that the biggest challenge was finding a place to rent. They’ve secured housing now, thanks to the kindness of community members.

Recently, Denys completed his boxing coaching permits and is an official coach at the Revelstoke Boxing Club.

The tailor: an interview with Nataliia

Nataliia decided she wanted to live in Canada long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before COVID, she worked in Kelowna but lost her job due to the pandemic. She found a job with Shade Sails Inc in Revelstoke and went back to Ukraine to begin the immigration process. Now, she’s officially been in Revelstoke for nine months.

When Nataliia arrived in Revelstoke, her employer and coworkers at Shade Sails helped her settle in. “They gave me information about everything,” she said. Nataliia’s friends from church have also been exceptionally helpful in her transition.

Something that Nataliia finds different about Revelstoke from her home in Ukraine is the lack of good transportation. “I have never used a car because we have a subway and busses; everything is very fast. It’s really different,” she explains. She says she enjoys the slower pace of Revelstoke in some regards. People are incredibly friendly and stop her on the street to say hello.

Nataliia’s biggest challenge was getting her son to Canada after the start of the war. With everything going on in Ukraine, it wasn’t easy to get the information she needed for her son’s visa. It was a scary time for her. The one thing that put her mind at ease was knowing her son was safe with her husband and that he would protect him if anything happened. When she finally got her son into Canada, her husband could not join them. Ukraine is under martial law, and Nataliia’s husband could not leave because he is of military age.

“It’s difficult because we are a family, my husband, my son and me. We are one small Ukrainian family, but in Canada, I’m a single parent, and it’s not my decision,” says Nataliia. “I’m doing everything alone, and it’s really hard.”

The boxer and beautician: an interview with Denys and Victoria

Vika Latii and Denys Popov arrived in Revelstoke in September 2022. Photo: Nora Hughes

Tanya + family

By Nora Hughes

Every weekend when I was a kid, my family would drive from Massachusetts to Vermont to ski. With my nose pressed to the window, I would visually document the drive, searing the sights into my mind. As we crest the summit of Rochester Gap on Bethel Mountain Road, the clearing in the trees reveals an expansive ridge line with amazing vertical down to the valley. Every time I see that line, I imagine what it would be like to click into my skis and drop in.

Don’t we all? Those repetitive drives where there’s nothing to do but stare out the window and dream about the sick turns you would slash down that shoot. That mountain outside of the bedroom window greets you every morning and haunts you every evening as you lie awake wondering if anyone has ever ventured up its exposed ridge and launched down its near vertical face. The kind of objectives that taunt and tease until you finally find the time, courage or opportunity to achieve it, if it is, in fact, achievable.

For professional skier and ACMG guide Christina Lustenberger, that objective was Mount Nelson. She grew up in its shadow. The mountain was the backdrop for her classroom and the ski hill where she grew up racing.

“I remember I would drive into that valley all the time. And see that peak and get so excited because that peak to me is like going home,” Christina says. “Driving there to go ski that line, I remember being like, oh, fuck, now we actually have to do it. Like we're here to ski that thing. And it just was this rush of emotions, butterflies and nerves.”

Christina grew up in Invermere and, during the pandemic, had the opportunity to ski a line she’s stared at her whole life. She’d spent eight years pitching the project to companies, and only when skiing close to home became cool did the opportunity arise. Christina skied the line with childhood friend and fellow professional skier Ian Macintosh. Together, the two lived their childhood dream.

“We've had so many insane days in the mountains. But we both agree that was one of the best days of our lives,” says Christina. “I think what makes it so unique from other lines is that imagination to look at it and go, ‘I wonder if you could ski that,’ and then wait 15 more years to come back and do it. It was the purest imagination because it came from a child. I was a child when I first had that thought. And I think that a child’s

Christina Lustenberger is rooted in Revelstoke. As an ACMG guide and big mountain film star, she has the opportunity to travel around the world skiing but keeps coming back to her home mountains pursuing unskied lines.

Photo: Bruno Long

N: You turn your first descent dreams into realities. How does a first descent come together?

C: It just starts with a wonder. You look at something, and I wonder if that could be skied, or I wonder if it has been skied and then just kind of rolls into an obsession and inspiration and purpose. For me, it's all about this continuum of progression in the mountains and adding different layers; so I don't get bored or fall into the status quo. And it's pushing or evolving yourself as a person that way. So, yeah, I think that's kind of what drives it. And then, from that moment of seeing something that just drives your curiosity, that then becomes this thought process of “what would the conditions take? What's the route?”

N: You ski a lot of big lines right here in our “backyard.” How has the meaning of a place informed your journey as a skier?

C: I have had the opportunity to travel all around the world, and I appreciate those experiences. But I keep coming back to the home mountains, whether that's the Selkirks, the Monashees, or just Western Canada in general. I appreciate the wilderness that we have and the opportunity to explore unskied lines, remote valleys and to have that quietness

and stillness in someplace where you can just really focus on the journey that you're on.

N: Tell me about your first descents on Mount Ethelbert this past winter.

C: I think we did three Ethelbert missions in four weeks. Ethelbert is a peak you can see from the backyard of the property we purchased in the Spillimacheen area. I was building trails up on that hillside, and I could see it, which is really cool. Just to have that peak that you can just stare at and think about the good memories and the journey it’s provided. Growing up in that valley, my parents always took us hiking at such a young age. So many of the hikes took us into a valley that sits right below Ethelbert.

Then, as a teenager, early 20s, I think, I went there one summer and like scrambled it in the summer. At that point had wondered what it would be like to ski but also didn't like quite understand what aspect I would want to ski. But a few years ago, I think it kind of clicked back into my mind. It’s such a like prominent mountain that sits in that valley, so it was a natural progression. Okay, well, Nelson is done; what’s the next thing? Driving north, it's right there. And the east face is really

obvious from the road. And so we went and skied that. And then also noticed that there was a south face right off the summit with a 100-metre hanging face, repel and 1,200-metre descent to this lower lake. So after skiing the east face, we took a week off, and we're just like, well, we kind of have to go back. That just looks too good of a line not to go back and try. So we went a week later, and that ended up being the TGR segment for this year.

N: With mountains like Ethelbert and Rogers Pass in your backyards, do you ever get bored or find it challenging to find new limits to push?

C: It's funny because you go to these areas, and you have a goal, and you want to ski it. You're so focused on that. But when you're there and in that moment, you're also looking around, intrigued by what's around that next corner. What's the next thing? And there were some interesting ski lines in that area. The Purcells are beautiful mountains and hold a lot of cool skiing. So I think I will go back and that south face of Ethelbert, and the east face too. I think they are really classic lines, and it would be fun to go back. Just for an adventure. And I told my husband I have to drag him up there too.

Photo credit: Drew Smith

Photographer: Laura Szanto Athlete: Shep Howatt Ice climbing is badass. It's one of the sports I genuinely admire. It's high consequence, dangerous and uncomfortable most of the time. Yet so many people are drawn to the sport — including Shep Howatt. I loved watching him make his way up this challenging waterfall. You could hear the hollowness in the ice every time his axe made contact. The pillar had water trickling down the middle, but he pushed forward with ease and steadiness. I'll be honest; I was gripped, holding my breath the whole time. If you’re keen on trying ice climbing, here are some helpful tips from the pros: dress with appropriate layers (seems obvious), keep your tools staggered and legs wide apart, and belay away from potential falling ice.

Photographer: Daniel Stewart Athlete: Yu Sasaki

Professional skier, Yu Sasaki, was incredibly close to achieving his most significant career goal in the early days of 2022. Matchstick Pro ductions was knocking on his door; they liked his style, but Yu tore his Achilles just days before the shoot. It was a season-ending injury. Yu moved to Canada after high school. His life revolves around skiing. He grinds the summer months away, running a popular food truck in Revelstoke called Twilight Bite. In the winter, he skis. Yu says he feels a sense of urgency to achieve his goal. This year he turns 37 and plans on pushing his body to its limit for three more years. He’s unwilling to give up on his dreams and plans to prove that this winter.

Photographer: Shoto Ida Athletes: Various

It’s early April, and we had lost a day of our hut trip due to road closures, significant snowfall and hazardous conditions. I arrived to meet nine others, eight of whom I’d not met before. From the mo ment I arrived, I could feel this trip was going to be one for the books. Excitement was high. Smiles went around as people introduced themselves, and snow continued to fall from the gray sky. We start ed breaking trail through the 40 centimetres of fresh snow with our 60-pound backpacks filled with gear and group dinner supplies. The untracked slope extended as far as the eye could see, ready to be a canvas. We all pondered the question: “if an octopus was to ski, what would be the ski-to-pole ratio?” Talk of this kept us laughing while setting the skin track through some of the deepest snow we had seen that year.

By Nora Hughes.

Most professional skiers have to work. I don’t mean work hard, although they do that too; I mean work another job. The hustle is real, and most skiers blend their passion for skiing with a business that follows the same arc — professional skier/marketing manager, photographer, climate change professional, or brand coordinator. Even working seasonally in construction works well for many professionals. However, some professional skiers have gigs that seem all-consuming — a real pivot from the skiing job but equally as cool.

Professional skiers Izzy Lynch, Yu Sasaki and Chris Rubens, have a few things in common — they own businesses that are pivot points in their careers. All three balance lives as parents, pro skiers and owners of vibrant community businesses.

Izzy Lynch

First and foremost, Izzy Lynch is a skier. It’s what she’s been doing the longest. She started skiing when she was one-and-a-half years old, progressed to ski racing and coaching, then skiing brought her to Revelstoke. Pursuing the powder lifestyle and shredding hard at the newly opened Revelstoke Mountain Resort, she made connections, and things took off. Now she’s a pro skier, mom to two boys and a business owner.

Izzy purchased the Revelstoke Florist in the fall of 2022. The florist is a long-standing Revelstoke business, serving the community since 1964. She opened her doors on October 4, rebranded as Left Field Floral. The decision to buy the shop came out of the left field. Izzy was working for Protect Our Winters, a non-profit that focuses its efforts on legislation regarding climate change.

“I loved that job. It was so fulfilling and amazing, but I just found, especially for COVID, it was purely computer work,” says Izzy. “I was really struggling with that. Just hours and hours of Zoom calls every day, being on the screen so much, and having kids. You realize your time is so limited, and your energy is so limited, and it was really draining me.”

When she saw her good friend Christine Pavlik had posted Revelstoke Florist for sale, she shot her a text jokingly asking if she should buy it. Christine shared her knowledge throughout the summer, and Izzy hit the books learning as much as she could about running a floral shop.

“There’s so much to do in life; why not pivot? Why not try different things? I think you're limiting yourself if you stay on one path your entire life.”

When balancing her passion and career, Izzy says it’s important to her to have a job that slots into other parts of her life. Through filmmaking, Izzy highlights how she balances a professional ski career and motherhood through films like Motherload and Kindred. She plans on Left Field Floral fitting in with the other things she loves to do and being a creative outlet.

“The reason I love skiing is it's a lifelong sport,” says Izzy. “I think ski media really focuses on this snapshot of our lives. When you're 20 to 30, and your risk tolerance is super high, you're out shredding and stuff like that, and that's super aspirational. But there are so many skiers out there that are living outside of that, and so it's cool to showcase that.”

Professional skier, mom, and long-time Revelstoke community member Izzy Lynch recently purchased the Revelstoke Florist, a town staple since 1964, and rebranded it as Left Field Floral.

Photo: Nora Hughes

Chris Rubens is one of the few who makes a full living off being a professional skier. He’s been a sponsored skier going on 20 seasons. So when he and his partner Jesse started First Light Farm in Revelstoke, money wasn’t the primary motivation.

For Chris, the farm is two things; a plan to take action against climate change and a plan to take the monetary pressure off his skiing career. The latter, he says, has helped him take a step back and think about what he wants to get out of skiing. “Basically, what I realized is there are a bunch more things I still would like to do,” says Chris. “Like making movies and showcasing my life and the farm is a really important thing. On the climate side of things, the farm makes a negligible difference in the grand scheme of things, but if I can share that story and inspire people, that can potentially make a big difference.”

While farming seems wildly different than Chris’s other profession, he says being at the mercy of Mother Nature is identical to skiing. As a backcountry skier, Chris always observes the conditions and what’s happening around him. He knows you can never fight Mother Nature, but you can watch for windows of opportunity and learn to work with her.

Capping off their busy farming season, Chris and Jesse recently welcomed their first baby. Their goal for the farm is to find a work-life balance. Having always been drawn to the storytelling side of his industry, Chris is excited to incorporate his son into the narrative.

“Instead of pushing skiing away, I feel like I’ve jumped into a whole new chapter of skiing this year,” he says. “It’ll be the ultimate dance of trying to find that balance, but I’m pretty excited to take him skiing. It’s really important for me to show him life is for living.”

Chris Rubens and his partner Jesse Johnston-Hill started First Light Farm during the throes of the pandemic. They produce fresh produce for their Revelstoke neighbours and have recently embarked on the adventures of parenthood.

Photo: FD Productions

Chris Rubens

Instead of pushing the skiing away, I feel like I've jumped into a whole new chapter of skiing this year,” says Rubens.

Photo: Bruno Long

Yu and his family own and operate the popular food truck, Twilight Bite, in Revelstoke.

Photo: Daniel Stewart

Yu Sasaki

Yu Sasaki moved to Canada after high school. His father had taken him skiing when he lived in Japan, but he wasn’t overly impressed with the sport until his first time skiing in Whistler. The skiing culture in B.C. inspired him to become a professional skier. After a few years of chasing powder, he posted clips of his skiing to YouTube and to his surprise, sponsors started calling him. Yu lives in Revelstoke now with his wife and two children. He opened a food truck four years ago that has become incredibly popular. His second truck, Twilight Bite, has become a staple in Revelstoke’s downtown food scene.

The food trucks are a seasonal business that allows Yu to focus on skiing in the winter. He says balancing a pro ski career, a family, and a business is tricky.

“Skiing in a niche sport. The gear is very expensive. You have to buy a season pass and have to commute every day. It’s hard,” says Yu. “I think there are few people who are able to make money being just a pro skier.” With a passion for skiing and a supportive family to help him run his business, Yu can pursue his dream. This year, Yu turns 37. He plans on pushing his limits as a skier for a few more years. One thing he’s determined to achieve in that time is securing a spot with a production company.

“My skiing goal is I want to join a crew like Matchstick or TGR,” he says. “I was very close last winter season. Matchstick was hitting me up to shoot together, but two or three days before shooting, I got injured.”

Yu had torn his Achilles tendon. It was a season-ending injury. This year, his goal is to try again.

“I came to Canada, and I’d always watch MSP movies, and I’ve grown with them. My goal is to join this group, skiing together.”

As for his food truck empire, he doesn’t want to keep doing it too much longer. The business’s exponential growth has taken away from Yu’s focus on skiing — the reason he started the business in the first place. Instead, Yu dreams of opening a restaurant or, even better, a bed and breakfast. “Many Japanese young skiers are interested in Revelstoke,” Yu explains. “I want to invite them, these kids. If I had a B&B, I would cook and teach them skiing and English.”

TOURISM TALKS

LEARNING FROM OUR BROADER COMMUNITY.

As part of our destination management planning process, Tourism Revelstoke and Destination Think created the Think Revelstoke podcast to interview and learn from leading experts in other destinations around the world. There are many ideas, innovations, and solutions being put forward to ensure positive outcomes for the tourism industry.

Our problems and opportunities as a small, tourism based community are not unique, and we can gain valuable insights from our colleagues. Here are quick highlights from some of our guests:

“Probably one of the most obvious missing pieces of the conversation for a very long time is the actual host community, the residents that live there and their stake in how this industry would impact their way of life... and what they hope to share with the world about their community. So including residents in the conversation we feel is important, not just for their sake but for the long term sake of our industry.”

“Indigenous history is a history that’s been put on the shelf, and now we’re taking that book off the shelf to use it in a way that we’re learning the true history, but also learning from it and moving forward... Our generation and the generation that’s coming is going to open up the doors and true reconciliation through tourism based on relationships.”

Everything we do must be in harmony with nature and for the benefit of the people. Everything we do has to have social value... environmental value, heritage. Everything has to be fulsome... if money was everything for tourism, we would just welcome mass tourism... If we have had a lot of tourists come in, there would be no space for the locals.”

“If [a community] want[s] to make certain that their community retains the vibrancy of a place where people live, they have to put other strategies in place. They have to think about what people need to live in that community and be able to address that, and a lot of times it’s possible to use the proceeds of that tourism economy to help make those priorities happen.”

Tune in to Think Revelstoke wherever you get your podcasts, or grab a cup of coffee and tune in on Stoke FM on Saturday mornings at 8am. We are excited to share our findings from our colleagues around the world.

To read previous Tourism Talks columns, head to destinationrevelstoke.com.

Marsha Walden, CEO of Destination Canada

Frank Antoine, Chief of Bonaparte First Nation

Damcho Rinzin, Chief Tourism Officer, Tourism Council of Bhutan

Cathy Ritter, former CEO of Colorado Tourism

Adventure starts with your fellow Marmots

It takes resolve and effort to get there

the rewards

But

are worth it!

BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL MOVIE EXPLORES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MOUNT BEGBIE’S NAME

Mount Begbie looms over Revelstoke. It’s iconized in the backdrop of photos, on logos, in the names of businesses and schools. It’s a right of passage for adventure enthusiasts, no matter the season. Producers of the film Beyond Begbie say, “Mount Begbie has inspired an entire community.”

The short film premiered at this year’s Banff Mountain Film festival. Beyond Begbie was directed, produced and edited by Revelstoke residents Zoya Lynch, Nat Segal, Colleen Gentemann and Ryan Paul Collins.

Exploring the heavy history behind the mountain’s name, viewers are asked to consider if their connection to the land is, or isn’t, reflected in the name. The film features Nahanni Mckay, Ariel Hill, Dale Tomma, Tim Patterson and Shelly Boyd, members of Indigenous groups and mountain sport enthusiasts, sharing their histories with the land and its significance to them individually.

The film highlights that the peak has created an entire contemporary culture in Revelstoke, but its name and story only represent colonial history with no reference to the Indigenous heritage of the land.

“The main aim of the film is to start the conversation about colonial names of mountains,” says producer Nat Segal. “It is not a black and white film that pushes for the name to be changed.”

The Revelstoke premier of Beyond Begbie takes place December 2 at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre. The “For the Love Of” event hosted by Open Mountains Project — a non-profit society in Revelstoke — will screen three films that explore the topics of place and colonialism in Revelstoke and winter recreation, followed by a panel discussion. Tickets are available online through the Open Mountains Project’s social media pages and on Eventbrite.com.

Revelstoke’s Americana singer-songwriter May Davis has had quite the year. This summer, she forged her first solo tour through the Kootenays, performing at bubbling breweries and bistros in the region and premiering at beloved festivals Tiny Lights and Kaslo Jazz Festival. With her first fulllength album, One Way Ticket, under her embellished leather belt, Davis is ready to share new music with the world.

While on tour, she returned to Becoming Sound, a recording studio in Ymir B.C., to record new music and is now preparing for the release of three new singles in 2023 starting in January.

But that’s not all.  For her third and final release planned for May 2023, Davis, alongside a local crew of production professionals, has gone back in time to create an exciting and revenge-fuelled music video to compliment her original song, Black Widow.  Filmed live on location at 3 Valley Gap, Davis, Francois Desrosier and Keri Knapp captured the essence of a classic murder ballad using the heritage village and its natural, rustic charm.  An Appalachian-inspired storyteller, Davis loves collaborating the visual with audio to reveal the underbelly of her songs. Known for her soulful reflections on love and relationships, her new songs expand on the themes of old love, loss, risk and revenge.

REVY ARTIST, MAY DAVIS RELEASES THREE NEW SONGS

By Nora Hughes

Her final release Black Widow holds near and true to her heart as this song holds deeper meaning underneath its surface murder ballad. Black Widow is a story of female rebellion in the face of adversity and the infringement of women's rights as they have, and continue to be, compromised. The fight for equality continues across the world, and in this song, our heroine takes her own step toward revenge and regaining her own power. So buckle up and stay tuned for new releases from May Davis.

A SHORT FILM THAT EXPLORES THE HISTORY OF MOUNT BEGBIE AND ITS SHARED SIGNIFICANCE TO INDIGENOUS GROUPS AND MOUNTAIN SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS.

By Nora Hughes

Photo Credit: Zoya Lynch

Photo Credit: Keri Knapp

REVELSTOKE TO HOST COLOUR THE SLOPES SUMMIT FOR BIPOC ADVENTURERS

PARTICIPANTS IN COLOUR THE SLOPES WILL GATHER TO COLLECTIVELY PURSUE ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES IN REVELSTOKE, INCLUDING SKIING, SNOWBOARDING, SNOWSHOEING, SNOWMOBILING, NORDIC SKIING, AND SKI TOURING

By Nora Hughes

Colour the Trails, Tourism Revelstoke, and Revelstoke Mountain Resort are partnering to host a summit celebrating winter pursuits and gathering BIPOC adventurer seekers. The first annual Colour the Slopes Summit is a four-day event from December 8–11, 2022.

Participants will gather to collectively pursue adventure activities in Revelstoke, including skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, Nordic skiing, and ski touring. The evenings will include a film night, apres with special guest speakers, and a gala featuring dinner, music, and dancing.

The event will host guest speakers Vasu Sojitra, Mirna “the Mirnavator” Valerio, and Larissa Crawford.

Vasu is one of the most recognized adaptive athletes in the outdoors, with numerous achievements both in skiing as well as trail running, or “ninjasticking,” as Vasu calls it. Mirna is a native of Brooklyn, NY, a former educator, cross-country coach, ultrarunner, obstacle course enthusiast, and author of the recently published memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. Larissa is of Métis and Jamaican ancestry and is a published Indigenous and anti-racism researcher and policy advisor with over 13 years of experience.

The summit is the brainchild of Colour the Trails founder Judith Kasiama, who wanted to create a safe space for BIPOC to come and spend time on the slopes as a community.

Colour the Trails is an organization that advocates for inclusive representation in outdoor spaces and works with businesses to break barriers to adventure activities, creating accessibility. Their message of inclusion and representation in outdoor spaces is something that Tourism Revelstoke says it wholeheartedly embraces.

The event sponsors aim to create and bolster community; participants will be able to come together to try a new sport, hone their skills, and get to know Revelstoke. Tourism Revelstoke and other event hosts hope to sponsor this event annually.

The brainchild of snowboarder Travis Rice, the Natural Selection Tour (NST) showcases top riders, from Olympians to big mountain film icons, all competing in exciting natural and naturally enhanced terrain. Revelstoke will host the second stage of the competition within Selkirk Tangier’s Heli Skiing tenure.

The 2023 tour will host 24 of the world’s best riders in three new stages as they move through DUELS, Revelstoke, BC, and Alaska.

Stop number one, DUELS, is hosted worldwide and will feature headto-head competitions between sixteen men and eight women in locations worldwide during February 2023. The 12 riders to come out on top of the DUELS will participate in YETI NST Revelstoke on March 4–11, followed by stop number three outside Valdez, Alaska, from March 25–April 1.

NST’s mission is to inspire people to forge a deeper relationship with Mother Nature.

The event is supported by Tourism Revelstoke, which recently received significant grant funding from the provincial government that aims to strengthen B.C.'s reputation as an event destination by providing funds to event organizers to amplify the reach of an event. Tourism Revelstoke received $200,000 to support NST at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

Tourism Revelstoke’s Marketing and Destination Director, Meghan Tabor, says that given the size and scale of the event, most of the funding will go towards TV and production costs.

TOURISM REVELSTOKE RECEIVES GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE NATURAL SELECTION SNOWBOARDING TOUR STOPPING IN REVELSTOKE MARCH 4-11, 2023.

By Nora Hughes

“NST is aligned with our destination reputation and will offer a good opportunity for brand awareness for our target winter audiences (adventure travellers),” says Tabor. “Adventure travellers are considered "high value" visitors, with as much of 70% of their expenditures remaining in the communities visited.”

Judith Kasiama - Founder of Colour the Trails

Photo Credit: Nora Hughes

Picture Dammo Fleece in Coconutz; Picture Dammo Fleece Pants in Coconutz; Picture Gaiby Jacket in Scot Plaid;

Photos by Alexi Mostert

CRITICAL PARTS MESSAGE

FROM GARETH WESTON, OUR LEAD BOOT FITTER

Critical Parts is a space staffed by a motley crew of passionate and dedicated individuals that have moved from various corners of the globe to call the Revelstoke mountains home. We take a deep-seated pride in sharing our love and knowledge of snow sports and our environment with our guests and doing our utmost to help others maximize their time in the Selkirk snow. The team is comprised of a collection of caring and empathetic individuals whose number-one priority is sharing our expertise to help others in creating and living out the individual experiences they aspire to, whilst doing so, safely free of pain and discomfort.

Whether a skier or a snowboarder, backcountry explorer or resort regular, our world-class team of boot fitters are here as your first port of call to aid in saving a vacation, getting you ready for that big traverse or to squeeze a little more performance out of the boots of aspiring or active professionals.

Every guest we serve is an individual with individual needs and we are fortunate to be able to share our collective years of experiences, skills and adventures to find the solution that gives you the platform to make new memories.

Gareth Weston, Lead Boot Fitter

What do you like the most about living in Revelstoke?

The freedom to access vast wilderness and limitless spaces in which to recreate and play as soon as I step foot out of the door.

What is your favorite run at RMR?

Any of the endless lines from Gracias Ridge after a hefty overnight dump. Nothing compares to the excitement and energy after the rope drops and a mob swarms the ridge to ride lines they have been contemplating for weeks whilst waiting for the conditions to line up.

What is your current set up?

Armada ARV 96 park skis, Moment Wildcat Tour 108s with a Cast system and Liberty Origin Pros for the deep days.

Who's your favorite skier/ snowboarder?

My friend Brendan. Regardless of the day, the weather, the conditions or the location, he is happy to be there and is smiling ear to ear from bell to bell. He isn’t a professional and does not aspire to be, but he loves skiing and embodies what I love about the culture.

Where would be your dream ski destination?

A ski and cultural road trip through Japan. A combination of food, history, cultural exchange and bottomless snow.

If you could listen to only one song while skiing/riding, what would it be?

Rolling $tone – Little Simz – WUUKZ Remix

Chris Furlong, Critical Parts Supervisor

What do you like the most about living in Revelstoke?

Being surrounded by these beautiful mountains every day!

What is your favorite run at RMR?

Catching Separate Reality rope drop/ North Bowl What is your current set up? Salomon Sickstick with Salomon Highlander

Who's your favorite skier/ snowboarder?

Ben Ferguson, such a versatile rider!

Where would be your dream ski destination?

Japan

If you could listen to only one song while skiing/riding, what would it be?

Teardrop - Massive Attack

What is your favorite run at RMR?

Back 40

What is your current set up?

186 4FRNT Renegade / G3 Ion LT

12 / Tecnica Zero G; 2: 186 4FRNT Inthayne / Look Pivot 18 / Dalbello

Lupo Carbon

Who's your favorite skier/ snowboarder?

Eric Hjorliefson

Where would be your dream ski destination?

The Chugach Range in Alaska

If you could listen to only one song while skiing/riding, what would it be?

Cows Around – Corb Lund

Nicholas Suchy, Boot fitter

What do you like the most about living in Revelstoke?

There’s such a strong sense of community here. Walking through a market on Saturday seeing familiar faces and all the folks in town who make Revelstoke so special is definitely up there on the list. And the snow….

What is your favorite run at RMR?

Nunya Creek

What is your current set up?

Liberty Origin 112s with Look Pivot 18s and the CAST Touring adapter. For boots I’ll be riding the Lange XT Free 140 Pro model.

Riley Lerner, Boot fitter

What do you like the most about living in Revelstoke?

All dressed BLTs from La Baguette

What is your favorite run at RMR?

Separate Reality

What is your current set up?

Currently skiing some Tecnica Zero G Pro Tours and Moment Wildcat

108s

Who's your favorite skier/ snowboarder?

Lusti

Where would be your dream ski destination?

Karakorum Range

Who's your favorite skier/ snowboarder?

Snowboarder: Austen Sweetin

Skier: Too many to list! Sam Kuch, Garrett Capel, Rodney Koford, Alec Henderson, to name a few.

Where would be your dream ski destination?

Japan, no contest. Who wants to fly me there!

If you could listen to only one song while skiing/riding, what would it be?

Gotta be “The People” - Knox Brown.

Kirby Sutherland, Boot fitter

What do you like the most about living in Revelstoke?

The large snowfall amount and the amazing access to all types of terrain.

If you could listen to only one song while skiing/riding, what would it be?

Sandstorm - Darude

The Critical Parts Team

Antoine is wearing Arc’teryx Sabre Jacket in Multiverse; Arc’teryx

Sabre Bib in Black; Black Diamond Mercury Mitts in Black; Oakley Fall Line XL in Factory Pilot Blackout; Smith Vantage Helmet in Matte Charcoal; Atomic Bent 110 skis; Salomon Hacker S3 poles

Steph is wearing Arc’teryx Sentinel Anorak (Habitat); Arc’teryx Rush Bib Pant in (Habitat); Hestra Heli Ski Mitt in Black/White; Smith Squad in White Vapor; Smith Mirage Helmet in Black; Salomon HPS Annie Boulanger board

Antoine is wearing Picture Matthew ¼ Fleece in Grey Melange; Picture Dammo Fleece Pants in Grey Melange; Ambler X RMR Groovy Cap in Golden Brown

Steph is wearing Picture Arca ¼ Fleece in Grey Melange; Picture Lement Jacket in Cloudy; Picture Hermiance Pants in Dark Army Green; Dakine Lotus Mitt in Turtle Dove; Picture Birsay; Beanie in Sage Brush; Smith Squad XL in Birch

Antoine is wearing Picture U88 Jacket in Green; Picture U77 Bib in Black; Arc’teryx Fission SV Mitt in Black/Infrared; CG Habitat X RMR Basic Beanie in Black; Bula Balaclava in Black; Smith IO Mag in Carnelian; Atomic Bent 110 skis; Salomon Hacker S3 poles

'REVELSTOKE'

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die. —Roy Batty, Blade Runner

By Aaron Orlando

OK, what am I looking at?

If you want to scare yourself, download the Discord app and jump onto the Midjourney server, where you too can generate eerie images like these — until you hit the paywall, and I assure you will once you try.

The image above was generated using keyword prompts for 'Revelstoke' on the app, and Midjourney's AI did the rest, with a little effortless iteration nudging. Basically, you say Revelstoke and it gives you this — or it gave me this. If you try it, it will give you something different, but something that nevertheless looks sorta, kinda, yeah-I-can-see-it like Revelstoke.

Following a storm that has left random parts of the town without power, Mt. Begbert — a Begbie-like mass of humped alpine rock, starts to poke out of the wildfiresmoke tinged clouds. In the mid-ground, the AI slips up a

bit, omitting the clearcuts. In a nod to realism, the AI has done the calculations on the Big Eddy Bridge and depicts it as half-there, half collapsed into the river — just like the real thing. Uncanny — how does it know, and what does it know that we don't?

The underlit green faux copper patina of Revelstoke's courthouse dome iterates across an amalgamated neighbourhood we'll call The Lower Eddy, which is named after a local legend named Eddy, who built some of the town's first illegal vacation rentals.

Something looking like the old firehall hose tower on the Revelstoke City Hall building also makes the cut, glittering in the dark.

There was a time about a decade ago when the town got excited about a mention in a major U.S. publication that would help put us on the map. Who isn't curious to hear what others have to say about your town? Like the travel writer, the Midjourney AI gets it mostly right, but with a few details out of order.

We can visualize a travel writer on a ski-town junket, but it's a harder to picture an algorithm standing on the banks of the Columbia, casting its gaze to capture a moment otherwise lost in time.

'Revelstoke,' 2022, created using AI image generator Midjourney

Where Do You Find an Engineer with Avalanche Training?

Revelstoke business Dynamic Avalanche had a problem. They needed another engineer one with a solid avalanche training background. Finding this combination would be difficult. The solution? Hire an engineer as an intern and give them the avalanche training needed to fill this position long-term.

Recent engineering graduate, Dan Rohn, grew up with parents who worked in the avalanche industry. With a wage subsidy from Columbia Basin Trust’s Career Internship Program, Dynamic Avalanche was able to afford to bring him on board and train him. The subsidy helped the company offset the decrease in revenue from clearing time in their schedules to knowledge-share. Two years later, Dan is a permanent employee, helping reduce avalanche risk around the world.

stories.ourtrust.org

A glimpse into the remarkable stories of people and places in the Columbia Basin.

The best gift you can give to the community is supporting local. We ski the same slopes, we drink the same coffee, and share the same love for this beautiful town.

Let's say "Merry Christmas" to the local artists and businesses that help us thrive. From stocking stuffers to high-quality apparel, R Gear has you covered this holiday season.