Mount Revelstoke

Elevation: 1939 m
Elevation Gain: 125 m
Thanks to a 26 km winding road which leads almost to its summit, Mount Revelstoke is one of the most frequently ascended peaks in the Selkirks. Both the mountain and the nearby town were named for Edward Charles Baring, the First Baron of Revelstoke. Lord Revelstoke headed a British bank which bought unsold Canadian Pacific Railway bonds. This investment kept the cross-country railway solvent and allowed for its completion on November 7, 1885. In addition to his work with the Baring Brothers and Co Bank, Lord Revelstoke served Director of the Bank of England and Chairman of Lloyds. Lord Revelstoke was also the great-great-grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.
My Ascents:
August 11 2018
Trailhead: Balsam Lake Parking
GPS Track: Mount Revelstoke

While coming home from Vancouver Island in 2017, we broke up the drive by spending a day in Revelstoke, BC. Enchanted by this beautiful little town and its Selkirk surroundings, we vowed to return for a longer visit in 2018. After recruiting our entire extended family to join us for a 5-day summer camping trip, we were dismayed to arrive at the same time as this year’s heavy wildfire smoke. Not ones to let ultra-poor air quality get in the way of a summit, we decided to make the most of our time in “Revelsmoke” and took on nearby Mount Revelstoke (with a lung-saving 1,350 vertical meter assist from the Meadows in the Sky Parkway)!

The well-marked Summit trail from the Balsam Lake parking area. Normally, peak bagging requires a little more work than this but, given the smoke and nearby rumbling thunder, we weren’t going to complain!

Mera shows Mom and Grandpa the way up while Penny enjoys an overdue nap en route to the top.

“Forests in the Sky Parkway” might have been a more apt name for the road that brought us to within 125 vertical meters of the summit.

Mera gains additional elevation by ascending 6-foot-7-inch-tall Uncle Craig (photo courtesy Gord Hobbs).

The whole gang (minus photographer Gord) enjoying a morning in the mountains (photo courtesy Gord Hobbs).

A sampling of the wildflowers that that Meadows in the Sky Parkway is famous for.

Just below the summit, Brianne stops to see if she can see anything through the thick smoke (answer: not much!).

A brand new summit sign (hauled up by a Parks Canada employee mere moments earlier). Wait – shouldn’t that elevation be in meters? Someone call the poor Parks porter back up here (and when you do, tell Parks that the true 8-m-higher summit of Mount Revelstoke is actually 300 m east of here)!

The historic "summit"-top fire lookout was built in 1927 and remained active until 1987 when satellite fire-detection rendered it obsolete (photo courtesy Gary Christison).

Someone woke up from her nap just in time to claim her 5th summit!

While Penny stretched her legs, Mera, Auntie and Craig had fun exploring the old lookout.

My beautiful girls and I atop Mount “Revelsmoke!” (Photo courtesy Gord Hobbs)

A smoky summit panorama. Click to see larger.

Smoky skies reduce the surrounding peaks (from left to right: Mount St. Cyr, Mount Coursier, Mount Williamson and Inverness Peaks) to shadowy outlines. While clear blue skies are, obviously, preferable, the smoke did make for eerie and unique views (photo courtesy Gord Hobbs).

Sunrise lighting at 11 am. If you could actually see anything, this would be a photographer’s dream!

Auntie enjoys some summit time with our “Baby Bear.” (Photo courtesy Gord Hobbs)

An apt interpretive sign…

In the absence of more grandiose mountain vistas, the wildflower-littered view towards tiny Heather Lake proved pleasant.

A faintly visible Mount McKenzie (whose opposite face sports the Revelstoke Ski Area) some 10 km distant.

Summit silliness (photo courtesy Gord Hobbs).

Grandma enjoys the “view” for a few moments before rumbling thunder prompted our departure.

Grandpa was too busy taking photos to pose for one on the summit so we stopped for a quick, rain-soaked Hobbs family photo on descent.

Mera catches some ZZZs while Daddy narrates an expedited descent.

With rain falling all around, we were “forced” to seek shelter at the nearby Mount Begbie Brewery…

Cheers to another summit!