No sled, no snow? Revelstoke’s Glacier House has you covered (in powder)

by Timothy Fowler

Kael Edworthy remembers riding his Dad’s ’79 TNT 440, a genuine hot rod back in the day. That experience changed his relationship to winter, solidified his love of snow machines and put sledding in his blood. For a busy guy who lives in southern Ontario where it's tough to find enough snow to sled, Revelstoke, B.C.’s Glacier House and Great Canadian Tours have made his sled fantasy come alive.

“I’ve done a lot of snowmobiling at home––trail riding and long-distance stuff—but coming out here you ride for three days and see so much. It's just so different, the experience is not about how many miles you put on in a day, it's more about going up and experiencing the mountains. Revy is a completely different animal––it’s the views.”

While Kael and his family crew love to sled, they no longer own a snowmobile.

“I don't want to sled at home right now,” he said. “Things have changed in southern Ontario, if you don't have a cottage in the north. We're lucky to see enough snow to snowmobile two weeks of the year unfortunately.”

There seems to be only two weeks of good sledding near his home in southern Ontario. The solution is a few days of intense mountain riding at Glacier House. Eight years ago Kael came to Revelstoke to install 3M Wrap (Prowraps.ca) for a client in Revelstoke. After the work was done, he took advantage of the opportunity to fire up a sled and go for a blast on the local mountain’s snow terrain. 

“I’ve never ridden in powder that’s this deep,” Kael said. “I couldn't see the machine most of the day with snow up to my chest. It defies physics.”

Annual mountain sled trip

Kael has come back every year since and now brings clients and buddies in addition to his boys to experience the deep powder and excellent mountain sledding. He usually flies out to Calgary, rents a car and drives to Revelstoke, but this past trip he flew into Kamloops and rented a car. He came west to wrap a GMC dually with a sled deck for Great Canadian Tours so it’s only reasonable he rewards himself and his son with a few days of spectacular riding.

“You can drive here in your car, park, walk through the front door, get your room and you don't even have to leave if you don't want to,” Kael said. “The nice thing about coming here (to Glacier House) is that they have a good restaurant and bar––you don't really need to leave the resort. I've been here three days and haven't left other than on my snowmobile. Some guys just bring gloves and rent all the rest of the equipment from Glacier House.”

Dream guides

Great Canadian Tours’ guides are mountain-trained and skilled safety backcountry leaders. They will keep you out of trouble or help you out if you do get into trouble.

“Anyone who is a snowmobiler needs to do this—it should be a bucket-list thing,” said Kael. “I don’t ever feel unsafe when I’m with a guide that knows what they’re doing. You don’t need to worry because they don’t even take you to those (high-avalanche-risk) places.  I would never come out here and ride without a guide.”

Learn more about booking a snowmobile tour in Revelstoke, B.C. with Great Canadian Tours—the only operator licensed in seven of the best riding areas around Revelstoke.

If you go: Great Canadian Tours on-site amenities include:

• On-site premium dyed sled fuel
• Fleet of 32 new 2020 sleds including Polaris RMK 850 and Ski-Doo Summit 850 for top-tier riders and Ski-Doo Summit 600s for novice and intermediate riders and trail riding
• Two Yamaha 450 Yeti-kitted snowbikes
• Rental gear from Olympia and insulated Baffin boots
• Easy-access parking for trucks, trailers and snow machines
• Hot tub, sauna and pool in the main lodge to soak mountain powder-pounded bones or soak in  your private hot tub in your cabin
• Trip monitoring and communication using SPOT, two-way communication (runs like a heli-ski operation with daily meetings for an hour, regular check in, daily trip reports)
• Guides carry first aid and recovery gear, and belt replacements
• New king-size beds in the main lodge
• Bootlegger Bar, recently remodeled in a ‘20s prohibition theme
• Rooms are IFR ID Card access
• Dry room/boot room for drying clothes and gear

Accredited Mountain Guides:

• Completed AST1/II plus
• Level 1 Operations Course (intense 7-day course on site)
• Annual 4-day renewal/refresher every season
• ATR Wilderness First Aid

While in Revelstoke, check out these Aprés-Sledding activities:

• Revelstoke Mountain Resort for a break from sledding to ski or snowboard.
• Brewery Tour and tasting
• Multiple Hot springs––enquire locally for directions and details: enjoy Halcyon’s dip and dine for an afternoon, Crazy Creek Resort and Hot Pools, Nakusp Hot Springs and Canyon Hot Springs.

Visit Revelstoke’s two distilleries:

• Jone’s Distilling (Try one of their Bathtub gins) and
• Monashee Spirits (try Vulcan’s Fire to thaw out after a day on the sled)

Tour two breweries:

• Mt. Begbie Brewing Co, check out where Nasty Habit IPA (and others) are brewed.
• Rumpus Beer Co. for a collection of rotating taps