Skiing has an 'in tents' start to the season at B.C.'s Revelstoke Mountain Resort

For the last 15 years, people have spent the night before Revelstoke Mountain resort opens sleeping in the village's lift line.

The tradition started back in 2010, when Alex Bell and his buddies were in Grade 9.

Skiing meant everything to them, and securing the first chairlift of the season would earn them bragging rights.

“Basically, getting first in line and getting first chair is like clout for the whole season,” Bell said.

He and his friends decided that to be absolutely sure they were first, they would sleep in the lift line overnight.

They repeated that move annually for the rest of their high school years. Even though the number of tents grew every year, Bell is proud to say that they continued to be first in line.

This year, Revelstoke Mountain resort opens on Saturday Dec. 6, and people began setting up their tents in the chairlift line on Wednesday Dec. 3, amassing about 20 tents.

Back in the 2010s, Bell and his crew's strategy relied heavily on the help of parents. On the Friday before the hill opened, one of his parents would head up to the mountain and pitch a tent in the lift line, securing their spot.

Then, the minute the school bell rang, another parent would pick the crew up, and drive them up the mountain to relieve the adult who had spent their day at the hill.

“It doesn't count if you leave your tent there,” Bell said.

There, they would enjoy a camp-stove hotdog feast and try to sleep through whatever inclement weather the mountain doled out ahead of opening day.

“Some nights it would be raining and you'd be soaking wet in the morning, and it'd be a terrible day of skiing the next day because you're so wet,” Bell said, with a smile on his face.

“But it was such a great time.”

The same values of perseverance to earn untouched snow have stood the test of time.

This year, three Grade 11 Revelstoke Secondary School students and skiers on the mountain’s freeride team, Stella, Amber, and Zaya, set up their tent at noon on Friday, Dec. 5.

They agreed that someone must be with the tent at all times, and you should only leave to use the bathroom.

It has now become a tradition in Revelstoke for parents to let their kids skip a half day of school to participate, they said. And they expected to see at least 50 of their schoolmates join before the morning.

Jonathan Eltmenau, a grade 11 exchange student from Germany earned his spot at the front of the line this year by sleeping in a tent in the cold, slushy village for three days.

“Honestly, the motivation is just, ski,” he said.

Peter Nielsen, the vice president and general manager of Revelstoke Mountain Resort said they only allow camping in the village around the start of the season.

“We welcome it, it’s part of the vibe,” he said.

For locals, being first on the chair is like winning a title belt, he said.

“Skiing is literally part of the fabric of the community.”

Nielsen said conditions look spectacular for the early season, and the mountain is prepared to welcome 2,000 people for opening day and associated festivities.

Bell said when he and his friends graduated from high school, they passed the torch on to the next generation, by letting the second tent in the lineup take the first chair.

Now, from his home on Vancouver Island, he is thrilled that the legacy has continued.

“Skiing is the best thing in the world. Why not wait overnight for it?”