It wasn’t just a tease.
The terrain park that popped up at Revelstoke Mountain Resort at the end of last winter will be expanded for the upcoming ski season, the resort announced last week in a news release.
“Our guests have been asking for a terrain park for quite some time, so we are really thrilled to have the resources and team in place to build a full-size progression park,” said Peter Nielsen, the vice-president of RMR. “We are designing the park to appeal to a wide range of ages and abilities, and I think it is going to be a great addition to our winter offerings.”
The news is sure to delight the many skiers and snowboarders who have been clamouring for a park since the resort opened in 2007.
RMR plans on building an 11-acre terrain park under the Stoke Chair that, when completed, will be 450 metres long, 100 metres wide and include more than 20 jumps and other jib features. Work has already begun to clear the area that will be home to the park.
The park expands on the handful of jumps the resort built under the chair at the end of the 2014-15 ski season.
In a interview, Nielsen said the teaser park was a chance for the resort to test out its equipment to see what would be needed to build a full park in the future.
“We were curious to see what level of use it would get and what level of excitement it would cause,” he said. “Feedback was really positive and we got lots of positive response on social media. People spoke loudly and they wanted a park.”
The resort will expand its grooming fleet in order to maintain the park.
Nielsen addressed concerns about injuries, saying, “We have confidence in the team we have and that we’re adding the right people to make sure it’s safe and entertaining.”
Nielsen said the park would add to the resort’s list of amenities and would help develop its reputation as more than just a powder destination. He said the resort was shifting from being a destination for “weekend warriors” to those coming for a longer-period of time. Having a park makes it more likely for skiers and snowboarders to consider Revelstoke.
“You’re going to see it in our marketing,” he said. “We didn’t have a great powder year last year, but we had a great ski season. More amenities for people to play with when there’s not much snow makes sense.”
Check out the image below for a diagram of the park:
