The self-confessed ski industry experts at ‘We love 2 ski’ have put together their quintessential list of the very Best Luxury Ski Chalets in the World and we’re proud to say Bighorn features up there amongst la creme de la creme.
Felice Hardy says “We have chosen 50 of what we consider to be the most loveable ski chalets around. They’re not cheap but they’re certainly gorgeous”. “At the top end of the luxury ski chalet market are some veritable piste palaces, offering all the opulence of a five-star hotel combined with the intimacy of a stylish private home.”
“Chalet Bighorn is in the little-known resort of Revelstoke in BC, Canada. The property has eight huge bedrooms, and the chef and lodge manager have worked in some of the most high-end chalets in the Alps (they now live in Revelstoke all year round). The chalet is the ultimate in skiing luxury and even has its own private helipad – useful for sampling the area’s fabulous heli-skiing.”
Why Revy? Because it is “The epicenter of BC backcountry”.
“What happens when moist Pacific air meets cold, dry air from the Rockies? “Revy” cops the mother lode, that’s what — 40 to 60 feet a year of powder so light and fluffy it could be used to stuff a comforter.
If that isn’t enough, there’s Bighorn Lodge. This ultra-luxe alpine-style chalet for 16 overlooking the Columbia River at the foot of Revelstoke Mountain Resort has its own helipad out front.
They’ll need pockets as deep as the snow, but floating down open bowls gulping in white champagne, or whooping and hollering through old growth forests with just three pals and a guide is priceless.
AOBH O’BRIEN-MOODY reports: “With ski season in full force, we present you with some of the best snowy weather retreats, guaranteed to take luxury to the next level”.
“There’s no questioning why Bighorn in Revelstoke, British Columbia is consistently lauded as the world’s best ski chalet. Designed to house a maximum of 16 guests, it represents the pinnacle of luxury, with eight ensuite bedrooms, a spa and indoor pool, two massage rooms, a games room, an outdoor hot tub and a state-of-the-art cinema. Perhaps the primary drawcard to Bighorn, however, is the heliskiing: fitted with its own private helipad, it brings the exhilarating sport to your doorstep. Experience miles of pristine powder free of other skiiers and lift lines before your pilot delivers you back in time for cocktail hour”.
Revelstoke is renowned for it’s legendary pow and last season was record breaking with over 12 metres of snowfall (a 10 year high!). This season looks set to compete with that with nearly 7 metres already at the start of January, incredible conditions on and off the slopes and the season’s only just getting started! This is what makes January skiing momentous – it’s a quiet time of year to ski (shh…don’t tell everyone!) and the pow is amazing! With conditions like this, what more can we say? Enough talking, let’s go skiing!
Bighorn has been featured as one of World’s most breathtaking ski suites in the Elite Traveler magazine. This luxury magazine is a global luxury lifestyle guide to the best hotels, restaurants, travel, fashion, watches, jewellery, jets, yachts and motoring in the World. Since its launch in 2001, Elite Traveler has been a market-leading guide and curator of the global luxury lifestyle of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals. delivering expert perspectives, meaningful analysis and advice.
“As Canada is the birthplace of heli-skiing, you’ll need a lodge with its own helipad to explore all that gloriously fluffy powder. Bighorn has just that, in its backyard no less, as well as snowcat, backcountry and lift skiing. It’s been named as the best chalet in the world four times by the World Ski Awards, and it’s easy to see why. Located near the base of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, its views of the Monashee Mountains and mighty Columbia River are epic, and each of the eight bedrooms has a balcony for you to enjoy the scenery across the valley…”
Bighorn was featured in Harrod’s Travel Magazine’s latest issue. As a featured destination, the article describes what makes Bighorn and Revelstoke unique; “half a million acres of the world’s finest and most accessible heliski terrain…guests at Bighorn skip the passes and fly straight into the backcountry”. Guests stay in “unabashed luxury” at Bighorn, “the only lodge in Revelstoke with a helipad”. “Ease into your warmed boots, step out the door into your sleek A Star helicopter and before long, with your dedicated guide, you’ll be revelling in the deep feather-light virgin snow, interrupted only by lunch in a pristine forest clearing or remote glacial valley”.
Amuse – the premium travel and experiences destination publication for the global explorer boasts inspiring the adventurous mind with the world less travelled.
Last season, they included Bighorn in their list of the 9 best things of the 2017/18 ski season:
“British brothers, Michael and Chris Kirkland, created a whirlwind when they built Bighorn Lodge in British Columbia. Revelstoke already boasted the longest vertical drip of any lift-served resort in North America, as well as globally envied snow-cat and heli-skiing operations. What it missed was a palatial chalet, with it’s own helipad, so guests could be whisked direct from breakfast to bountiful powder. As well as that, Bighorn Lodge has an indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, sauna, steam room, massage, cinema suite and first-rate chef.”
Well, what more can we say… here’s hoping that this coming season is as epic as 2017/18!
Revelstoke has once again been voted Top of the Top 10 Ski Resorts in the World by Snow Magazine. Hotly contested by some readers that it is above Whistler in the ratings, but Snow Magazine stand by their choice – “we still love Reve, as it has the lot: steeps, trees, perfectly maintained pistes – all covered in tons of the legendary Powder Highway snow”.
Listed amongst other fabulous resorts such as St Anton, Telluride and Niseko, which all have their plus points, we of course, agree that Revelstoke has it all and here are some of the reasons why:
Powder – and not just any powder, the best champagne powder you can find anywhere in the World.
Bighorn – of course! The award winning best ski chalet in Canada with it’s own private helipad. What’s not to like? Fly in and out of Bighorn in style.
Countless ski options:
Heliskiing: Take advantage of your own private Helipad at Bighorn to discover the heliski mecca of the Monashees and Selkirk mountains.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort: With the highest Vertical Descent in North America and a plethora of offpiste skiing in diverse terrain, you won’t find it hard to get those fresh tracks.
CAT skiing: Discover further exceptional ski adventures in fresh powder backcountry.
These days, on mountains all over the world, you can’t help noticing how many skiers and boarders have a GoPro attached to some part of their body. We’ve become obsessed with digitally recording ourselves … and there’s nothing wrong with that as far as we’re concerned at Bighorn. The breath taking vistas and snow conditions here at Revelstoke lend themselves perfectly to shooting incredible footage of your ski adventures. So move over Warren Miller, here’s a few tips to ensure you actually record the memorable images you want (rather than a long bumpy video of your ski pants)!
Where to mount the camera?
Helmet mounts: a unique viewpoint from your own perspective – but make sure you mount it near the front (not on top). Before you put it on your head, angle it down slightly.
Chest mounts: work equally well for skiers, not so much for boarders as they are often standing sideways on, unless of course you just want to shoot your friends skiing.
Boot, board or ski mount: provides a unique angle to show the view of the ski or board as it moves or you can invert it to show the skier. The only issue is the adhesive doesn’t tend to last long in very snowy conditions and damage is more likely with it being so close to the ground.
Ideally to get the best varied footage, use a combination of the above.
Filming your ski buddies? With the GoPro’s wide field of view, it’s best to get as close as possible to the action, ideally no more than a couple of metres away and aim the camera at the middle of the person, keeping their head to toe in shot.
Which resolution? (i.e. the number of pixels). Whilst it’s tempting to go for the highest res, unless you really are planning on being the next Warren Miller, 720 is actually good enough for most computers and will save you memory space whilst making editing much easier.
Anti-Fog Inserts. The conditions can be cold and humid on the BC terrain leading to a fogged lens. GoPro has the answer with anti-fog inserts that protect your lens from fogging up.
Battery Packs. Even if you fully charge your battery before you spend the day heliskiing, your charge may not last the entire day, so bring a spare battery pack or two.
Get the GoPro App. It makes it really easy to control the settings and preview your amazing powpow shots from your phone.
Do a test run with your trusty GoPro to check you’ve got it set up properly before your head off on one of the best powder descents you’ve ever done (speaking from experience!)
Finally…sit back and relax at the end of the day with a well deserved drink in hand to watch your amazing powder adventures in HD in the Bighorn cinema.
We often get asked which is the best month for snow and skiing in Revelstoke. Our answer is that it depends – not only on Mother Nature, but also on what kind of skiing you like. So whether you want steep and deep in the trees or cruisey pow in the high alpine glaciers, check out our guide below:
December: Its dumping. We get heaps of snow, but visibility up top can be a challenge. So if you want to fly through the trees getting face shots, a pre-Christmas break is for you.
January: On average the snowiest month of the year. A safe bet for deep powder, a good snow base and awesome conditions.
February: Typically our busiest month – a good balance of snow and sun as conditions move towards spring skiing.
March: Longer days, stability and clear skies with heliskiers getting access to the high alpine powder bowls and glaciers.
April: Excellent conditions at high altitude, sunshine and spectacular views.
* Please bear in mind these are generalisations and conditions can vary.
