#12: veering into a polar vortex, and toward drinks that taste like home

First impressions of a beloved Canadian mountain town

This newsletter marks a transition into a new phase - of moving to a new country. To explore the mammoth mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Some may call such a move at age 30 denial and escape of the real world, I call it learning :)

After 5 weeks in a tropical, humid country, it's a gargantuan shift to short days and arctic temperatures. First, we spend an uneventful rainy period and Christmas in Vancouver, buy a car and some warm clothes, then come January 4th we hit the road and travel toward our destination for winter: Revelstoke. 

The planning and anticipation to get here has been years in the making. Probably as far back as 2017, arriving back in Australia after a year long trip in Europe, we were scheming the next opportunity to live and travel long-term overseas. If I think back even further, I've been planning to come back here since my six month uni exchange stint in Montreal in 2014. I've never spent any time in the interior of British Columbia, lauded globally as the pinnacle of mountainous adventures in this country (and rival to the famous Banff & Jasper in the Rockies, Alberta). BC has long been a personal target for skiing, and after watching a few YouTube videos of people descending these mountains, the decision was easily made.

Revelstoke is a mountain town of about 8,200 people according to the last census, but increased seasonal visitors and residents means there are surely thousands more unaccounted for (and yes, a tonne of them are Aussie). The town is cradled by a national park and massive mountains on both sides of the gigantic, sweeping Columbia River on which it is set. Tall gable and dormer roofed homes in pastel shades of pink and yellow and green and blue line the streets. It's giving a little bit of fairytale land.

After a nerve-wracking six hour highway drive through a snowstorm with no visible lanes, we roll up to our accommodation - a basement suite in a family home, and our host comes out exclaiming “you brought the snow!” It's the first decent dump they've had all season and we welcome it with open arms.

Within a few days of arriving, its obvious the community is unique here. There's a Facebook group for all sorts of sports and interests, and an ongoing mix of extremely proud locals and vacationers makes for a convivial, sharing atmosphere. This is a town where lifestyle comes first, for almost everyone. It's all about the activities, and the stoke on the place. A celebration of mountain life. The town's history as a railway community is still prevalent, too.

If I were to describe the first few weeks in Revelstoke in three words, it would be: cold, humbling, awesome. We ski for the first six days, including a four day Backcountry and Avalanche Training course in Rogers Pass. Meanwhile, a polar vortex which sends arctic air further south, brings -30 degree temperatures while we're out digging snow pits and skinning up and skiing down mountains in knee deep powder. “Couple of cold Aussies!” our guide Luke laughs at us, as we shiver eating semi frozen sandwiches. I can remember only a handful of times in my life where my fitness and comfort level has been significantly challenged (hiking Frenchman's Cap in Tasmania, Lofoten in Norway, and now). No, I didn't train and yes I am aware that's dumb, but it's a good feeling, being the first time in a very long time that my focus has shifted to the physical for an extended period. Each day I arrive home totally pooped, jump immediately in the shower because I'm cold to the core, eat a huge bowl of noodles then sleep long and well, before waking again in the dark to see what the weather has brought.

Veer back to:

I'll get more into the skiing and mountain experiences soon - it's a soppy love story - but today a few spots that stuck out when first arriving in town, making it a sweet spot to visit, and live: 

• Dose Coffee: I wish I could say this was Canadian owned and it would change my view that Canadians don't know how to make good coffee. But I can't, it's owned by Australians, naturally. Dose serves up the best cafe food in town - fresh sandwiches, an incredible fluffy focaccia and other baked goods, and very decent coffee roasted in a warehouse in town. Great music and always a lovely vibe.

  

• Rumpus Beer Co: BC is big on craft beer, the Okanagan region where we're situated has a handful of excellent breweries. Rumpus, though is a little local haunt, brewing its funky rotation of eight flavours on site, which also seats about 15 people along the wooden bar and window. Their dark sour Brett beer is the closest thing I've had to a beloved Wildflower beer from home in Marrickville, with the right amount of fizz and stank. 

• Roxy Theatre : this gorgeous 60 year-old art-deco cinema resides on Revelstoke's main street. With just one screen and a different movie airing each week, red velvet-like chairs and big buckets of buttery popcorn, it sweeps you back to the glorified olden days of cinema.

  

   ^^ The Roxy in spring