A Local's View of Revelstoke: Jeff Honig, Heli-Skiing and Mountain Guide

Set in the midst of the staggering Columbia Mountains and blessed with an insane amount of unbelievable snow, Revelstoke owns the podium as the heli-skiing capital of the world. The majority of heli-skiing operations on the planet are located in this region.
Worshiped for its abundance of legendary powder and crazy vertical, Revelstoke Mountain Resort ranks high on every skier’s bucket list. With fat skis and long boards, skiers and snowboarders trek from everywhere to get a taste of Revy.
 

Motto: Live to Ski, Ski to Live

In 2000, a dream job as a ski guide for Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing brought me to this small town ski mecca. As an avid skier, climber and mountaineer, it was obvious that Revelstoke was (and still is) the perfect place for me to call home. It is now my 14th year with Selkirk Tangiers. My job allows me to ski incredible snow with powder-hungry guests from around the world. Life doesn’t get sweeter than this.
As one of the first heli-skiing operations in Canada (established in 1978), Selkirk Tangiers holds an enormous tenure in the stunning Selkirk and Monashee Mountains. A tenure is when an enterprise leases the exclusive commercial skiing rights to an area of land from the government. Boasting privileged access to a tremendous variety of awesome terrain, our guests ski glorious alpine glaciers and peaks, amazing tree runs in old growth forests and beautiful bowls and chutes.
With half-a-million acres of powder-blanketed terrain and eight helicopters, Selkirk Tangiers is the second largest single-point heli-skiing outfitter in the world. With 425+ named powder runs, our expansive tenure promises a monumental ski day. Our experienced team of dedicated pilots and guides have been flying and skiing in this neck of the woods for decades.
As an internationally certified mountain guide, I also operate my own guiding business — Alpine Addictions. For 15 years, I have been guiding adventure-seekers in the dramatic, breathtaking mountains of Western Canada and Europe. This past summer, my client and I ascended the Matterhorn in Switzerland — one of the highest and most challenging peaks in the Alps. My customized guided tours include ice climbing, ski touring, ski mountaineering, rock climbing and alpine mountaineering.
For active adults, Revelstoke is like Disneyland for playful, zippy kids. With endless trails for hiking and mountain biking and beautiful lakes for watersports, summer in Revy is unbeatable. Within a 30 minute drive, you can enjoy any sport you like (except surfing). I basically do a bit of everything.
Begbie Bluffs has great single-pitch rock climbing, while Victor Lake Wall and Waterworld have fantastic multi-pitch climbing. The mountain biking in Revelstoke is world-class. Boasting more than 40 km of trails, Mount Macpherson offers amazing cross-country riding. I also recommend the alpine single-track riding on Frisby Ridge Trail and Keystone Trail. The shuttle riding on Boulder Mountain is awesome too. For a change of pace, I enjoy golfing at the Revelstoke Golf Club.
As Revelstoke grows in popularity, the number of young, athletic residents who love to ski, mountain bike and climb increases. Historically, Revelstoke’s economy was based on the railway, forestry and mining industries. There still is a significant community of forestry workers, loggers and other industry employees, who have lived here for generations. There are plenty of young families in Revelstoke too. Kids grow up here being active and passionate about the outdoors. My wife and I have two small children, both girls, who have been on skis since they were two years old.
There is no better place than Revelstoke for my family to call home. The skiing is second to none, the summers are fantastic and the people are friendly. I imagine I will be a local here for a long time.