Greely Trees is a fantastic old-growth forest, offering some of the best natural tree skiing close to Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Accessed using the resort’s lift system, this magical area lies just NE of Greely Bowl’s boundary. As such, the route is within the realm of the RMR slackcountry. The forgiving uptrack is shared with the Highway Bowl exit, making it a popular trail. Given its old-growth status, the trees are evenly spaced, and the booters are plentiful, allowing for a playful, uninterrupted descent. I often stop the descent short in an open boulder field at 1500m elevation – 100 meters above the Highway Bowl creek (or the Selkirk Tangiers Heli pickup flags). Below that, the forest is much bushier with a thin coverage due to its low elevation. Since this area is so easily accessible, don’t forget your climbing skins. How often have I heard of patrollers performing a rescue below the resort’s boundary because some tourist forgot to bring their skins?

Related: Highway Bowl, Revelstoke Mountain Resort: Chasing Big Lines

Report from December 10, 2019

After catching a ride on the Stoke Chair, Miles, Freddy, and I traversed the top of the lower North Bowl with ease through boot-deep powder. We then crossed over the top of Gracias Ridge and descended Greely Bowl, still within the boundary of Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR). December 2019 was incredibly snowy, seeing consistent daily precipitation. With much overhead exposure below the chutes spanning from the Mackenzie North Shoulder (The Doors) and large cornices forming along the ridge, we opted to remain inbounds until we reached the bowl’s terminus. This would put us a safe distance from the avalanche hazards.

We quickly transitioned for the ascent, ducked the rope line, and broke trail heading East through deep powder, spacing out as we crossed below a series of chutes, namely Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Split Milk, Lover’s Lane and Birthday Chute. All great ski touring routes when the avalanche hazard is decent; those weren’t in the books for today.

We continued up the Mackenzie North Shoulder, which would put us right above Greely Trees, our objective. Some call the shoulder’s treeline and alpine section the Upper Playground. After a few tricky switchbacks, we were right above our starting point. We removed our climbing skins and eagerly readied up for an amazing descent. Miles took the first line down the Upper Playground, aiming to stay on the shoulder’s crest. This would link us nicely with the forested section.

To give you a lay of the land, Greely Trees can be tricky. The terrain tends to force you down the skier’s right toward sizable cliffs and an eroded gully. It’s a great line in good avalanche stability. However, we wanted to remain in the trees, minimizing our exposure to large features, so we skied slightly off-fallline, hugging the skier’s left and avoiding the larger drops. From there, this route took us down a relatively planar, 30-degree slope littered with fun booters and manageable features.

We skied through deep powder, continuously trending skier’s left until we were funnelled through a wide trough. This led us to an open boulder field, which made for a perfect turnaround point. After skiing Highway Bowl, a few days prior, I knew the forest below the boulder field was bushy with a thin snow coverage. It was best to cut our descent short and start the ascent.

We slapped our skins on and began the 350m ascent towards the RMR boundary. We tracked through a magical old-growth forest, staring in awe at the massive 200+ year-old trees. What a sight to behold! After a short time, we gained Greely Lake (1820m), an important milestone as we make our way back to the RMR boundary. From the lake, we travelled a few hundred meters NW until we crossed back into the resort area. We effortlessly descended Baxters, a run leading back to the Ripper Chair at 1435m.

Thankfully, we made it back before the chair’s operational closure at 2:30 PM. The closure time varies from early winter to spring. To better plan your day, it’s best to check the operational hours sign at the base of the gondola and Stoke Chair in the morning. All in all, our crew had an amazing day of old-growth tree skiing, pillow popping, and cliff jumping. This route is truly one of RMR’s finest.

Route Info

3-5 h	615m	7.3 km	1430-2120 m