Revelstoke People

Charles Lindmark

Hikers and skiers should worship Charles Lindmark for his vision of allowing outdoor recreation enthusiasts to scale the summits of Mount Revelstoke. Lindmark successfully pushed for the development of the first trail on Mount Revelstoke in his capacity as Mayor in the early 20th Century. The Trans Canada Highway’s completion at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park in the 1960’s opened-up Revelstoke and Mount Revelstoke for year-round fun. Today, skiers, hikers and climbers flock to Mount Revelstoke for world-class heli-skiing, back-country skiing and rock climbing. Lodges, resorts and cabins now dot the mountains around Revelstoke; skiers and climbers are found relaxing their muscles at the Halcyon Hot Springs and Albert Canyon Hot Springs.

Lord Revelstoke

Lord Revelstoke had an important impact on Revelstoke’s development in three ways. Thanks to him, the Barings Bank of London lent the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) funds to complete the transcontinental railway across Canada in the 19th Century. The community formerly known as ‘Farwell’ was renamed ‘Revelstoke’ in 1886 by the Government of Canada to honour his name. Before the railway’s completion, shopping, hotels and restaurants lined ‘Front Street’, Farwell’s main street on the banks of the Columbia River. A land dispute caused the CPR to locate its station in what is today Revelstoke’s downtown. Today’s visitors to Revelstoke may stay in hotels, shop and eat near Grizzly Plaza that is located in-between Victoria Road and 1st Street.

Albert Rogers

Revelstoke’s tourism industry has Albert Rogers to thank for a world-class hot springs and a highway route going right through town. Trans Canada Highway travelers through the BC Interior can stop at the Albert Canyon Hot Springs near Revelstoke in order to relieve aching muscles. It’s location just East of Mount Revelstoke National Park also makes the hot springs a relaxing place for skiers to stop after a day on the slopes. Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park is a major reason why shoppers can shop, eaters can dine and tourists can stay at stores, restaurants and hotels in Revelstoke. One of Albert Canyon Village’s early residents is thought to be the first to ski in the North Kootenay mountains.

Captain Robert Sanderson

Sanderson’s hotel no longer stands, but his legacy of harnessing the healing power of the Halcyon Hot Springs’ hot mineral water in 1890 lives on. Sanderson was a mechanical engineer who built steam ships, but his Halcyon Hotel served as a place of calm and serenity for about 30 years. Sanderson could not possibly have imagined how today’s version of the Halcyon Hot Springs has become much more than a hotel and mineral pool. Visitors may camp, spa, and eat at a restaurant after relaxing in the hot spring and before sleeping in a stylish chalet. The Kootenay mountain range remains as Sanderson dreamed: a place where one can find peace, serenity and healing at the Halcyon Hot Springs near Revelstoke.

Nels Nelson

Nels Nelson set ski records on the very mountain that Charles Lindmark first pushed to develop as a skiing paradise: Mount Revelstoke. Nelson was an immigrant to Revelstoke from Norway and a champion ski jumper between 1926 and 1932. Before his reign as champion, the building of Rogers Pass was one of the most significant feats accomplished in the mountains; during his era, heli skiing still didn’t exist. Nelson helped to found the Revelstoke Ski Club, considered one of Canada’s oldest, continually operating ones; in that same year, 1914, Mount Revelstoke National Park was created. The Nels Nelson Historic Area at the base of Mount Revelstoke was home to North America’s first ski jump and various ski runs, but these ski hills have since been closed.