Revelstoke Stoke Chair Breakdown Disrupts Access to the Mountain’s Alpine

At Revelstoke Mountain Resort the Revelstoke Stoke Chair is more than just another lift. It is the gateway to the upper mountain — the access point to the long fall-line terrain, alpine bowls, and the vertical that defines the resort’s reputation.

This week, that gateway went quiet.

During routine maintenance, resort technicians identified a gearbox issue on the Stoke Chair, forcing the lift offline while replacement components were sourced. Parts arriving from the United States have already reached Revelstoke, but critical components traveling from Switzerland were delayed by international shipping disruptions. Those parts are now expected to arrive Wednesday morning.

Mechanical failures on major lifts are rare, but they are not trivial. The Stoke Chair sits at the heart of the resort’s circulation system. Without it, the flow of skiers and riders toward the upper mountain slows dramatically.

Resort operations have responded by extending hours on the Ripper Chair, keeping it running from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to maintain access as much as possible. Lift tickets have also been discounted 50 percent during the outage — an acknowledgment that the mountain experience is temporarily reduced.

The timing, however, is not ideal.

A significant storm is forecast across British Columbia just as the final parts arrive. If highways close — a common occurrence during major Interior storm cycles — transporting the components to the mountain could add another layer of delay. Once all parts reach the resort, installation is expected to take 8 to 14 hours, followed by testing before the lift can return to service.

For skiers who know Revelstoke, the Stoke Chair is the spine of the mountain. When it stops, the entire rhythm of the resort changes.

The resort is currently targeting Thursday afternoon, March 12, for the lift’s return to operation, assuming parts arrive on time and repairs proceed as planned.

Until then, the upper mountain remains temporarily out of reach — a reminder that even in the era of massive modern ski infrastructure, mountains still run on steel, gears, and weather.

Sources:
Revelstoke Mountain Resort Operations Update, March 2026.