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Lightning at Revelstoke Mountain Resort closes upper gondola

The closure stopped the first day of the Canadian Enduro League’s event
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Before the lightning, the crowd stood eagerly in line to register for the event. (Zachary Delaney/Revelstoke Review)

The Canadian Enduro League’s first stop in Revelstoke had to be cut on Saturday (June 24) due to a lightning strike on the upper portion of Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR), which shut down the Revelation Gondola and cut the bike park’s full opening short.

The sea of cars in the parking lot was matched only by the current of bikes travelling up and down the village. With people walking with bikes, throwing axes, and heading to the Rockford, there were no shortage of options on the warm summer Saturday (June 24). Unfortunately, dark and lightning-laden skies cut the day short for some riders.

In town for the weekend, and adding to the opening day chaos, was the Canadian Enduro Western Cup. The excited energy of the racers was cut short just after 2 p.m. when a lightning strike on the resort grounds shut down the gondola. The announcement was followed by a chorus of disappointed sighs from riders eager to take on the fresh resort terrain.

The next stage of the race will be tomorrow (June 25) at Boulder Mountain.

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Revelstoke’s stop for the Canadian Enduro League was divided between RMR and Boulder. The first two stages were supposed to start on the resort, but the gondola’s closure meant scrapping those stages. The league will reconvene tomorrow at Boulder Mountain for stages three to seven.

You didn’t have to step foot on the mountain to see the crowd at Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s bike park — a quick scan of the packed parking lot on its full opening day was evidence of the park’s growth in popularity.

In better conditions (without lightning), the resort’s bike park will be fully open from now until the end of the season.

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@ZacharyDelaney
zach.delaney@revelstokereview.com

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