Revelstoke is a very laid back place. People are relaxed and friendly. An important member of the Revelstoke community is Gnorm, the power gnome. Gnorm stands on a little board at a weather station on top of the Ripper chairlift and is constantly visible via a webcam. The board he stands on gets cleared of snow every day at 3pm. Typically, a day here starts with a look at Gnorm when you wake up.

Gnorm, the powder gnome, can be seen on a webcam. The board he stands on is cleared of snow every day at 3pm. If you wake up in the morning and Gnorm cannot be seen - it's a huge powder day!
Gnorm, the powder gnome, can be seen on a webcam. The board he stands on is cleared of snow every day at 3pm. If you wake up in the morning and Gnorm cannot be seen – it’s a huge powder day!

If Gnorm looks like on the picture above – everything stays nice and easy. However, if Gnorm is covered in snow, everything changes: Revelstokians forget about work, jump into their cars and race up to the resort (the road, unfortunately, runs past a school where the speed limit is 30 km/h – some racers seem to forget that). And if you arrive too late, the lift queue looks like that:

The lift queue on a huge snow day at Revelstoke Mountain Resort at 8.30am. Not even the hat of Gnorm showed.
The lift queue on a huge snow day -Jan 22, 2016 – at Revelstoke Mountain Resort at 8.30am. Not even the hat of Gnorm showed.