What’s the dating scene in Revelstoke really like?

The Revelstoke Mountaineer is featuring a Revelstoke dating miniseries this week and next, where we explore the state of the date in our town.

What’s dating in Revelstoke really like in 2015? Hook-up app Tinder is so ubiquitous it’s almost the default starting point for dating talk these days, especially in a town full of transient young people like Revelstoke. But is there room for more? Something a little more permanent? In the first part of a Revelstoke Mountaineer miniseries on dating, we asked a few twentysomething residents here for the mountain culture to dish up on their impressions of single life here.

Her perspective

Sarah (not her real name) is 26 and has been here since summer last year. She straight-up describes Revelstoke as being typically small-town — everyone knows your business. The moment she’s seen out with someone, word spreads like wildfire, even if it is just a friendly meetup.

“You have to think consciously of where you go … and consider who else is dating this person,” she says.

“It’s almost like you’re not dating a person, you’re dating the whole town.”

In her experience, relationships move quickly in the Revelstoke scene. Sarah had a short-lived relationship with someone she met through friends but it’s few months later now and she is seeing someone new.

She describes Revelstoke unique relationships as more intense; they get going quickly and in the span of a few weeks it could be over.

“There’s a kind of undercurrent of urgency,” she says.

“It’s a transient place, people are partying, doing lots of fun things, so it’s a weird blend of trying to figure out — is this a bit of fun or is it going to be serious, and when is this person going to leave?”

And as much as people lament the lack of women in town, females apparently don’t have the pick of the litter either.

“You come to town as a girl, everyone tells you the bars are heaving with guys, the ratio is completely askew and the guys just want to grab a girl for winter and keep them, that’s how it goes,” Sarah says.

“My experience hasn’t been like that.”

“There are definitely a lot more guys and it’s easy to get drinks. It depends what you’re looking for, I guess.”

His perspective

Revelstoke Mountain Resort is renowned for being an advanced mountain and it appeals to those with serious snow appetites. Snow sports, despite the number of women who can shred, are male dominated so it’s inevitable that this balance is reflected in ski resort towns — just check out the dance floor on any given Toonie Tuesday night at the Regent Inn.

The men notice it but generally those who come to Revelstoke have a number one priority and it isn’t dating.

Greg Hilderman, 24, is in Revelstoke for the ski resort.

“[RMR] is the highest vertical resort in North America,” Greg Hilderman, 24, says.

“It’s a pretty good substitute for girls.”

Greg believes that most girls in Revelstoke already had a partner before moving here or are looking for a certain type of man. He doesn’t believe being liftie at the resort is helping his game.

“They know you make $10.25 an hour,” he says.

“A lot of girls here are looking for the guys with the houses and cars — security. I’m here to shred.”

Andrew Harvey, 22, is from Kelowna originally and says there’s an expectation before you move here that there’s not going to be much action off the hill.

“I told my buddy I’m moving to Revelstoke, and he said ‘sick man, bring a girlfriend’.”

Check back to the Revelstoke Mountaineer this week as our State of the Date series continues.