It was approximately 55 km (34 mi) west of Invermere[3] near the Commander Glacier and around the headwaters of Jumbo Creek in the Purcell Range of the Columbia Mountains.

Jumbo Glacier was planned to be a year-round skiing mountain resort developed in three phases at an estimated cost of $450 million.

The stakeholders hoped it would be a large, productive mine, and named it after Jumbo, P. T. Barnum's popular performing elephant.

The same year, representatives from the Ktunaxa Nation went public with concerns about the proposal, specifically about its impact on grizzly bears and other wildlife.

The new resort was planned to include 1,360 residential units, two hotels, 23 lifts and gondolas, and a village centre with retail stores and amenities.