Picturing an ideal date in Revelstoke, Marat Gallyamov doesn't think of romantic one-on-one dinners, but rather snowmobiling, paddleboarding or even cold-water dipping in the Columbia River.

This adventure-oriented mindset of dating has helped foster a project that Gallyamov, a Microsoft software engineer originally from Kazan, Russia, hopes can help more young adults in town find meaningful love through organic social experiences, rather than Tinder or Hinge.

"How can you be intentional about dating?" Gallyamov asked himself, noting that while some Revelstokians struggle to date in a small-town atmosphere, one thing that unites locals more widely is social events.

This spring, the 39-year-old is inviting up to 50 men and women in Revelstoke to register with his new website Ember, where they can create a profile and submit a 15-second video sharing a fun fact about themselves. The site then assesses shared interests across people's submissions and determines what kind of social events can best connect prospective daters, so Gallyamov can bring locals together through adventures on the water or in the mountains that serve as icebreakers.

Along with registering and sending a video, participants can indicate a specific person they'd like to have an opportunity to meet in their group activity.

"I want people to be intentional, but not too intentional," Gallyamov noted, explaining that the key is getting people together based on their favourite activities, rather than their superficial preferences about how their date looks.

"People use something like Tinder in Revelstoke, but I don't see Tinder being a good start in Revelstoke, so I'm trying to be realistic."

Gallyamov uses a three-part criterion - sympathy, interest and availability - to harmonize people's favourite activities and common feelings with when they have time to socialize in their busy lives. Being able to choose at least one other person in your group also gives participants comfort in meeting new faces.

"You have this assurance that it's not just random strangers there," he pointed out. "At least one person you matched with will be there."

He added that while Revelstoke is popular for outdoor recreation such as biking or snowmobiling, other activities such as dance could also serve well as organic, real-life dating experiences for this project.

"Dance class is a really good example because there has to be a 50-50 male-female ratio, even if it's not a romantic thing," he said, referring to styles such as ballet.

Though the project is geared toward people identifying as heterosexual, Gallyamov said he's also interested in hearing from individuals associating with other genders or sexualities about what would help improve their dating experience in Revelstoke.

Once he's received enough submissions on Ember from the date-seeking community, Gallyamov will start hosting events as soon as early May to get groups of four or six engaging in activities that best suit them. By Wednesday, April 16, he already had a couple dozen sign-ups, split evenly between men and women.

If he can get the ball rolling, Gallyamov noted the next step is bringing local businesses aboard to help offer paddleboarding lessons and other group activities that will instrumentally drive more organic dating in Revelstoke's community.

Whatever kind of date each participant hopes to get out of Gallyamov's project, he just asks them to come with an open mind.

"It's a better way of life - not just a dating app," he said.

Anyone interested in joining Gallyamov's project and participating in organized dating events can register on Ember at .