Skiers and snow-covered trees at Red Mountain Resort in Rossland. Photo / Destination BC
In the Kootenay Mountains on BC’s Powder Highway, Red Mountain Resort proves that bigger isn’t always better. Sarah Pollok runs the numbers at Western Canada’s oldest ski resort.
The year Red Mountain opened to skiers, making it the oldest ski resort in Western Canada. “Red was founded by the Rossland ski club,” explains Kevin Manuel, Red Mountain’s director of sales and marketing and our guide for the morning. Largely made up of Scandinavians lured here by prospects of gold in the 1890s, the club started in 1929 with 20 founding members. In 1947, it became Red Mountain Ski Club and resources were combined to replace a rope tow with its first chairlift. “The history attached to this place is pretty wild.”
Acres of skiable terrain spread across five peaks make Red Mountain one of the 10 largest resorts in North America. Yet, despite its age and size, it remains an “undiscovered gem” largely enjoyed by locals in the know, Manuel said.
The matter of lift speed at Red Mountain may not seem like that big a deal until you realise that of North America’s 35 largest skifields, it’s the only one without a single fast lift. Rather than apologise, the mountain wears the fact proudly.
“We don’t have one high-speed lift here, and that’s okay,” Chris says as we clip up our boots at the bottom of Red Chair. “That’s actually part of the character of skiing Red – we’re here to slow down and connect.”
While I don’t know the logistics, I do know that slower lifts mean skiers are more evenly distributed across the mountain, making for less congestion and queues on the rare busy days.
Kilometres skied on my first day exploring Red Mountain, even after a long lunch and leisurely lift rides. If I may be so bold, it’s a solid effort for day four of a ski trip, but that’s the beauty of lifts that give your legs a proper break between challenging blues and blacks.
Marked runs you can explore using the seven lifts and one T-bar. Of these, 17% of the terrain is beginner, 34% intermediate, 23% advanced and a generous 26% is extra for experts.
Black diamonds assigned to my favourite run on the mountain, Oil Can. Steep and narrow through plenty of trees, I discover it after veering off the big green Rino’s Run to follow a dinky wooden sign pointing to the black diamond Beer Belly, but chicken out at the last second, traversing (totally unaware) into an even harder section.
It was just my luck, despite a few snowless weeks, I managed to find pillows of old powder snuggled between the pines for an utterly magical run I ride again and again ... and again.
Hours it takes, minimum, to drive to Red Mountain from large cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Seattle or Portland. Too far for a day trip, this means the mountain doesn’t get a flurry of powder-hunting crowds on a good day, compared to resorts near major metropolises.
Photos I took while having lunch in one of several grandfathered-in huts on the mountain. Most are privately owned and hidden far from the trails, passed down through families and kept for personal use, but a handful are available for bookings. Tiny, wooden, with old ski magazine posters on the walls and a wood-burning stove, it feels like something out of a story book as we peel off layers and settle in for a delicious spread of sandwiches, the mountain ranges framed by a picture window.
Paragliders we watched setting up on the hill right after lunch, spreading their technicoloured nylon sails across the white mountain, buckling helmets then launching themselves into the horizon, where dense layers of cloud nestle into the valleys below.
Slices of piping hot gourmet pizza I fit in during a cosy, lively lunch the following day at Red Mountain Tap House, a small wooden lodge located halfway down Granite Mountain. Surrounded by snow, its menu has pizza starring front and centre, and we order what feels like one of every style to fuel us long into the afternoon. With an ice hockey match playing on two screens, it was wise to grab an early lunch at this popular spot before groups of skiers packed out the tables for a cheeky midday craft beer.
Inches of average annual snowfall that blanket Red Mountain each season. Admittedly, the base was closer to 200 after a tough snow year for North America, and spoilt locals were grumbling, but I would take it any day over my local resort in Aotearoa.
Metres between the delightfully boisterous pub Rafters at the bottom of the hill, and my hotel for the night. Skiers’ go-to watering hole once the day is done, the snug bar is packed to the, well, ceiling. The warm air smells of hot chips, a live band plays in the corner and menus are slightly sticky, as they should be. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder across two tables, our group’s order of drinks and basket of chicken wings arrive in no discernible order, but it’s all part of the charm. As are the faded photos lining the walls, chronicling the mountain’s decades of history. A few beers later, I’m back in my room within five minutes, watching fat snowflakes tumble from the sky.
Times I said “oh my” while gazing around The Jose Hotel’s opulent lobby and my Slopeside King room. The ruby jewel in Red Mountain’s crown, the 106-room hotel opened in 2018 mere metres from the mountain’s ski lifts and has since joined Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection.
Ski-in, ski-out is automatically a luxury, but The Josie takes things up a notch. Thoughtfully designed rooms feature huge windows overlooking the mountain, plush beds you’ll sleep a solid eight hours in (essential after all that skiing) and two wood-barrel saunas set outside the 24-hour gym that guests can freely reserve for hour-long slots.
Ounces of premium steak I attempt to split with my friend Will as part of a luxurious dinner at Velvet Restaurant and Lounge, The Josie Hotel’s restaurant (in retrospect, an ambitious attempt). Rossland’s quaint main-street shops and restaurants are a six-minute drive from the resort, but I found little need to leave the mountain during my two-night stay thanks to Velvet’s varied breakfast buffet and casual yet sophisticated dinner service. Vegetarians are covered, but the menu does favour omnivores, with options such as braised short ribs, coq au vin, crispy confit duck or, for the brave, a roasted bone marrow. For dessert, always ask what ice cream they have that evening; the chocolate is not to be missed.
Rossland, British Columbia, Canada
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Vancouver direct with Air New Zealand or Air Canada before taking a domestic flight to Trail, a 15-minute drive from Red Mountain Resort.
DETAILS
Red Mountain Resort | redresort.com
The Josie Hotel | thejosie.com
New Zealand Herald Travel visited courtesy of Destination British Columbia.