RED Mountain is that inconspicuous yet top-level ski resort you didn’t know anything about – until now…
By Doug Wallace
My room at The Josie Hotel is not yet ready, so I make my way to the Velvet Lounge – past tufted leather sofas, twig-laden chandeliers and bright red benches that resemble chairlifts.
On my stool looking out to the slopes of RED Mountain Resort, I can see a string of cylindrical outdoor saunas that look mighty inviting. There’s a ski concierge to my left, receiving the gear of a few people doffing their toques and calling it quits a bit early today. A singer in the corner is playing my favourite Stevie Wonder song, and life couldn’t be better at the moment in Rossland, B.C.
But it does get a lot better over the next few days, as I tackle the 119 runs – well, not all of them, actually – with my shiny new Ikon Pass, skiing with the “snow hosts,” checking out the on-mountain cabins, venturing out to snowshoe and warming up to après-ski firepits.
Tucked away in the Kootenays in the southern part of the province, RED Mountain is a bit of a hidden gem, not as crowded as other B.C. resorts – and that’s the way they like it. Being four hours southeast of Kelowna and two-and-a-half hours north of Spokane, it’s a commitment, but worth every effort. This unpretentious town, which began life as a gold-mining outpost, has a bit of a hippie vibe. Quaint and calm, it’s filled with people who live and breathe skiing, many of them seasonal die-hards or retirees from other provinces who have specifically moved here simply to ski.

The snow hosts are smitten with their job. They are a group of volunteers who lead group ski jaunts for a few hours each morning in exchange for an annual ski pass. This service is particularly handy for visitors who don’t know the mountain well as it helps them get the lay of the land, but it’s also a fun way to get the inside scoop on the resort and a tipsheet on the town.
There is little wonder why experienced skiers love it here. With more than 15 square kilometres of skiable terrain across four mountains, an average of almost eight metres of snow per year and a 915-metre vertical drop, RED Mountain has been quietly wowing visitors since 1947. Three main summits – Red, Granite and Grey – are serviced by six chairlifts, most of them cast-offs from other Western Canadian resorts (a fact no one gives two hoots about). A fourth mountain, Kirkup, is cat-ski accessible.

This all adds up to 360-degree skiing for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. When people ask me if I’m a skier, I say that I can ski and leave it at that. After a day, I’ve progressed from the green to blue runs, but am still too chicken to attempt the glades. During my stay, it snows an absolute ton one night, leaving a massive blanket of fresh snow that brings a smile to everyone’s face the next morning. It seems like the whole town takes the day off work, with no note from the doctor required. Everyone just gets it.
In addition to The Josie, RED Mountain has one of Canada’s few ski-in-only overnight accommodations. The eco-friendly Constella Collection is nestled on the back of Granite Mountain in the Paradise Basin, accessible via the chairlift for those who want to ski in, sleep in and ski out. Five cabins each sleep five people, with a sixth for just two. A shared central clubhouse sets everyone up for an evening meal and then breakfast before you head back down the hill.

Later, I make it into one of The Josie’s little wooden saunas, just as the afternoon sun is starting to fade (as are my quadriceps).
Extracurricular activity is encouraged
Popping about a dozen sandwiches in our bags, we make the 15-minute drive one morning to Rossland Range Recreational Site and strap on snowshoes for a few hours of exploring Strawberry Pass. Twelve trails here range in elevation from 115 to more than 1,000 metres, but we settle for the bare minimum. The first sign we come across says “Winter Trail to Booty Cabin,” which turns out to be sort of false advertising: Booty’s is one of 16 day cabins punctuating the route we’re on, not meant for the overnighting we were initially suspecting. We stop at Eagle Nest Cabin for our lunch, to find the fireplace still slightly warm from an earlier visitor.
Heading into Rossland itself, I find it almost Hallmark movie-ish, like a set for a small-town TV show. And, seriously, there are plenty of characters here to make a great cast. We find a few candidates at our first stop, the Rossland Beer Company. Locals and tourists alike pop in here for a pint, clustered around on wooden benches beside the beer vats, throwing back award-winning made-right-there beer. This hyper-local, no-fuss experience is a window to the heart of the town, as is nearby Gabriella’s Italian restaurant, a homespun comfort-food hub. An adjacent lounge is filled with people filling themselves with cheeseburgers.

During our week, we catch word that the unofficial slogan of Rossland is “A Drinking Town With a Skiing Problem,” but we know this is all in good fun. And yet Rafters, the pub in the attic of RED’s main lodge, is packed by 5 pm. Apparently, it has been nominated as one of the best après-ski bars in North America by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice travel awards. We sit down to fried comfort foods – my favourite!– and live music. One of the snow hosts is performing with his band in the corner, a sort of open-mic affair where each act is allowed a three-song set.
This is called the pub’s No Shower Happy Hour, and it is much sexier than it sounds – fit men in packs, jackets off, suspenders down, hair all messy, swilling beer. I have to be told to stop staring. One of the ski instructors takes a fancy to my friend and follows us around for a few hours afterwards. He’s cute, so we let him.
DOUG WALLACE is an international travel and lifestyle writer, photographer and custom-content authority, principal of Wallace Media and editor-publisher of TravelRight.Today. He can be found beside buffet tables, on massage tables and table-hopping around the world.
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