In January 2024 I did my 3rd annual ski bum road trip! This time, Anthony Lakes, OR, Schweitzer, ID, RED Mountain, BC, Revelstoke, BC, and Sun Peaks, BC! I planned to go to Crystal Mountain, WA, but a warm up cut that out. I loved RED Mountain! It’s in the Kootenay, about 12 miles north of the Washington border, in lovely Rossland. All towns had their positives, but for me Rossland is the most charming of all.
RED Mountain is only 12 minutes from downtown. It has a very local feel to it. No high speed quads here. Regulars say that keeps the crowds away. I was fortunate to have nice conditions in this El Nino winter, which has been cruel to Pacific NW resorts. It snowed 3-4″ each night, leaving comfy conditions.
RED Mountain offers complementary guided skiing twice a day. You can choose skill levels from novice to advanced/expert. I chose intermediate, with my knee still recovering. It turned out that I had a one-on-one guided experience with Abigail! She showed me all the lifts, and we did groomed blues and also a tree run with tight turns.
Like almost every day on this trip, it was cloudy and I never saw the tops of the mountains surrounding. The bright side? SNOW. Lots and lots of fresh fluffy snow! Back at my Lone Star Hotel, which sits in the forest at the bottom of the access road, intoxicating calm-wind snow showers came and went. RED mountain offers terrain for all skill levels. And even on a Saturday with fresh snow, lift lines were insignificant.
It is easy to be spoiled there. One starts to just take for granted that you can get an easy parking spot. No reservations necessary. People are very laid back and friendly. It’s so uncrowded that it is ranked #1 acres per skier in North America! What’s not to like? I also met quite a few Kiwis either skiing or working at the lodge. When asked about skiing in New Zealand, they said, “Not very good. That’s why we’re all here!”
As an IKON pass holder, I follow the IKON user group. Day after day, members post images of enormous lines at California, Colorado and Utah resorts. It’s a wonder BC is still so relatively undiscovered!
RED Mountain boasts one more signficant asset, and that is the so cute you can hug it town of Rossland! Its small, it’s welcoming, it’s got lots of late 19th Century architecture, a bevy of nice restaurants, shops, and outdoor gear outfitters. At the grocery store, Ferraros, you find all that you need, and folks recruiting volunteers for the upcoming music festival.
After visiting some other ski towns infested with corporate resorts catering to the very rich, Rossland is very refreshing. I will definitely return. Here, childhood really is filled with healthy outdoorsy activities rather than cell phone video games.
Summertime activities include river running, hiking, backpacking, fishing,
horseback riding, and more.