Red Mountain BC
Red Mountain is steep, really steep. The blue runs here would be a red in most French resorts.
We got a bus from Kelowna to Trail and got a lift up the hill to Rossland from the hostel manager. It would be a lot easier to drive to it and probably easier to fly to Spokane and go across the border from there if travelling from afar. Rossland isn’t an easy place to get too and there aren’t many buses from Trail.
Red Mountain is steep, really steep. The blue runs here would be a red in most French resorts.
We got a bus from Kelowna to Trail and got a lift up the hill to Rossland from the hostel manager. It would be a lot easier to drive to it and probably easier to fly to Spokane and go across the border from there if travelling from afar. Rossland isn’t an easy place to get too and there aren’t many buses from Trail.
Red Mountain's lifts
The lifts are incredibly slow and old which can often be good given how hard the skiing is. Can be tough going when it’s cold. The locals say the lifts are slow because the hill is so laid back! We didn’t have to que more than 30seconds, anywhere and at anytime; you just skied up and got on. A small number of lifts access a huge amount of terrain.
Red Mountain's Best Runs
Once it had some snow the place came alive as you can ski pretty much 360° from all three peaks. We managed to ski at least a run in every area but to ski every run would take months and to ski every line would take years! The locals will know best. Expert skiers will be in paradise and the amount of amazing skiiers there is frightening.
Hole in the wall (double black) below the red chair was good in all conditions and has some challenging moguls.
The powder fields (single black but beside lots of double blacks) from the top of the paradise chair are great though can become quite serious if you go the wrong way (we did and nearly ended up jumping off a 20ft cliff).
Grey Mountain is fantastic, especially the runs you access from the limelight traverse, Drop the Line (double black) had brilliant snow and steep spaced glades. Every run from every face ends up with a cat track that will take you to one of the lifts, its really well laid out.
Red Mountain's snow
It hadn’t snowed for 5 days when we go there so our first day was spent mainly on piste as anything off from that was pretty sketchy. It snowed 10cm on our second night and did this pretty much every day until we left. The snow was heavy and wet as they were having a warmer spell, this made for some tough skiing. It seemed like we were pretty unlucky.
The lifts are incredibly slow and old which can often be good given how hard the skiing is. Can be tough going when it’s cold. The locals say the lifts are slow because the hill is so laid back! We didn’t have to que more than 30seconds, anywhere and at anytime; you just skied up and got on. A small number of lifts access a huge amount of terrain.
Red Mountain's Best Runs
Once it had some snow the place came alive as you can ski pretty much 360° from all three peaks. We managed to ski at least a run in every area but to ski every run would take months and to ski every line would take years! The locals will know best. Expert skiers will be in paradise and the amount of amazing skiiers there is frightening.
Hole in the wall (double black) below the red chair was good in all conditions and has some challenging moguls.
The powder fields (single black but beside lots of double blacks) from the top of the paradise chair are great though can become quite serious if you go the wrong way (we did and nearly ended up jumping off a 20ft cliff).
Grey Mountain is fantastic, especially the runs you access from the limelight traverse, Drop the Line (double black) had brilliant snow and steep spaced glades. Every run from every face ends up with a cat track that will take you to one of the lifts, its really well laid out.
Red Mountain's snow
It hadn’t snowed for 5 days when we go there so our first day was spent mainly on piste as anything off from that was pretty sketchy. It snowed 10cm on our second night and did this pretty much every day until we left. The snow was heavy and wet as they were having a warmer spell, this made for some tough skiing. It seemed like we were pretty unlucky.
Red Mountain's Food
We ate at the Flying steam shovel inn, a gold rush era bar which still maintains its charm. The food was affordable and pretty good. They have lots of really nice craft beers, many on tap. It’s worth a visit.
The on mountain ski bar “Rafters” is a fantastic place for a drink and does excellent food. Its located at the top of the day lodge in the rafters, hence the name. It’s a really lively spot and well priced. Rafters is a great ski bar!
There is a large supermarket on the main street called Ferraro’s, they made a great change from having to shop on a hill. They do lots of home made soups (Jalapeño cheese was amazing) and fresh ready meals that are really nice.
Red Mountain's (budget) Accommodation
We stayed at the hostel in Rossland, which was really nice, more like a basic hotel. The people staying there were all older and very serious about skiing; quite a few of them were staying there all season and were on the hill every day. Hostel link- Rossland Hostel
There is a free shuttle bus that leaves every hour on the half hour from Rossland, it had a stop directly across from the hostel and was never too full
We ate at the Flying steam shovel inn, a gold rush era bar which still maintains its charm. The food was affordable and pretty good. They have lots of really nice craft beers, many on tap. It’s worth a visit.
The on mountain ski bar “Rafters” is a fantastic place for a drink and does excellent food. Its located at the top of the day lodge in the rafters, hence the name. It’s a really lively spot and well priced. Rafters is a great ski bar!
There is a large supermarket on the main street called Ferraro’s, they made a great change from having to shop on a hill. They do lots of home made soups (Jalapeño cheese was amazing) and fresh ready meals that are really nice.
Red Mountain's (budget) Accommodation
We stayed at the hostel in Rossland, which was really nice, more like a basic hotel. The people staying there were all older and very serious about skiing; quite a few of them were staying there all season and were on the hill every day. Hostel link- Rossland Hostel
There is a free shuttle bus that leaves every hour on the half hour from Rossland, it had a stop directly across from the hostel and was never too full
Red Mountain Review
Red Mountain is a serious hill for serious skiiers, it would only really suit strong intermediates and above as everything is pretty steep and there are some genuinely scary runs. We skied 6 days there.
The round about mountains and faces would provide years of skiing for backcountry and ski touring enthusiasts- one of the people working at the hostel has been to Red backcountry skiing most days for the last 8 years and reckoned he had only seen a small portion of the backcountry that is possible.
Rossland is a nice wee town with lots of history. It has plenty of shops and a newly opened micro-brewery which has a wee bar in it that serves great beer. The locals are very friendly and it’s not your typical ski town, it’s very undeveloped and kind of feels like you are one of the first to discover it.
Would we go back? Absolutely.
Red Mountain is a serious hill for serious skiiers, it would only really suit strong intermediates and above as everything is pretty steep and there are some genuinely scary runs. We skied 6 days there.
The round about mountains and faces would provide years of skiing for backcountry and ski touring enthusiasts- one of the people working at the hostel has been to Red backcountry skiing most days for the last 8 years and reckoned he had only seen a small portion of the backcountry that is possible.
Rossland is a nice wee town with lots of history. It has plenty of shops and a newly opened micro-brewery which has a wee bar in it that serves great beer. The locals are very friendly and it’s not your typical ski town, it’s very undeveloped and kind of feels like you are one of the first to discover it.
Would we go back? Absolutely.