Keeping it Real at Red
text and photos by Todd Lawson
On every spring-skiing road trip, the mountains make it epic, while the people make it memorable. Case in point, Red Mountain in Rossland, BC and the true blue skiers who call it home. For these Kootenay folk, it’s simply about having fun. The don’t really care about the style of their ski gear (like Matt Williamson’s 20-year-old helmet) or the shape of their skis – they just ski, and ski hard. Red has long been known as a skiers mountain, full of steep tree chutes and glades that fill with legendary Kootenay pow.
It’s also full of people who don’t take themselves too seriously. They practice, almost daily, the long lost art of tomfoolery. Take the Red Mountian Ski Patrol for example. You won’t find a more qualified bunch if you need to be rescued off the mountain, but they’ll probably make a joke about it at the end of the day. They even have a toongue-in-cheek T-shirt that says ‘Red Mountain Ski Patrol- Come Get Wrecked with Us!’
These guys and gals keep the banter alive on the radio and do things like put an iron in their work-buddy’s back pack so he can ski around with it all day long, or blow up a plastic sheep and write ‘I love Dano’ all over it. Or get involved in the ski community by putting on a funny mask, strapping on a sled and hitting a slush pit at full speed — all part of the the annual funfest known as the ‘Slush Cup’.
This spring rite-of-passage for Rossland ski bums brings out plenty of brave skiers, boarders and diaper-wearing pool poachers who rip down the bottom of The Face of Red, gathering speed to clear the 50-foot pit of slushy arctic-cold water, all to win a pair of free skis. The Kokanee Sasquatch made an appearance, as did the Banana Split, some guy with a truly unique toothbrush helmet, and three ski-techie dudes who launched off the jump all mounted on one pair of skis. A crowd of more than 500 people gathered around to witness the huge splashes, big spills and a few successful attempts (mostly by skiers on reverse-camber skis).
More than just fun and games, the event is also a testament to the feel-good nature of the Kootenays. When the population of Rossland is more than 4000, and more than 1400 Red Mountain season passes are sold, you know you’re doing something right.
Catskiing at Big Red Cats_Rossland, BC.
“It’s just a small-town with a big history,” says long-time Ski Patrol member Dano Reid. “People like to ski and everybody gets along because of it. There’s not too many big egos here, we like to keep it real.”
Keeping it real should be their motto. They still have hidden (and secret) on-mountain huts where special weddings and parties are held, no invitation necessary. The lifties still wear costumes even when there is no holiday. And most days, the number of locals in the pub outnumber the tourists. These ‘Red-heads’ are true funhogs, but funhogs that like to share, whether it be fresh tracks down Pale Face, or a pitcher in Rafter’s at the end of another fine day.
And if you feel the need to step away from the chairlifts for a day or three and see what lies beyond, you can take a skin-stroll up Mt. Roberts or walk a few short steps away and into the office of Big Red Cats. They know where the stashes of pow can be found, and they will take you there in style. On our road trip, we lucked out. Not only did we happen to book a day of catskiing after a nice 20cm of spring pow landed, we also happened to hop on board with Red Mountain Resorts President and CEO Howard Katkov, legendary old-school Powder Magazine shooter Mark Shapiro and keen group of Rossland locals. We threw in some Red Mountain Ski Patrol boys for good measure, just to keep things safe.
It all added up to another fine day in the Kootenays – good people, lots of laughter and plenty of shenanigans while ripping up some great terrain. When you ski here, you get the feeling that nobody has to be anywhere soon. Another day will come, more fresh lines will be there for the taking, and the beer will always be cold at the end of the day. The difference here is that they’ll always find some way to share.
nice one guys….i love rossland and red mountain and all the people who rip there. such good people. i was skiing there once, i think it was feb, 2006. we had a huge dump overnight, the crowd was pretty big (for red anyways) and everyone in the line-up started singing that more beer song, but were singing more pow, more pow, more pow……it was awesome 200 people all singing and smiling.
keep up the good work. i’ve been following your mag for a while now…it keeps getting better. thanks for keeping me stoked.
TG