Category Archives: Rich Irwin

Red Mountain: North America’s last great undiscovered ski resort

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Skier enjoys powder run at Red Mountain Ski Resort in British Columbia. (Photo courtesy of Red Mountain)

By Richard Irwin
Savvy Skier

Many call it the last great undiscovered ski resort in North America. And with its latest expansion, Red Mountain certainly is poised to become one of the largest.

The British Columbia resort is adding another mountain and 1,000 acres of terrain. That’s on top of the two mountains and 1,685 acres that it already has.

“The scale of this expansion is a true game-changer for Red Mountain Resort and for the community of Rossland,” said CEO Howard Katkov. “The management team has spent the last eight years carefully reinforcing the company’s infrastructure, investing $50 million in the facilities and completing world-class slope-side accommodations. Now we’re truly ready for prime time. We’ve consciously kept a low profile while we diligently readied ourselves for this massive expansion.”

The addition of Grey Mountain alone is close to the size of Mt. Baker Ski Area in Washington. The total acreage will make Red larger than Jackson Hole, Wyo. And the resort will join the top 3 percent of North American ski resorts with 2,682 acres of skiable acres.

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Rossland offers lots of fun at winter carnival in British Columbia

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Bobsled team races down Spokane Street during the winter carnival in Rossland, British Columbia

By Richard Irwin
Savvy Skier

The handmade bobsled barreled down the icy city street, zooming past an ambulance and police car sitting at an intersection. Residents rushed out into the street to see if the brave young men crashed on the busy boulevard below.

Welcome to the Sammy Samuelson Bobsled Race, one of the most popular events at the Rossland Winter Carnival in British Columbia. The quaint old mining town bills itself as Canada’s oldest winter carnival.

They say a Norwegian miner by the name of Olaus Jeldness started it all back in 1897. They insist Olaus invited friends to the top of nearby Red Mountain for an infamous “tea party.” Afterwards, the pioneer strapped long wooden sticks to their feet and sent them barreling down the hill. He called them “skis,” and that’s how the sport got its start in Canada.

Well, Olaus would be proud to know that neighbors are still barreling down the streets of Rossland — albeit in handmade bobsleds that are long on imagination and short on engineering.

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It takes a village, and Mammoth Mountain has a great one

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Village at Mammoth offers many amenities for a great family ski vacation. (Mammoth Mountain photo)

By Richard Irwin
Savvy Skier

I love villages. Especially when it comes to skiing.

Quaint European villages have always intrigued me with their narrow streets and bustling market centers. I love to amble through these villages, stopping at a pub or beer garden to share a drink with friendly villagers.

Besides, I don’t need a car to get around these small towns. All the restaurants, bars and businesses are located within blocks of each other.

I still remember fondly a ski trip to Oberstdorf in Germany. The town center was blocked off for pedestrians. Only silent, electric buses cruised the main street.

American ski resorts tend to be much larger. Though most offer free public transit, their scale takes away the quaint feeling, as well as the convenience.

Intrawest became a leader in the development of ski resorts with a central village concept. The villages were designed from the ground up with restaurants and businesses on the ground floors, supporting three to four floors of condos.

Located at the base of the ski resorts, these ski-in ski-out properties quickly became a favorite with families looking for convenient ski vacations.

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Skier enjoys return to Mammoth Mountain

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Snow boarder carves up deep powder at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. (Mammoth Mountain photo)

By Richard Irwin

Every spring, we used to ski at Mammoth Mountain. It became a tradition to hit the slopes near Bishop at the end of the ski season

We could drive to Mammoth Lakes, the price of lift tickets was reasonable and the ski resort offered a wide variety of terrain.

One year, summer arrived early, melting the snowpack and ruining the ski runs. Unfortunately, it also ruined my skis, so I began to look elsewhere for ski week.

Over the next decade, we tried Vail, Beaver Creek, Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, Alta, Snowbird. All offered unique mountain experiences as well as world class lodging and dining.

We even traveled to other countries, skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine in Calgary, Whistler outside Vancouver and Mt. Tremblant in Quebec.

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