Red Mountain BC - Advice needed please !

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning a 3 week trip to Red Mountain BC in January 2007. I've never been to Canada before and am hoping to just chill out and de-stress from a busy year with a few weeks of snowboarding !

Anyway .... I am probably a high intermediate level snowboarder, but what holds me back is lack of confidence in steep terrain. I've done plenty of research on Red and it seems to be promoted for it's steeper terrain - will I be wasting my time going there because I wouldn't be able to handle a lot of the mountain ? Or, should I just go, ride the intermediate terrain for a while, then get some lessons on the steeps and hope I improve ?

Since I'm coming from the other side of the world I want to make sure that I end up in the right place - I know I could always road trip around a bit, but I think I would rather just base myself in a small place like Rossland and really relax ....

Any help in my decision making would be most appreciated !

Thanks.... Damien

Red's got all kinds of steepness, including a lot of mellower trees. you'll be fine. i'd say its also a pretty good place to start to venture into some steeper stuff too. not too many places to get cliffed out.

I was there back in '96 or '97 in February. Don't remember much except the drive from Spokane was 3-hours downhill...the whole time. Mountain is foggy as fuck up until about noon / 1 pm. Expect 3-4" every night. Looking up at the mountain, I believe the right side is where you're gonna want to hang out for the steeper stuff. Left side has some nice glades. I wouldn't spend 3 weeks there though. You might get bored quickly. A week is more than plenty, unless there's something else close by.

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...hope i improve?

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Come on. Have some confidence.

They have cut some new blue runs for this year.

Whitewater is less than an hour away. If ya need to mix it up.

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Originally Posted by Rebo

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning a 3 week trip to Red Mountain BC in January 2007. I've never been to Canada before and am hoping to just chill out and de-stress from a busy year with a few weeks of snowboarding !

Anyway .... I am probably a high intermediate level snowboarder, but what holds me back is lack of confidence in steep terrain. I've done plenty of research on Red and it seems to be promoted for it's steeper terrain - will I be wasting my time going there because I wouldn't be able to handle a lot of the mountain ? Or, should I just go, ride the intermediate terrain for a while, then get some lessons on the steeps and hope I improve ?

Since I'm coming from the other side of the world I want to make sure that I end up in the right place - I know I could always road trip around a bit, but I think I would rather just base myself in a small place like Rossland and really relax ....

Any help in my decision making would be most appreciated !

Thanks.... Damien

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I'm sure Red would be a great place for you. There is a very good variety of terrain. Rossland is a very fun little town

You could be in time to watch the Molson Freeski comp. Jan 11-14. But being a snowboarder, that may not intrest you.

Thanks for all of the replies so far - it sounds like it might be the place to go - I don't think I will get bored in three weeks but I suppose I won't know until I get there - and as you said ruhiks I could always check out some other resorts nearby - throw in a day's cat skiing, an introductory avy course plus a few rest days - and I'm sure the time will fly - it always does when you're on holidays.

I read a bit about the freeskiing comp on Reds website - sounds good - that's the time I'm planning on being there - I would be interested because I used to ski when I was young - it's just that my 37 year old knee bones find snowboarding a lot easier now !

You can also drop down to 49North and Schweitzer, both in the States and only about an hour or so drive. 49 is a pretty fun hill with mostly intermediate/advanced terrain with good snow, north facing. Schweitzer is a much larger mountain with a great variety of just about anything you want. You might want to spend a night (or more) in Sandpoint and hang out, then ski another day or more if you like it. Whitewater is a good option and there are a number of cat and heli ops around if you want to give it a go too. Have a great trip!

Thanks Goldmember - sounds like a great idea. Is it a big issue to cross the border from Canada to the US, or is it just a matter of jumping on a bus then getting off where you want ? As far as I know the visa/entry requirements are pretty relaxed for Australians, but I'd better do some research just in case !

You shouldn't have any trouble at all at the border. I don't believe there is any visa requirement as an Aussie coming to the U.S. As for transportation, you'll want to see what's available. I don't have a clue what there is for bus service. You might want to rent a car for the trip or hook a ride with some Americans you meet at Red. There is usually a bunch of people from Spokane or Idaho skiing at Red that you could probably hook up with. I've attached a video clip of Schweitzer that will show a little of what it's like.

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Is it a big issue to cross the border from Canada to the US, or is it just a matter of jumping on a bus then getting off where you want ?

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I've crossed w/ Aussies and Kiwis a few times and never had a problem.

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Originally Posted by PlayHarder

I've crossed w/ Aussies and Kiwis a few times and never had a problem.

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Bring a passport and you'll have no problems... If no passport, then bring a birth certificate, and driver's lisense. Basically if you have the right documentation then you'll be fine.

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Originally Posted by PlayHarder

I've crossed w/ Aussies and Kiwis a few times and never had a problem.

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And the kids are OK?

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

And the kids are OK?

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You can breed out the bad hips that way.

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Originally Posted by ROCKS

Bring a passport and you'll have no problems... If no passport, then bring a birth certificate, and driver's lisense. Basically if you have the right documentation then you'll be fine.

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Actually, it depends a little where you cross. If you cross at Nelway, the U.S. Customs guys have been a real pain in the ass the last few times we went through. Dropping down from Rossland has been fine or going over to Creston is okay too. There's one guy at Nelway though that must be pissed off that he got assigned to the middle of nowhere. Even with passports, you can just about expect to have your vehicle searched. For Rebo though, I'm sure he'd have a passport so it shouldn't be a big deal out of Rossland or Creston.

Thanks again for all the help guys. I'm booking my plane flight this weekend and now can't wait to get over there. I'll definitely try to slip into the US to check out some of the other local resorts as well.

As a long time lurker it is great to get that "first post" out of the way and get some very helpful responses !

I promise to do a full TR with photos after the trip !

Cheers.