Red, in short, was amazing. I had read about the place for years before finally making the trip so my expectations were a bit too high in my own opinion. After the first day I can honestly say every expectation I had previously was met or exceeded. The first night we arrived we stopped into the bar to get tips from the locals. We were told the goods would be up on Grey mountain so we went straight there.
Our crew walking up to the base
We were greeted by this view
We basically lapped Grey all day that day only stopping for a quick break at the weener hut at the base of grey chair for some poutine. At the end of the day we went back to the bar to thank the locals for the tips and I bumped into the Rome snowboards pro team. Bjorn Leines is a hero of mine and here he was along with a full group of heavy hitters. We shared a beer and my stoke level went through the roof. I later told my wife the first day was like a snowboarding dream I would have. Too good to be real.
The next day we got some snow and found all kinds of goods in the trees above paradise lodge on Granite mountain. We also found some secret spots in an area called powder fields.
Overlooking a cliff on powder fields
Absolutely great day. The following day we woke up to about 5" of snow overnight and it was just a sick powder day all around. We explored a bit and found a boot pack with some real nice lines.
Each day seemed to be better than the last on this trip. I'm going to stop with the play by play and break it down this way. Red was amazing for the following reasons:
- Great terrain. Three mountains you can essentially ride down in any direction and a fourth accessible by a cheap snowcat ride.
- No crowds. I waited in a lift line basically never. The only wait each day was for first chair or food at the lodge.
- Good vibe. Locals were friendly and willing to share tips.
- Oh yeah, great snow. There are so few people on the mountain that even three or four days after the storm we got we were able to find untracked areas.
Our group makes the trip to BC every year and we've never decided to go back to the same place consecutive years. Red broke the trend. We'll be back next year with plans to check out Whitewater as well. If you plan to go I recommend checking out Rossland (great beer at Rossland brewing and good eats at a place called the flying steamshovel) and taking in a hockey game in nearby Trail, home of the "Trail Smoke Eaters" club.
Here are a few more photos from the trip:
View of Red mountain from our house
Top of Mt. Kirkup accessible by snow cat
Trail Smoke Eaters game (me on the far right, say hello if you see me at a NC resort)
Beer Belly on the back side of Granite
