As the Bull Wheel Turns

By: Curtis Fong “The Guy From Tahoe”

For: Friday, Feb 3, 2012

Red, White & True

Red & White… A great color combination and the colors of the maple leaf Canadian flag. And, there aren’t any two other resorts that offer incredible skiing and riding on the BC Powder Highway then Red Mountain and Whitewater. I have skied Whistler -Blackcomb, Lake Louise, Sunshine, Norquay, Sun Peaks, Kimberley and Fernie in the Kootenay Rockies, but never heard of Red Mountain or Whitewater Resorts.

The Western Region of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association scheduled their annual Western Winter Summit at these two resorts this past week and I was lucky enough to be released to resume recreational activities to attend this media fam tour as Dr. Bannar said, “make sure to take your sticks”.

Annual winter road trips to ski destinations have been my passion and method of madness for over 15 years and this sounded like it would fill the bill for this winter’s adventure. My long time buddy, Dan Giesin and I hit the road driving last Thursday morning in route to Red Mountain in Rossland, BC and decided to break up the journey with an overnight stay in Pendleton, Oregon. For economy minded road tripper’s, I always search out Motel 8’s as they are clean, reasonably priced, include a breakfast and most of all have included Wi-Fi internet service for me to accumulate the stats and info for my daily morning ski report and produce my KTHO radio report, update my BikeandSkiTahoe.com website and email it to the hundreds of entities that are on my distribution list. The journey north on NV Hwy 95 from Winnemucca into Idaho – Oregon, I have driven many times and it’s always nice drive with wide open spaces and beautiful mountain ranges, but this time the scenery was different as there was very little snow capping these peaks.

The next morning we continued north toward Spokane, Washington and further north crossing the US / Canadian Border and just a few miles further we arrive at Red Mountain Resort in Rossland. We met up with the other attending members of NASJA West and checked in to the Red Mountain Lodge and stayed in the slope side Slalom Creek Condos then attended a reception. Representatives from Red Mountain, Whitewater, Tourism BC, Rossland / Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism, The Powder Highway and others greeted us and oriented our group with the variety of activities they had planned.

Did I mention that there has been no lack of snow in this region of Canada this year? They average 300 inches a year and there was plenty of fresh snow for all to enjoy.

That evening we were shuttled into Rossland where they hosting their 115 Annual Winter Carnival. A live DJ was whipping up the crowd at the outdoor ice bar & beer gardens complete with fire dancers while across the street, a rails jam was going on. Drift Izakya Sushi restaurant offered a variety of delicacies with all the fixing for dinner.

Morning always comes early for me as the buzzer goes off at 5:00am and there is no day off from the ski report. While most of the group headed to the ski lifts that the rest of the group transported into Rossland, back to the Winter Carnival, where on this morning they

had their annual Sammy Samuelson bobsled race down the sloping streets. This was an incredibly interesting, but fun event to watch as 4-person teams launched homemade bobsleds and themselves down the nearly one mile course. There were a variety of different bobsled designs from converted snowmobiles on skis to professionally designed aluminum aero dynamic sleds to some made of wood all nailed together. Plus, the teams wore costumes or uniforms and really made for a fun and colorful event. The only rules were that the bob sleds had to be able to steer as there were several curves and turns on the course and it had to have brakes to stop… oh yeah, the teams had to wear helmets as well. Oh and one other “unofficial rule” was that the teams had to drink beer before their run to release organizers of the liability if the sled was to crash. This was good fun and the streets were lined with hundreds of folks cheering on the bobsled teams.

Rossland is a historic gold mining town and named after Ross Thompson (possibly related to Snow Shoe Thompson) when he arrived at this Trail Creek Mining Camp in 1891. Just like the gold rush in California, thousands of fortune seekers poured into the

area, which became one of the most prosperous and largest mining operations in western Canada and the City of Rossland was incorporated in 1898. Some of the historic buildings remain after the mines ran dry and surviving fires but this city is enriched with the pioneer spirit. This is a great city to visit not only for its history but also for the friendly and inviting folks that make it their home. You’ll feel welcomed everywhere you go in the City of Rossland.

I took my first turns on Red Mountain that mid morning off the Silverlode Chair and cruised down a nicely groomed Blue Run, properly named Blue Bird. “Am I truly skiing again?” I kept asking myself. This was my second day on skis and the Anton Active Suspension Skis worked as they have been designed to absorb anything on the surface and to carve smooth turns from tip to tail. The easiest turning and most stable yet comfortable skis to get back on the mountain with, considering my newly installed hip.

“Oh what a great feeling” kept ringing around in my brain as I have been blessed to be able to ski again… feeling the skis carve and linking turns. “Am I truly skiing again this season when I was told maybe not till next year?” The exhilaration of the wind in my face and being able to chose where to turn and take up the entire width of the run flowing back and forth effortlessly… Believe me, I’m nowhere back to my normal style of skiing and consider myself still a work in progress, but I am on my way back! I’ll have more about this Red & White adventure next week, so keep it tuned right here for more…