Ski Canada

WEEK THREE

Following a Bicycle Route we rode

Day 16

Thursday January 22 2026

Travel Day. Revelstoke BC to Red Mountain Ski Resort BC

We really enjoyed the drive from Revelstoke to Red Mountain. Quite a bit of it was a trip down memory lane from our Selkirk Bicycle trip a couple of years ago (see blog Selkirk Loop). We followed the Columbia River all the way including a ferry crossing not far from Revelstoke.

From the ferry we went up and over a pass into New Denver then south to the intersection to Nelson BC or Castlegar BC. From New Denver to this intersection we were amazed (once again) at how beautiful the mountains and Slocan Lake and Slocan River are. I had forgotten how many hills (mountains) we climbed along this section of highway. Steep ups and steep downs. I asked myself how did I do this??? Looking back I recall that this day about killed me by the time we were done in Nelson. We had all kinds of rain, variety of bicycle rail trail conditions and then a killer climb finish into Nelson! (Worth reading that blog page if you’re interested.) It reminds me that the best part of cycling where you’ve never been is that you have no preconceived notion to how challenging or difficult or interesting or beautiful it’s going to be. There are ups and downs (literally) to every day!

Anyway on our drive at the intersection the Slocan River meets the Kootenay River which meets the Columbia within the next few miles. So much water! The Kootenay is as big as the Columbia ( or close). It was a quick drive to Castlegar then to Trail and up a very steep hill to Rossland. Rossland is the mountain town home for Red Mountain. It’s just a few miles further up the mountain to the resort.

We pulled into the parking lot about 2:30pm. They have an area in the closest parking lot to the main lodge for camping. There were a handful of vans already there so we parked nearby and then went up to the lodge to checkout the resort amenities. We found the Rafters Apres bar and had ourselves a beer. It was a comfortable local scene with a band setting up.

After 4pm we were able to park in the overnight area. We were told that a parking employee would stop by between 5-6pm and collect the nightly fee. It was $22 US. The guy said he collects daily but if we weren’t there when he comes by…no worries! Good enough😊. We were free to enjoy the Winter Carnival in Rossland tomorrow after skiing.

A Winter Carnival

Day 17

Ski day #10

Red Mountain Ski Resort BC

Friday January 23 2026

Lift ticket: IKON. Daily Senior rate $125 (US)

Temp: 15’F

No new snow since Jan 12. That’s been quite a few days of skiing hardpack and sticking to groomers. Then we had a solid 6 days of inversion. Skiing above the clouds but living and camping in the cold and gray. Today … Friday … the sun finally breaks through 😊. By the end of the day the sun was at the base. Maybe the best thing about the big inversion was the lack of wind. We have enjoyed being windless for the inversion period. 

We worked our way up three chairs to get to one mountain summit. Silverlode chair, Motherlode Chair to Paradise chair on Granite Mountain. People told us that was the best skiing at the resort right now. The groomers were really nice. Big wide runs for the most part. But it was cold today. I think the high was supposed to be to 20F but it really felt cold… especially in the shade. The chairlift rides up were sunny at our backs so that was comfortable… but in general my fingers were cold all day! I always use hand warmers or it would be miserable. And yes… I do have heated gloves but for some reason I didn’t bring them on this trip. It’s a battery thing.

They have a really nice mid mountain lodge where we went for lunch and warmup! Most of the amenities on the mountain are very new. It seems to be a growing area investing in real estate at the base and surroundings.

Above the mid mountain lodge is a Tap Bar. They have some cute small cabins across from it if you want to stay on the mountain.

After lunch we moved over to the Grey mountain chair and the Topping Creek chair. It was cold and shady on this side. I didn’t last long there. We dropped down to another chair that now had some sunlight that low. Took a few more runs there and I was sufficiently cold again. We called it good for the day and visited the Rafters bar happy hour.

My cold issue happens when I spend too much time on groomers (when the temps are below 25). I simply do not have to expend enough energy to warm my core and hands. I need to ski off piste and work harder. This has been missing for most of our trip. The last time we got to ski how we were happiest was Banff Sunshine. Darn it!

That being said we are staying in Red Mountain one more day and we will try to enjoy cross country skiing at their Nordic area nearby. In the town of Rossland it is winter carnival weekend.

We went into town after skiing for the evening (by shuttle bus) and enjoyed dinner and watching the most darling small town parade that was just 1/2 hour long. There were entries with lots of humor and dancing groups of snow angels, fire batons, Ullr, ski patrol, search and rescue, fire department. For a small town there was a big turnout! There are music venues all over town (tickets required), outdoor ice bar and DJ, snow sculptures and of course a hockey game by two area “senior” hockey teams. There was even a “learn to luge” on the mountain to prepare for a luge race on Sunday! 

It was fun to checkout Rossland and walk up and down the streets. It’s a very hilly mining town. Full of young people and young families. Very outdoorsy hardy Canadians. A very different look than Banff Ski Joring event. But… there were a couple of fur jackets!

We had taken the free local shuttle from the mountain base to Rossland then the same on the return. That was a nice way to get down and back.

Change of Pace XC Ski

Day 17

Ski Day 11

Blackjack Cross Country Ski Trails

Red Mountain BC

Trail ticket: $16 US

Saturday January 24 2026

Temp: 20?F

By this time we’vehad enough of skiing groomed runs amd saw no reason to repeat yesterday with similar temps and conditions. Jim found a XC ski trail just 2km away.

We hadn’t pulled out this set of skis yet and we were both looking forward to moving more. The trails were described as “fast”. No surprise there! We stuck to the green. It was about a 6 mile round trip. Mostly up all the way to a former mining cabin and then back down. I was comfortable all the way up but the descent was mostly shady, fast and chilly. Again… stinging, cold fingers. About 1/2 way down Jim gave me a pair of his gloves and that helped quite a bit. I do have warmer mitts but I forgot to bring them. I mistakenly thought the sunshine and skiing would keep my fingers toasty warm.

To avoid going down too fast on the fast track, I kept one ski in the track and use the other to snowplow. This works really well for me as far as control.

There were several small groups of people on the trail today on a sunny Saturday. There was one group that seemed like an adult ski team of sorts on a training ski. They all had the same blue jackets on.

After skiing we made a nice warm lunch in the van before heading down the mountain to the town of Trail. Trail has an aquatic center open to the public where we could shower (and hot tub or swim)! The senior rate was $5 US. It was Saturday afternoon and the pool was filled with children, teens and families! The former recreation director in me loved seeing this usage. It continues to astonish me that my home community of Billings MT refuses to support (pay for) a community center that includes an indoor swimming facility!! It has been voted down in the past. I just don’t understand that people can’t see the value in such a resource for a community. I could go on about this but I’ll spare y’all. (sigh)

Winter Carnival events we missed on Saturday were a rail jam on a downtown street and a bobsled race on a downtown street. Rossland is a very hilly mining town so the events on the streets have a natural decline! Good reason to spend just one more day/evening at Red Mountain/Rossland!

After a refreshing shower we headed back to our Red Mountain parking lot campsite and making dinner. Tonight was not free… we were there for the parking lot attendant.

Tomorrow we return to the USA. Our goal is Missoula MT. It’s about a 6+ hour drive plus a time zone change. Our plan is to have breakfast in Salmo BC. There’s a good restaurant there.

And We’re Out…

Day 18

Sunday January 25 2026

Travel Day. Red Mountain to Missoula MT

Long drive. 6+ hours plus time change

We made it to Salmo BC (just south of Nelson BC) for breakfast about 8:30am. We first discovered this restaurant on our bicycle Selkirk Loop trip. Salmo is extremely small but has this great breakfast/lunch cafe. Pretty unusual offering for a small town cafe and a good bakery too.

Once again we were following our bike route back into the USA border crossing at Nelway. Only open 8am-6pm. Then into the town of Metaline Falls and Newport WA following the Pend Orielle River just before it joins the Columbia Rive. It joins just above the US/Canada border.

We then headed south to Couer d Alene ID and on the Interstate 90 to Missoula MT. Tomorrow we will continue east to Billings… about a 5 hour drive to conclude this great skiing/adventure van trip!

We were hoping to ski at one more resort… Schweitzer… in Sand Point ID but the snow conditions were even more dismal there. They have far less snow than Canada and haven’t had fresh snow in 15 days and the snow before that has been minimal. Sad season happening in the west this winter. 

It’s been a mixed blessing with no new snow. The driving has been inconsequential.  We’ve only had one day of snowy driving weather. The roads have been clear and dry so it’s been easy for us to travel to 7 different ski areas. 

It’s been really fun skiing around and learning all these different areas. They have all been a lot of fun (groomer only) but we can’t help but wonder how much better it would be if we could ski off piste. It looks like there would be many fun runs, tree runs, open bowls etc. 

Every resort has its differences and its charms. It’s hard to pick favorites… something about each one stands out.

To compile the resorts in order of visit:

1 Fernie 2 Panorama 3 Lake Louise 4 Banff Sunshine 5 Sun Peaks 6 Revelstoke 7 Red Mountain 8 Blackjack XC

If everything goes as planned this winter and snow starts to arrive in the USA we hope to ski in Colorado, Utah and maybe Lake Tahoe area of California. I have lots of family near Tahoe. And of course we will spend most of February skiing our home mountain of Big Sky MT. Looking forward to all of it.

Thanks for coming on our Canadian Ski Adventure. I’ll write again in the near future…I hope😊

Home sweet home…

Day 19