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Author: Frank Konsella

CanadaResort SkiingTravel
Frank Konsella

Red Mountain, Rossland BC 3.1.10

After our day in Whitewater, we did the short one hour drive to the town of Rossland. I first visited the area in 2000. After skiing there just a couple of days, I decided to move there the following winter of 2000-2001. That alone should tell you the kind of place Rossland is, and the kind of ski area Red Mountain is. It just felt like home. Of course, that may have to do with the similarities between Crested Butte and Rossland- both have a Paradise chair, both have a Paradise lodge, both have a Rafters bar at the base (Crested Butte has since torn theirs down), both are old mining towns with a ski area 3 miles away. And both places have steep technical skiing rivaling anywhere I’ve been to. On a good day at Red, you’ll find yourself skiing steep glades in 2500′ shots run after run. Red is a workout, for sure.

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Backcountry SkiingCanadaRespect the SnowTravel
Frank Konsella

TR: Roger’s Pass 2.25.10

In 1995, Christian Begin released his award winning movie, “Locomotion”. A ski movie with an actual storyline, Locomotion told the tale of Roger’s Pass and the terrible toll it took on the men who built it. In 1871 Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald promised the people of British Columbia that a transcontinental railway would be built within 10 years, as an incentive for the people of B.C to join the new Canadian Union. Without a railway linking B.C to the rest of Canada, there was strong talk of B.C joining the U.S.A. Unfortunately for Americans who wish they could live in B.C, Roger’s Pass was discovered and the railway was built, though not without the loss of many lives due to avalanches that plagued the route. 58 men were killed in one avalanche alone, on March 4, 1910. Begin’s movie tells the history of this pass, and features the skiing that is now world famous at Roger’s Pass.

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