Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

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Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

nepa
This post was updated on .
There is a fantastic write-up from a few years ago, in the NYSB Magazine highlighting both Red and Whitewater. As described in the article, I would say both have remained fairly low-key.  Whitewater more so than Red.  Recently, Red installed the Grey Mountain chair. A painfully slow fixed grip quad that added a fairly large chunk of acreage to the inbounds total. This new lift fits right in with the other painfully slow lifts at Red.  Red is also developing the main base area.  There is a major project underway now.  To be honest, I'm not sure what it is... but it looks hideous.  Whitewater added the Glory Ridge chair a few years ago... it's an old triple chair.  If there was a race between the chairs at Red, and the chairs at Whitewater... it would end in a tie.  Although there has been some development, both areas still have a fairly primitive feel. Whitewater is accessed via a dirt road.  The Paradise lodge at Red has pit toilets.  If you come looking for fast lifts and groomed snow... you might be disappointed.  

In a nutshell:  I had a friend visiting from PA.  He was blown away by the quantity of snow in the region in general.  With the exception of a dry week or 2, it's been a great season in Eastern BC.  We had a place in Castlegar just outside of town on Arrow Lake reservoir.  This is a great location about halfway between both mountains (45min+/-).  The drive over Strawberry Pass to Red was a bit sketchy early Saturday morning, but it was well worth the risk.  The drive to Whitewater was easy until the access road.  It's a dirt road in winter conditions... perfect crowd repellent.  With the exchange rate, everything including the lift tickets (49 @ Whitewater & 61 @ Red) was pretty cheap.  

It snowed everyday.  The snow at Whitewater was more consistent.  On Thursday at Red, the snow below 5000ft was variable, with high winds and poor visibility, we stayed mostly in the trees.  Saturday was at Red also.  There was over a foot of snow on Friday night.  Good visibility with sun in the morning.  The crowd was light (it was a weekend Powder day?), and we had about 2 hours of riding untracked snow on the mid-angle slopes off the Grey chair.  The snow was good in the early AM but was getting overcooked by 11.  Sun baked aspects were very unpleasant by the early afternoon... shaded slopes and tighter trees were still very enjoyable.  Friday at Whitewater brought consistent dry powder up and down all aspects... not super deep (8in+/-), but light like the crowd.  

If you like scaled down infrastructure with freedom to explore... you should go here.

Summit Side at Whitewater

Glory Ridge Chair at Whitewater

Hiking the Ridge at Whitewater

Snow at Whitewater

Trees at Whitewater

More Trees at Whitewater

Trees at Red

Lines at Red

Granite Mountain at Red

Luxurious Restrooms at Red


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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

JasonWx
great report...bathrooms look similar to Snowbasin..
"Peace and Love"
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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

campgottagopee
RIGHT on

Nice report
frk
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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

frk
I'm heading out there first full week of March. Can't wait. If only gore had such luxury toilets on the mountain.
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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

nepa
frk wrote
I'm heading out there first full week of March. Can't wait.
Good Luck.  You'll have a blast.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed. (as long as you're not looking for fast lifts and groomers )
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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

JTG4eva!
Nice!
We REALLY need a proper roll eyes emoji!!
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Re: Red Mountain, Whitewater, BC: 2/18 - 2/20

raisingarizona
Sweet! I have heard great things about Rossland, Nelson, and those two mountains. Nelson I have been told would be a very cool place to live.