Anticipation was as heavy as snow on the Rossland Range after a summer of waiting when Red Mountain Resort prepared to open the hill last weekend for its new season.
But Rosslanders and the rest of the skiing world will have to wait a few more days to access the new runs at Red’s Grey Mountain as crews finished the finishing touches and testing on the new lifts.
As a result, Grey Mountain lift opening is slated for one week after the regular Red runs opened, with the chairlift scheduled to begin operation Friday, Dec. 20.
An inaugural ribbon cutting ceremony for the new lift will take place in the later part of January.
The loss of Grey did not damper the excitement of opening day, however, with a solid stream of skiers and snowboarders making their pilgrimage to the hallowed runs.
Red Mountain Resort had its Silverlode, Motherlode, Paradise, T-Bar and Carpet lifts, and the day lodge and Paradise Lodge fully operational for opening day last Saturday.
However, the Terrain Park was not available on opening day, but the park will be open as soon as snow conditions permit it to operate safely.
Cat skiing
Red inbounds cat skiing opens Friday, Dec. 27.
The resort will offer single ride cat skiing service Wednesday thru Sunday, with private rentals available Monday and Tuesday throughout the ski season.
For an update on Red’s cat skiing terrain, call guest services at 250-362-7384.
Filling the rafters
Rafters Bar in the Red base lodge is now open for the season and for dinner. Food service hours at Rafters this season are 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, and 11a.m.-9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Rafters’ bar service is open to 1:30 a.m. nightly, except Sunday when it is open until 12:30 a.m.
Look for the 2013 Skullcandy Music Series in 2014 with five national rock acts throughout the winter season.