Photo credit: Murray Foubister
Skiers and snowboarders around the world have watched as their favorite places to ride have been swallowed up by ski industry giants. While consolidation isn’t negative in all applications, in recent years, it has turned quaint, locally-loved resorts into Disney-Land-like villages. To companies like Vail Resorts Inc., these changes mean bigger profits, but the powder hounds, who have called these resorts home since their days on the bunny hill, feel much differently.
In classic David versus Goliath fashion, Rossland, British Columbia’s, RED Mountain Resort stood against the Vail Resorts Inc., giant, which swallowed up Whistler Blackcomb, Park City Mountain Resort, Stowe Mountain, Wisconsin’s Wilmot Mountain and Australia’s Perisher Ski Resort in just the last three years. Against all odds, RED Mountain prevailed as the first for-profit resort in history to use the power of online crowdfunding to raise capital. The result — RED is now owned by a collection of Canadian investors who want to retain its old-school feel.
Breaking Records
Photo credit: Murray Foubister
RED Mountain Resort’s web-based fundraiser, “Fight the Man, Own the Mountain,” was more than just the first crowdfunding campaign operated by a ski resort. Red received the largest one-day amount for an equity crowdfunding campaign in the country with more than $394,000 earned. It became obvious to the Red Mountain Ventures CEO Howard Katkov, and everyone involved with the ski resort, that powder junkies were more than concerned about saving this resort’s local feel.
“Red started as a ski club that was owned by the community. You can feel it in the spirit of the place, the camaraderie, the spark,” Katkov said. “We’ve done everything in our power these last 16 years to keep that flame alive and this campaign is simply the latest expression of our intent to keep RED independent and thriving...”
Why Save Red Mountain?
Photo credit: Rob
One question that arises from the results of this campaign is why Red Mountain, among the many resorts acquired by ski industry conglomerates, was the one that required saving. The truth is, the resort’s base of die-hard skiers and snowboarders doesn’t want this historic ski area in the Kootenay Rockies to lose its authentic feel. The resort, founded by Norwegian gold miner and record-setting ski jumper Le Roi in the late 1800s, is known for receiving more than 300 inches of fresh powder each year and birthing some of the greatest ski racers to take the Olympic stage.
At the base of the resort is the charming, former gold rush town of Rossland, British Columbia. With a current population of around 4,000 people, the residents of Rossland, and those who visit for the area’s chest-deep powder every year, weren’t going to let the town’s trendy, locally-owned establishments be overthrown by Vail’s iconic clocktower and cookie-cutter shops.
Photo credit: Murray Foubister
Those who call RED Mountain their home resort weren’t about to let their untouched powder be trampled by billionaire ski enthusiasts, and they hope other ski areas across Canada, America and around the world will follow suit.