Rossland

Kootenay Rockies

Columbia Británica

Canadá

Lone Star Motel

Red Barn Lodge

Angela's B&B and Guest House

The Josie Hotel, Autograph Collection

Red Mountain Village

Prestige Mountain Resort Rossland

Red Mountain Resort

Ram's Head Inn

Red Shutter Inn

Mountain Shadow Hostel

Lone Star Motel - Rossland, BC

Rossland Lions Community Campground

Nowhere Special Hostel

SureStay By Best Western Rossland Red Mountain

The Flying Steamshovel

The Wild Turkey Inn

The Crescent

Casa Alpina Motel

Rossland Bike Retreat

resort.fhr.heroTitle

Red Mountain

British Columbia

Monday January 19, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 8 of 8

9am Conditions:
19 degrees (F) base.  27 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Just push play & repeat.  Yup - another inversion day.  Groundhog Day - exactly the same as the past three days.    

Crazy  —  the Mid-West and East Coast are getting hammered with snow and single digit temps.  Here - once the lift propels you past mid-mountain - brilliant sunshine / Blue Bird Sky / and 30°.  My warmest snowboarding trip I've ever.  Soft goods: base layer top / under a black Led Zeppelin T-shirt.  Base layer bottom.  Burton AK shell top and bottom. 

Silver & MotherLoad lifts to get me to the top of Granite Mountain.  Once there - I spent the entire day on the Paradise lift.  A cornucopia of flat Blues and Greens that face the sun  - softened up early in the day = 10:30am.  It was definitely the place to be.

Lessons by JAB: 
"J" from Seattle - My Man.  Good to see you again.  I'm glad you're following the blog.
"A" from Portland - my apologies - here we go - now pay attention - you too one day can be an unemployed 58-year old, heavily drinking snowboarder.
"A" just moved from Minnesota to Portland for a new job.  He's at Red spending time in the mountains before reality hits.  

"A" asks "JAB I'm in my early 30's and already time is flying by - what can I do to slow things down".  "A" this is an affliction I often see in my Life Coaching practice -  a psychological paradox explained by fewer novel experiences, more routine, and potentially a slowing internal biological clock.  Here's the problem - this should not happen in your early 30's.  This is a very serious condition - but I can help.  Much too serious to confront on the computer - Tuesday - Rafters - after last chair - direct one-on-one coaching is needed.  Once you pay for my beers - you'll be cured. 
 
PENULTIMATE RUN:
Top of Granite Mountain to Base.  Via Boardwalk / SouthSide / Easy Street / Northern Belle.  Non-stop 15-minute leg-burner as measured by my Detroit Watch Company Great Lakes Diver GMT    (never gets old typing that).

1st BEER:
Rafters - Kootenay IPA.

Tunes - MLK DAY!: (curated - as is everyday ----  if you look closely)
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".  MLK

U2 / The Unforgettable Fire  "For the Reverend Martin Luther King --- Sing"
George Michael / Listen Without Prejudice "It's the one good thing that I  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Got"
Rhythm Corp / Common Ground - Go ahead and hardwire this album to my Auditory Cortex and put on constant loop for the rest of my life - that's all I'll need. 

RockOn

JAB


JABSportsUSA

Sunday January 18, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 7 of 7

9am Conditions:
21degrees (F) base.  34 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Yup - another crazy inversion day.  Groundhog Day - exactly same as Saturday.  

The lower runs are "fair to miserable".
The upper runs are "fair to tolerable".

After 11am-ish everything off the Paradise Chair was fine.  Above the clouds / sunny / warm - the vise grip on my edges softens and I'm not terrified to crash on rock hard cement.  For the first time, I experienced a lift line.  Everyone had the same idea. Add "local days" for $50 bucks and the high school racing teams - the lines at Paradise lasted until about 12noon.    

Lessons by JAB: 
Paradise Chair 11:45am.  "TomEzz" from Toronto was proudly riding in his Maple Leafs jersey.  Started riding last year on local Ontario hills - five days last year.  Second day here at Red Mountain.  TomEzz asks "JAB how many more days until you think I can confidently hit most runs"?

JAB:  TomEzz - I'm sorry - but the Leafs s^&k - you'll never learn in that jersey.

HOUSE-KEEPING - Again and Again and Again (thank you Commodos Again):
My demise is imminent.  Please use the app and not the web site.
App. Store: OnTheSnow
     Search Red Mountain BC
            First hand reports (upper right corner of       your iPhone)
                  JABSportsUSA
 
PENULTIMATE RUN:
Top of Granite Mountain to Base.

1st BEER:
Rafters - Kootenay IPA.

Tunes: 
Always a fan favorite and certainly a JAB favorite.  I give you === LOCAL BAND DAY!!!

QandA - Houston, Tx / 285   (Spotify search "QandA")

Mrs. Jones Detroit, MI  /  Never Look Twice (Spotify search "Mrs. Jones Band Detroit")

Arrow in the Quiver Vancouver, BC  /   Polarity (Spotify "Arrow in the Quiver") - this is absolutely fantastic.  It's super heavy - blasting down "Southern Belle" at Warp 9 with no one in site and a two be*r bu$z --- perfection.

Adrenaline Detroit, MI / Adrenalin 25 years (iTunes search "Adrenalin 25 years")

Two more weeks to go.  For sure I'll have two more local band days with more from the above.  Drop whatever you're doing right now! - and down load the above albums.

People, what blog gives you content like this?  MMMM?  Anyone?  What's that? Bueller?  Voodoo Economics?  Well???  No one.  This blog is your salvation.  D$% I deserve the Nobel.

RockOn

JAB


Summit 9:30 AM, Saturday, January 17, 2026

Saturday January 17, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 6 of 6

9am Conditions:
21degrees (F) base.  28 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Yup - another crazy inversion day.  

At the base:  Dark.  Dismal.  Cold.    

At the summit: Sunny.  Warm.  Softer-ish-sorta-kinda-barely-noticeable-but-just-enoughish-to-stay-at-elevation-ish.  The first picture is the base at about 9am.  The second picture is the summit at about 9:30am.  The conditions on the lower runs - were - well there's only one word to describe it = "hard as a rock" (don't question my math).  The base remained 'X-Men Days of Future Past' apocalyptic and dystopian.  I stayed up-top.  Wire-to-wire.  All day.  First on.  Last off.

Back To Regularly Scheduled Programming:
On       The     Snow --------- I'm blushing.  You shouldn't have. Stop it.  I'm flattered.  I think we just got to "second base".  If there was ever a posting to shut me off, it was yesterday.  But you didn't. Thank you.   "CL", you're back in my good graces. Please meet me at Rafters Sunday at 4:00 PM to buy me beers.  Better yet - just send your wife with your credit card.   

Lessons by JAB: 
New Life.  The bit continues.  I haven't given up  -    yet.
1:15pm MotherLoad Chair.    "J" from Seattle asks "I'm 31 - how can I retire in my 50's so I can snowboard #21 straight days"?'   

JAB:  You're off to a good start.  Your company has a matching 401k - excellent!  You must put in the full 6% to maximize the 4% match.  That's still not enough - you can put upto 15% + the 4% match.  That's alot - but still not enough.  That 19% is in a "qualified" plan - you can't get to it until you're 59 1/2.  You still need "non-qualified" savings of 6%.  This is a total gross saving of 25% of your pay.  Daunting.  Yes.  Here's the key: Dump your family.  Yup - you heard me.  Birthday & Christmas presents.  Dinners out.  Anniversaries --- blah blah blah.  All a money drain.  You have to ask yourself "What's really matters in life"?  You'll get there.

HOUSE-KEEPING - Again and Again and Again (thank you Commodos):
I can only post to the OnTheSnow app - not the web site.  Soon - you'll only be able to read posts from the app.  Get the app. from itunes or the app. store.  "This is the way".
 
PENULTIMATE RUN:
Top of Grey Mountain.  To 'Long May You Run' to 'Easy Street' to base.  #14 minutes non-stop as timed by my Detroit Watch Company  - Great Lakes Diver GMT.  

1st BEER:
The Josie Hotel - Fernie Brewing Company Hazy IPA.  Wow!  Is this place fancy.  As soon as I walked in -  I felt the condescending stare of the elite crowd.  I heard the whispers 'he's not staying here'...'he's wearing a Motley Crue T-Shirt'......'I think he's from Detroit - get rid of him'.  I'm used to it.

Seattle - way to represent and take over a bar.  That's the most Seahawks swag I've ever seen.  Now I know what the Seattle 1% A-Listers do on weekends - Josies at Red Mountain.  Sorry I couldn't stay and watch the game with you.  I had to — you know  --- hike down to bus stop.  20-minute ride to town.  20-minute hike to my abode.  This places me firmly in the B-minus crowd.

Tunes: 
Kings of Leon  /  Come Around Sundown
Pearl Jam  /   Vs.
The Glorious Sons  /  Young Beauties and Fools (W.I.R)
Madonna  / Ray of Light

RockOn

JAB


Friday January 16, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 5 of 5 

9am Conditions:
28 degrees (F) base.  23 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  The mountain is solid ice.  It's no one's fault.  There's no snow in the forecast for over a week.  I appreciate the Red Mountain staff grooming everything in sight.  Also -  thank you for cranking the snow blowers at the base and on the terrain park - it made the night session fairly fun.

Lessons by JAB: 
This might be the Coda to this verse (Lessons by JAB) if not the entire symphony (annual snowboarding blog)......who's to blame? - Besides me? --- I give you ====

"CL" from Seattle.  Smart dude.  Bought a place here in 2012.  Man - you were ahead of the curve.  He's here with his hot babe (it's a term of endearment — not misogynistic), dog and two cats.  "CL" asks "How many millionaires and billionaires will it take to get rid of Trump?".

Ohhhh boy.  I'm following things in Minnesota.  There's a legal term "Time, Place & Manner".  "OnTheSnow" is certainly not the "Place".  Facebook, InstaGram, WeChat, Reddit, Discord......on and on and on - would be the "Place" - but I'm not on any of them.  Why not?  Who would "Friend" or "Like" or "Follow" me?  No one.   I have no redeeming qualities other than I'm good at drinking and snowboarding -  that's it.

In an effort not to get kicked off this website (if I do -OnTheSnow  - I completely understand) I'll leave you with two quotes:

"Do the Right Thing - not the Permissible Thing"  JAB January 16, 2026.

"We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”  Senator John F. Kennedy September 13, 1960.

Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow?   Hopefully.

JAB

Thursday January 15, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 4 of 4

9am Conditions:
32 degrees (F) base.  32 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Sunny.  Warm.  Perfect visibility.  Sounds great - right?  Yes - of course it's great.  Six hours every day in the mountains.  It's awesome.  I cherish it and recognize what a privilege it is.  --- That said - I'm greedy.  I want it all.  1st Chair again today.  Two lifts to get to the top of Grey Mountain.  I strap in.  I'm in awe - an ocean of perfectly groomed Green and Blue Corduroy has bent its knee to me.  I'm ready to Knight it and rip it to shreds.  I drop in - all I hear and feel is metal grinding on what sure feels like metal.  The thaw / freeze gestation period is quicker than rabbits = 12 hours.   Slush during the day quickly freezes overnight.  My board's edges are no match for the #2,700 vertical feet of concrete I have get down.  I can't do "chatter".  The human foot consists of #26 bones - all were screaming at me.  I had to limp to the lodge until the mountain softened up - around 11am.  1st day of night skiing tomorrow - I think I'll sleep in.

Lessons by JAB: 
As I said yesterday - this bit is not working.  Four days.  Only one question.  Today's contestant "C'on down" = "Breezy" from Castlegar, BC.  Another former Ontarian that moved to BC four years ago.  About #20 days a year at Red and #15-ish days a year riding back country.
Again people - we have a defined time period (chair lift ride) for you to ask me a  life   or  finance   or  a sports question - that impacts YOU.  I then tell you to watch the blog for the answer tomorrow.  What the h$** does Breezy do - he asks ME "JAB what's the biggest money mistake you've made in your life".  I seriously debated just making something up - but I always say - 'what are the Thee C's of credit'.  Answer: Character.  Character.  Character.  OK, I'll answer it.  In my #34 year former life  -about every other year I would get an offer "JAB - I got a great idea - are you in?".  The answer was always "No".

SHOUT OUT TO HARRY at Red Sports.  My high back binding cable broke at the nut.  He MacGyver'd female & male bolts and a conical washer - that all worked.  Harry - I'm gonna night ski tomorrow - but first a beer break between sessions.  4pm Rafters.  Beers on me.

HOUSE-KEEPING:
I can only post to the OnTheSnow app - not the web site.  Soon - you'll only be able to read posts from the app.  Get the app. from itunes or the app. store.  It’s free.  "This is the way".
 
PENULTIMATE RUN:
Terrain Park to Base.  

1st BEER:
Rossland, BC F.O.B.  Okanagan Spring Ale.

Tunes: 
Katy Perry  /  Teenage Dream
Avril Lavigne  /  Under My Skin (W.I.R) 
The White Stripes  /   Icky Thump

RockOn

JAB


Phil

Wednesday January 14, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 3 of 3

9am Conditions:
32 degrees (F) base.  39 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Yes - you read that right.  7 degrees warmer at the summit.  That funky weird inversion phenomenon.  From the base, visibility ended halfway up.  No peaks In a 360° view.  Halfway up the chair lift - you punch through the clouds - Bam!  Unbelievable brilliant blue skies.  Strangely disorienting at the peak - No base.  No Village.  No Rossland - just a carpet of white fully pillows - you could tangibly touch on your way down.  

It was beautiful - not like Majestic Banff / Lake Loise beautiful - way more 'industrial' - think Diego Garcia.   Not Disney Land.  If Big Foot exists - he's here.   I would not want to be stuck overnight in these mountains -  something would eat you for sure.

It was a good day to ride.  All day.  One short Bloody Mary break at 1pm.  1st Chair to Last Chair.  

Lessons by JAB: 
(this section would make much more sense if OnTheSnow would post Day 1 - but we got off to a bad start).

"RGM" from Trail, BC - I enjoyed our moment of intimacy (again OTS - please post Day 1).  RGM is originally from my world (Ontario) - in BC since 1998.  Forestry and Hydro Power - now retired.  Gets about #30 days a season at Red.  He asks, "JAB what's your 'Credo' ".      This bit's not working.  I'm looking for questions that I can give a whimsical, cynical, insulting answers to.  RGM - you don't need my help.  I'm going with "your" answer - "Life's too short to take things too seriously"  Amen Brother.

PENULTIMATE RUN:
Terrain Park to Base.  

1st BEER:
Rossland, BC F.O.B.  Okanagan Pale Ale.

Tunes: 
 Metallica   /   ...And Justice For All
Loverboy  /  Loverboy (when in Rome).
AeroSmith  / Rocks
John 5 / Ghost - First time I've listened to this new album. This is also his first album since joining Motley Crue.
John 5 / Ghost - had to hear it again.  D&m - a Grosse Pointer that's killing it.  Motley at Pine Knob  / Detroit July 20, 2026 ----- John 5 - I'll be there (JSK - jump on those tickets please).

RockOn

JAB

Monday January 12, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 1 of 1

MY PLEDGE:
Dear OnTheSnow (Thought Police) I promise I will:
Keep the posts short.
Stick strictly to snowboarding, the mountain, conditions and the vibe.
Not use your fantastic web site to spew and rant about Rock 'n Roll, beer, gear, sports, politics, cars, watches, guitars, mountain bikes, windsurfing, ,kiting, motorcycles, surf boats, the economy and world affairs.
Not insult Red Mountain, guests, staff, Michigan State U. alumni, fans of the Counting Crows and fans of Celine Dion.

So, there's no reason to censor me this year.  I promise.

8am Conditions:
32 degrees (F) base.  22 summit.  1 inch of fresh snow over night.
Rossland / Red Mtn. BC.  First time here.  Whew.  Made it.  From Detroit - a tough place to get to.  Truly Trains, Planes and Automobiles.  Flight from Detroit to Seattle.  Flight back east to Spokane.  2.5-hour shuttle over the boarder to Rossland.  Hey - I'll take it.  The mountain and the town are great.  Fairly soft at the summit.  Battleship grey visibility everywhere until 12noon.  Stuck to my historic strategy to get my sea-legs:
only rode the ubiquitous greens & blues and;
fakie nearly all day to relieve stress from certain appendages that will swell to grotesque shapes over the next #21 days. 

WHO NEW?
To veterans of this annual blog - I present a new section - 'Lessons by JAB'.  This will help grow my blossoming Life Coaching Practice.  Each day I'll use that special 'moment-of-intimacy' (chair-lift ride) and request a stranger to ask a question in one category: a) life problems or b) business / finance or c) sports.  I'll get my chair mate's permission to post their question.  I'll always use nick-names or initials.  My response will be posted here.

WOW!!!!!! - what a way to start.  My second chair ride 9:05pm - I rode with the "The Queen of  BC" - CINDY B. DEVINE, from Trail, BC.  No $h*# - that's her real name (real name approval rec'd).  This chick is amazing - she's:
2003 inductee to the World Mountain Biking Hall of Fame.  
2025 inductee to the BC Mtn Biking Hall of Fame.
1989 downhill Gold champion at the NORBA world mountain bike championship.
1990 World Downhill Mtn. Bike Champion.  
Top-Five world 1991, 1992, 1993 & 1994.
Winters in Rossland and summers in - where else - The Gorge.  She's a champion windsurfer and kiter - I can't make this $h*# up.  She sails North-Wave-Sails (what other brand would a local sail) and rides North Kites.
Please read about this amazing woman: https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_member/cindy-devine/
Cindy - besides snowboarding - these are my three favorite sports.  My resume's a little different - I've won a total of.....ahh...nothing....My Hall of Fame cred. is....ahh....nothing.  I had to beg for a question - which she wouldn't give me.  She left me with one word - "Abiotrohy" - I had to look it up - Cindy you're just the opposite.

PENULTIMATE RUN:
Corky's Field to Base.

1st BEER:
Rafters.  Abandoned Rail Porter.

Tunes: 
Tool   /   #!^*ma (6 5  5  3 - for JSK)
The Grateful Dead  / In The Dark — Bob Weir -RIP - you'll be missed,
Alanis Morissette  / S.F.I.Junkie - "Dear 'Alanis' You Rock My World" (when in Rome).
Sponge  /  Beer Session 

See OnTheSnow - I kept my promise.

RockOn

JAB

Tuesday January 13, 2026 

Red Mountain, BC

JABSportsUSA

Day 2 of 2

9am Conditions:
30 degrees (F) base.  22 summit.  Zero fresh snow.  Those metrics don't tell the story.  Later in the day it got warm - too warm.  Sunshine peeked through the canopy around 1pm.  Things started getting wet and heavy.  It was spring skiing in mid-January - I didn't like it.  If you ventured off a groomer - you had work to do.  For some reason, I did just that.  Looked like a navigable tree run with virgin snow.  The problem - it was really cement mix masquerading as snow.  10 minutes later I made it to the base in a sweaty exhausted heap.  Ditched the jacket for the rest of the day.

Lessons by JAB: 
"Zach" from Warfield, BC asked "I've skied here for 30 years - I might try to snowboard tomorrow - what do you think"?

People  - please give me something more than a "fast ball down the middle".  Z - yes of course.  Ask yourself  "when's the last time - I did something for the first time".  Snowboard tomorrow - and the answer can be --- today!  

PENULTIMATE RUN:
Southside to Base.  The penultimate run was a struggle.  Full day on the mountain.  First chair to last chair.  My legs are fried.  Can I make it #18 more days?  H$&& yeah.

1st BEER:
Rafters.  Backroads Pale Ale.

Tunes: 
Pearl Jam   /    Pearl Jam     
Honeymoon Suite / Racing After Midnight  (when in Rome).
GretaVanFleet / Anthem of the Peaceful Army.  I think I came to the right place - as I limped to the finish and pulled out my ear buds - what was blasting at the base? GretaVanFleet!

RockOn

JAB

Red Mountain Comentarios de esquiadores

COLUMBIA BRITÁNICA / RED MOUNTAIN

Comentarios y fotos de esquiadores de las pistas de Red Mountain