Bill Stevens
“I guess it all started with a group of people, Newt Robinson, Saul Rothman and others that loved skiing and wanted to start a ski club. They hired Chess Edwards from Banff to come out and coach. They had one goal on their minds, to get athletes to the Olympics. The vision was clear and that is what happened. George Merry made it to the Olympics and from him there has always been someone to look up to. The community is always behind the athletes 100%.”


Gary Aikien
“I think as an organization the Red Mountain Racers have, over the years, had some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable people a program could ask for. The parents, coaches, ski hill personnel and volunteers have always been and hopefully always will be the best. The other consistent is to me the terrain. I can't remember any group of kids from Rossland that didn't get a jolt of the "Cliff" at the necessary age. Long Live The Red Mountain Shuffle.”


Don Stevens
“The terrain at Red Mountain is difficult and easily accessible. As a young skier, you never see this terrain as something that is impossible, but as something that your older brother or older friends do, so why can’t I! Having high caliber racers within the club and teaching us gave us dreams that we knew would come true. I also had my father to look up to; he skied on the National Team as well. His dreams for me were always a positive motivator. Rossland has an incredible supportive community when it comes to ski racing. The executive committee has always had a deep history and knowledge about skiing; this gives the club good vision and know how to develop a young racer. The people behind the Red Mountain Racers are as driven to succeed, the coaches, the parents, the athletes themselves, are all very much part of the club’s success.”

Felix Belczyk
“Do you know that many clubs in Canada are stoked when one of there own makes the national team but that in Red Mountain Ski Club history it has never not had representation on the National Ski Team. I think the clubs racers success comes from a mountain which breeds skiers who truly love skiing. Red Mountain’s terrain is so interestingly varied and challenging that it is unparalleled in the world for a mountain its size. As a kid a normal day of skiing would include thrashing the VW sized moguls under Red Chair’s lift line, carving non stop down Granite’s Main Run, and hitting a few big cliffs in the Powder Fields; all before the word extreme free skiing was ever invented. On top of that you throw in the rich history of excellence and you become a club like the Montreal Canadiens where you are expected to win.”

Kerrin Lee-Gartner
“Growing up as a member of the Red Mountain Racers was the greatest way to spend the winters in Rossland. Not only did we have one of the best mountains to ski on, we also had legends attached to the racing club. Personally, it made a huge impact on me to know that Nancy Greene was also from Rossland. She learned to ski on Red Mountain, Nancy was one of us! I believe that the contact young skiers have with successful racers from the past helps breeds belief that they can do it too! Representing Canada and Red Mountain Racers at the Olympics is a dream that all racers from Red Mountain can believe in!”

Derek Trussler
“I think Red Mountain produces so many national team members because the ski area and local community provide a complete package for an athlete to reach their full potential. First of all you have an unbelievable variety of terrain available on Red and Granite. Whatever kind of skiing you want, it is there! Red Mountain Resorts and the community have always been very supportive to the ski club over the years allowing the racers to feel like they are home and welcome. The tightness of the community always helps too. All of my closest friends raced when we were kids and it was easy to push each other to achieve our personal bests. You can’t deny the history of the place either. When you are a member of the Red Mountain Racers you know who preceded you! The club has always gone out of its way to provide great coaches to guide those athletes along their journey. Lastly, dedicated volunteers and enthusiastic parents (people who really believe in the sport) have always been an integral part of this club. Long live RMR!”

Sean Valentine
“I feel that one of the main reasons for the success of the Red Mountain Racers is that there has always been a strong belief amongst the athletes, parents, coaches, and community, that it is possible for athletes to succeed from our club. For decades, we have always had an athlete (or athletes) on the Provincial and National Teams from our community to look up to and to be proud of. How many towns in our province, country, world, can say they have been such a major contributor to a single sport? As well, the communities support for our local athletes has always been strong, as proven by the many volunteers at our local races, countless”

Nancy Greene-Raine
“I started to ski when I was three. My parents were founding members of the Red Mountain Ski Club and helped build one of Canada's first chairlifts in 1947 . I still remember the fuss everyone made the first time I skied by myself down the Cliff, probably about age five. There's no doubt that in the early years just skiing on Red Mountain gave you a terrific advantage.
Even back in the 40s and 50s ski racing was big at Red Mountain. The club hosted international intercollegiate ski races, and George Merry was the first Red Mountain racer to race in the Olympics, in 1952. I remember hanging out in the ski lodge listening to the stories of the 1956 Olympics and then the 1958 World Championships. I was 14 and was very impressed that a Canadian, Lucile Wheeler had won two gold medals, Canada's first ever World Championship in skiing. That was when I really got interested in ski racing -- influenced by those who had gone before.
By 1960 four out of the nine Canadian ski racers at the Squaw Valley Olympics were from Rossland, including my sister and I. When my roommate Anne Heggtveit won a gold medal, I knew I could do it too, but I knew I would need help.
Training in Europe was the only way to improve in those days but it was expensive. It was truly wonderful how the club put on a community fund drive to raise the money to send Verne Anderson (who later became my coach) and myself to train and race in Europe. Within a few years there was a National Ski Team fund, but the early funding from Rossland made all the difference.
Red Mountain's challenging terrain and the generous support of the people of Rossland and Trail gave me my chance to become a champion. Those two ingredients are still a huge factor for young aspiring ski racers today. In Rossland, every kid knows that if they dream big, work hard and go for it -- they can be a champion too.”

Red Mountain Racers, www.redmountainracers.org, is a very successful ski club. With a very small population to draw from, this is an incredible feat. The hard wear that Red Mountain Racers can claim contribution to is as follows:

2 Olympic Gold Medals
1 Olympic Silver Medal
27 World Cup Medals
2 World Championship Medals
1 World Junior Championship Gold Medal

The Alumni List of the Red Mountain Racers who were on the National Alpine ski Team and the National Alpine Development Ski Team

George Merry 1952
Bill Stevens 1954-1958
John Platt 1958-1962
Don Brunkeski 1960
Verne Anderson 1960-1962
Elizabeth Greene 1960
Nancy Greene 1960-1968
Sandra Osborne 1959-1961
Ginger Edwards 1960-1962
Pat Nora 1960
Monica Barrett 1961-1963
Barbara Deane 1961-1963
Doug Wellcock 1962-1963
Mickey Johnson 1962-1964
Butch Boutry 1963
Guy Christie 1964
Pam Aiken 1969-1970
Teresa Delich 1969-1970
Grant Rutherglen 1973-1974
Gary Aiken 1973-1975
Jack Woods 1975-1976
Janet Zanier 1976-1977
Diana Haight 1980-1987
Brian Fry 1982
Felix Belczyk 1982-1991
Stan Hanson 1982-1983
Donald Stevens 1984-1990
Chris McIver 1984-1987
Kerrin Lee Gartner 1984-1993
Hans Edblad 1985
Derek Trussler 1985-1987
Peter Bosinger 1986-1989
Rob Bosinger 1986-1990
Sean Valentine 1993-1995
Kevin Wert 1994-1999
Lindsey Roberts 1993-1997
David Anderson 1999-current

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