THE KOOTENAYS - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 411

On the road up to Red Mountain, Rock Cut Pub (3052 Hwy. 3B, 250/362-5814,
11am-11pm daily, $16-25) is busiest in winter but opens year-round for lunch and dinner. It
offers typical pub fare, smartly presented and well priced. Enjoy the mountain surroundings
by eating on the heated deck.
OLAUS JELDNESS: CANADA'S FIRST SKI CHAMPION
In the late 1890s, after the first frantic summer of gold mining on Red Mountain, a
group of prospectors put on a winter carnival, including a ski race down the slopes
of Red Mountain. The organizer was Olaus Jeldness, a legendary Norwegian who
had prospected all over the western United States before moving north of the bor-
der. Jeldness admitted that the mountain was “far too steep and the snow conditions
too extreme” for a proper race. But it went ahead nevertheless. First the competitors
hiked all the way to the summit. Then Jeldness gave the signal to go before strapping
on his own skis and schussing off after the rest of the field. Despite their head start,
Jeldness easily passed the other racers to become Canada's first national champion.
His wooden skis and trophies are housed in the Western Canada Ski Hall of Fame in
the Rossland Museum.
Jeldness was the first of many heroes to have skied the legendary slopes of
“Red”—the mountain has been a breeding ground for more members of the Canadian
National Ski Team than any other resort. Not bad, considering the adjacent town has
just 3,200 residents.
Information
Rossland Visitor Centre (250/362-7722 or 888/448-7444, www.rossland.com , 10am-4pm
daily mid-May-mid-Oct.) is in the museum complex south of downtown, at the corner of
Highway 3B and Columbia Avenue.
TRAIL AND VICINITY
Sprawling along both sides of the mighty Columbia River, Trail (pop. 7,300) lies 10 kilo-
meters (6.2 miles) and 600 vertical meters (2,000 feet) below Rossland. On the edge of
downtown, the world's largest lead and zinc smelter is the foundation of Consolidated Min-
ing and Smelting Co. (Cominco), one of the world's largest mining companies. Head to the
Teck Cominco Interpretive Centre (1199 Bay Ave., 250/368-3144, 9am-5pm daily, free)