{"id":23284,"date":"2018-01-09T09:26:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T17:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=23284"},"modified":"2020-05-22T13:06:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T20:06:29","slug":"red-mountain-sets-out-to-become-a-ski-area-co-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/red-mountain-sets-out-to-become-a-ski-area-co-op","title":{"rendered":"Red Mountain Sets Out to Become a Ski Area Co-Op"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Mountain, British Columbia, raises $1.8 million through crowdfunding campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reno Debasio pushes off the Granite chairlift at Red Mountain, in Rossland, British Columbia, sparking hellos from fellow skiers. At 82 years old and having spent over six decades at Red, Debasio, a longtime volunteer ski patroller, is somewhat of a local celebrity.<\/p>\n

He and I spend the morning cruising around the mountain and catching up with friends while he gives me a history lesson about Red and the town of Rossland, which sits just downhill from the base. Debasio\u2019s life has been intertwined with this mountain since its humble ski-club beginnings. \u201cIt still feels like a community-run ski hill,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In fact, that\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s trying to become. In August 2016, the ski area\u2019s CEO Howard Katkov launched a first of its kind public ownership campaign called \u201cFight The Man. Own The Mountain<\/a>,\u201d a crowdfunding effort to turn the ski area from privately owned into a full-fledged co-op.<\/p>\n

Open initially only to Canadians, the online campaign on its first day set the largest single-day amount for an equity crowdfunding project in Canada. It drew in over $508,000 CAD, according to the crowdfunding site FrontFundr. This past November, the site opened up the fundraising\u00a0to Americans, and by December 1, 2017, they\u2019d exceeded their $1.5 million funding goal, raising roughly $1.8 million in total.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Seth Holton\/Red Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

Red Mountain, the third-oldest ski area in North America, saw its first skiers in the late 1800s, Scandinavians who traveled to Rossland during the Gold Rush. The Red Mountain Ski Club formed the backbone of the town\u2019s rich skiing history. Since 2004, when Katkov bought the mountain from a group of private investors, Red\u2019s been slowly modernizing and expanding.<\/p>\n

Now with 4,200 skiable acres, the ski area has strategically-placed lifts that opened up new zones such as Granite, Grey and Kirkup, where a snowcat ride to even more inbounds terrain costs $10 CAD. There have also been renovations to on-mountain lodges and a new four-star hotel, The Josie, is set to open at the base this winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Mammoth when it was four bucks a day to ski. That\u2019s the culture I was used to and what I still like today,\u201d says Katkov. \u201cIt\u2019s just an amazing community that has authenticity, soul and friendliness, which is getting few and far between with resort consolidation \u2026 I\u2019m just the caretaker of this endangered species.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Ryan Flett\/Red Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

Red\u2019s crowdfunding campaign launched just two weeks after Vail Resorts acquired Whistler Blackcomb in August 2016, just one in a string of major resort consolidations, including the emergence of Aspen\u00a0Skiing-KSL\u00a0Capital Partners, which now owns Squaw Valley, Aspen\u2019s four mountains, Mammoth and more. According to the National Ski Areas Association, 44 ski resorts across North America are now in the hands of four corporations. The upside of those mergers is that season-pass prices have dropped (see, for example, Stowe<\/a> and Whistler<\/a>\u2019s current pass prices under Vail\u2019s ownership) and more joint passes now offer access to multiple mountains.<\/p>\n

At Red, Katkov knew skiers already had a relationship with the mountain and might be open to creating a different future for Red. Plus, Katkov was fascinated by the traction crowdfunding sites were giving brands, so when he learned from a friend how private companies can get equity from non-accredited investors, he set out to establish the campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe became a touch point for people who remember the ski areas where they spent their youth,\u201d Katkov says. \u201cThese places are disappearing not just as ski resorts, but as places where people grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katkov wants Red to be a place everyone can afford to visit. He hopes to keep ticket prices the same (a day ticket costs $75 CAD if you buy in advance, which is relatively affordable compared to equally sized resorts) and not raise rates on lodging and food. A modern-day hostel is opening this winter next to the new hotel that will provide rooms for $40 a night. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to disenfranchise young people for kick-ass skiing,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you want 25 restaurants and spas everywhere, then don\u2019t invest here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Ryan Flett\/Red Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

The fundraising capital from donations gives people a sense of ownership in the mountain, and even though they\u2019re not voting members, they\u2019ll become part of the extended family of Red Mountain.<\/p>\n

Tiered ownership perks for investors include things like season passes, lift tickets and artist-designed skis. The money they raise\u2014the fundraising will remain open until April 2018\u2014will support on-hill capital improvements like the renovation of the go-to lunch spot on the mountain, Paradise Lodge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has taken on a life of its own,\u201d Katkov says about the campaign. \u201cPeople want to be a part of something, protecting something they love that doesn\u2019t exist anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red Mountain, British Columbia, raises $1.8 million through crowdfunding campaign. Reno Debasio pushes off the Granite chairlift at Red Mountain, in Rossland, British Columbia, sparking hellos from fellow skiers. At 82 years old and having spent over six decades at Red, Debasio, a longtime volunteer ski patroller, is somewhat of a local celebrity. He and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":23285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[727,59,364],"internal-tag":[1683],"class_list":["post-23284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-snowsports","tag-latest-posts","tag-ski","tag-snowsports","internal-tag-pre-redirect-snowsports"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/red-mountain-sets-out-to-become-a-ski-area-co-op","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Red Mountain Sets Out to Become a Ski Area Co-Op","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/red-mountain-sets-out-to-become-a-ski-area-co-op","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/red-mountain-sets-out-to-become-a-ski-area-co-op"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/12\/RFlett__Families_Feb2_2016_300dpi-031.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/12\/RFlett__Families_Feb2_2016_300dpi-031.jpg?fit=3000%2C2030"},"articleSection":"Snowsports","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["latest posts","ski","snowsports"],"dateCreated":"2018-01-09T17:26:33Z","datePublished":"2018-01-09T17:26:33Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T20:06:29Z"},"rendered":"