Why RED Mountain is a natural selection, in five photos

RED Mountain top 5 with Dave Heath

In Dave's own words, here are the stories behind his five favourite photos from his time shooting at RED Mountain.

1. Old Glory & the Bald Bomber

“This shot is taken from the top of Granite Chair. That is Old Glory in the background and my buddy 'the Bald Bomber' Brian Cross. He skis extensively at RED, he's the owner of Mount Carlyle Backcountry Lodge, a true powder hound.” 

“It’s a picture from a Powder Magazine feature, “schuss”, which was displayed all in black and white.

For the shoot I rounded up a bunch of skis, old leather boots and a collection of pipes from around town including the Rossland Museum.”

An homage to the old days of skiing and how timeless things are.

2. Secret RED cliff drop with Michelle Rudel

Local RED ripper Michelle Rudel dropped this cliff circa 2019, just off the Headwall at RED, one of the secret spots off a run, in bounds, that has been in more than a few of Dave’s shots over the years. 

“Mount Roberts, the slack country area, can be seen on the right-hand side of this shot,” explains Heath.

Mount Roberts is not where they run the cat though, explained Heath, that's on Mt Kirkup on the Paradise side of the Resort. In-resort cat skiing is one of RED's unique offerings.

3. Drifting clouds over RED Mountain

This shot really represents part of the landscape, showing the top of Red with the microwave towers, with the lift coming through.

“I like the whole 360 skiing here, it’s what makes it so great. There is no traversing at RED, other places you can spend the day side-stepping and traversing, which sucks, especially for snowboarders, but that’s not an issue here,” explains Heath.

He gets one of RED’s most unique factors, that everything all just falls off the top via epic runs and catches you at the bottom. Right off the top of Red and Granite Mountains, you can head off in any direction.

4. "Powder Blue" early laps

“This is in Powder Fields, first run before anyone got there. That's Peter Velvsic skiing, a classic Powder Fields shot,” explains Heath.

“It is a really challenging mountain, incredible terrain, the energy and the skiing vibe is all time, it’s not made up," says Heath.

"It’s genuine and the people love it, they love their mountain and the skiing there. I’ve spent a few seasons there and the passion really comes through."

5. Orange you glad it's powder

“Obviously it's epic pow, but also I love the terrain, as it is super steep, just near the run Roots, it falls away into steep layers of pillows and waterfalls."

"The skier is Tristan Martin Preney,” says Heath.

This shot is from two winters ago on a deep epic dump in January, those snorkel days RED is known for.

Heath’s spent a good part of his life dedicated to #theGoodLifeatRED and it shows. And now you know exactly where to score the goods.

When you go

YETI Natural Selection touches down at RED Mountain around the end of January. If you're keen to watch the action, here is all the event info as released by RED on Nov 2, 2023.

Watch the RED Mountain website for updates.

About the photographer

One of the most prolific and unique action sports photographers in the world today, Dave Heath’s unique photographic style has long been a staple in action sports publications the world over. 

Dave Heath was a Senior Photographer at Powder Magazine, and with Bike Magazine and Skier Magazine. His work has also been published in: Ski, Skiing, Pacific Yachting, Freeze, Fall Line (UK), Snowboard Life, Snowboard Canada, Windsurfing Magazine, Outside, Men’s Journal and more.

You can check out more of his work on Instagram @daveheathphoto.