RED Mountain Resort launches The Constella: A Cabin Collective.
words :: Todd Lawson.
If there’s one thing that the marketing folks at RED Mountain Resort understand, it’s character.
Often labelled as the most underrated ski resort in Canada, RED’s slopes are filled with actual ski bums who live and breathe the true Kootenay lifestyle. The place oozes with real people, and they pride themselves on offering character and soul as part of the experience.
“RED has always been a bit of an oddball on the North American resort stage and we like it that way!” says CEO Howard Katkov.
To add to the soulful recipe, and to pay homage to the area’s longstanding network of backcountry cabins, RED has just launched The Constella: A Cabin Collective. We had the chance to chat with Erik Kerr, Sales and Marketing Director, to give us some more juicy details on this rad new project.
Mountain Life: First of all, this looks like an amazing project. Who is the brainchild responsible for Constella’s vision?
Erik Kerr: Howard Katkov, our CEO, visualized the idea of cabins and clubhouse as part of our equity crowdfunding campaign, “Fight the Man. Own the Mountain,” that we first launched back in 2016. They were developed as one of the perks for those that participated in the campaign as a tiered reward based on their investment level. He wanted something really special for our new RED “owners” of the campaign and realized these overnight cabins and a clubhouse for the investors and their friends – right in the middle of the mountain – would be pretty hard to beat.
Fast forward a few years and we knew the branding had to reflect how unique this beautiful, overnight experience was. The team and I took Howard’s vision and we decided to utilise the incredible constellations in the night sky as the central theme for the branding of the cabins and clubhouse. We’re extremely excited to have these cabins ready for the world this winter.
ML: I know that there are a few (secret) cabins at RED…were these built to honour the legacy of those on-mountain character cabins?
EK: While the amazing network of historic cabins throughout RED had some influence on this concept, our overnight cabins and clubhouse were actually part of our previous equity crowdfunding campaign, “Fight the Man. Own the Mountain” back in 2016. The access to the clubhouse was one of the tiered perks for Investors of the campaign (and any of their guests) while the overnight cabins were built for both investors and the public to book. Anyone staying at the cabins also has access to the central clubhouse.
ML: The six cabins themselves are all named after constellations. What was the thought process behind that?
EK: To experience one of these cabins overnight is to essentially experience an escape of all escapes. To be nestled high up on the mountain surrounded by snow-covered trees under the Kootenay night sky with silence all around you is something we knew would be such an incredible feeling. Just you and the stars above you. We loved the idea of bringing that star-lit night sky into the branding of the clubhouse and cabins themselves.
ML: The idea of having a central clubhouse for people to meet, mingle and eat seems like a no-brainer? Any plans for future small-group events and such on the mountain, utilizing this space?
EK: There are definitely future plans to utilize the clubhouse down the road for potential one-off events during the winter. All TBD at the moment but we’ve discussed some fun possibilities for sure.
ML: You’re billing it as a backcountry experience for all, and not many people ever get the chance to spend a night in a mountain cabin. Seems like a dream come true for many. Who is your target audience for Constella?
EK: We look at these cabins and the clubhouse in a similar way to our $10/run catskiing operation. For those that have never experienced catskiing, but have wanted to and maybe balked at the price, we offer something for them as an introduction to a wonderful experience. For those that want that amazing backcountry cabin experience, but can’t shell out the thousands of dollars a week, or don’t have the proper skill level to do a backcountry heli or cat trip that’s usually associated with a cabin getaway, we offer the alternative. When you split your own cabin across four people (each cabin sleeps up to five), the cost ends up being around just $175 CAD/person.
Regardless of skill level, a night under the stars with your close friends nestled deep onto the backside of a mountain, is hard to beat.
ML: Let’s end it with a question I’m sure everyone wants to know. Do cabin guests get fresh tracks?
EK: Guests at the cabin will wait like everyone else for the chairs to start spinning and patrol to give the green light to open the mountain. With that being said, the location of the cabins in Paradise Basin and above the Paradise Chair, gives the cabin guests an early and special experience. They’ll definitely be able to get a few untouched laps in before they see another rider around. Fresh tracks indeed!
Interest thus far has been off-the-charts, so you might just wanna hit click this little linky and create your own incredible experience this winter. Hint: invite us!
