The Red Mountain Racers (RMR) already know that Rossland and the West Kootenay ski community is the best in the country, but they need residents’ help to prove it, and they need it now.
RMR have just entered the Mackenzie Top Peak competition, a virtual race that rallies ski communities across Canada to participate, post, and vote.
Mackenzie Top Peak is a national competition and a call to action for ski communities to show their spirit.
“It’s a little like the Kraft Hockeyville competition that was just on,” said RMR’s Lesley Chisholm. “We could win $50,000 which would go a long way to helping us upgrade our equipment and timing facilities.”
But time is winding down. Voting ends Sunday, Mar. 14 at 9 p.m., and the 10 ski communities with the most points advance to the next round.
“Voting is important, and also posting pictures, because there’s more points on Instagram and Twitter,” said Chisholm. “We still have a bit of work to do, but even if everyone can tell five friends every day that will make it too.”
Photos posted to your Instagram feed (not story) and Twitter (not fleets) are worth five points a post. You need a public account and must use the hashtags #TopPeakRedMountain and #MackenzieTopPeakContest.
“So if you are posting photos from around town or the hill, just add in the respective hashtags. This will get us moving uphill faster!
“Everyone from the region skis at Red, and we have members of the Red Mountain Racers from Castlegar and from Trail and Fruitvale it’s the whole region that skis here.”
And if residents really want to get in on the fun, try the weekly challenges which are also worth five points a post.
Residents can go online at www.mackenzietoppeak.ca/#/challenges and post their version of the Slalom Shimmy, ETF workouts, and RESPect my Peak challenge where individuals sing the praises of their ski community.
Just remember to keep pandemic protocols in mind when you submit your videos and photos.
Red Mt. is currently sitting in the top 14 and needs to be in the top 10 by Sunday.
“If we make that we have one more week to rally points and need to be in the top five by March 21 to have a chance to win.”
Like so many sports, the Red Mountain Racers were unable to compete this season, but would like to rally West Kootenay residents to seize the opportunity to get next year’s ski season started on a positive note.
“It would make a big difference to us if we could get things that need to be updated, and we’ve been talking about timing huts for years and years now, but to get the funds for that, it’s a big chunk of money,” added Chisholm.
At the end of the ski season, a panel of judges will award Canada’s Top Peak with $50,000 to invest in the cause of their choosing.
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