The hosts, Anthony and Helen, are kind, thoughtful, and helpful, with plenty of local skiing knowledge. They renovated an old dairy barn into their home and have lent us snowshoes and sleds on earlier visits. Their son Oliver, now 10, sleeps downstairs beside the two guest rooms, while they sleep upstairs. Out back, the working barn has laying hens, miniature donkeys, goats, and a rooster. My son has enjoyed collecting breakfast eggs with Emmy, their Austrian sheep dog. This is our fifth visit, and the reasons are split between the hosts, the lodge, and Red Mountain's unspoiled terrain. The location is at the end of a road on 13 acres of pristine forest, only 4 miles (6 km) from Red Mountain. Behind the lodge, there's a hilly clearing for sledding, building snow people, or just playing in the snow, with a path from there into quiet forest. The Kootenay Mountain views are spectacular. We like to sit in the nook outside our room early in the morning, wrapped in a thick wool blanket, and watch the light come up and mist settle over the mountains. The blue guest room is bright and has a similar view; the green room is across the hall. The guest level has knotty wood ceilings and earth-tone concrete floors with radiant heat, plus extra Swiss blankets to keep things cozy. Our room has a mini-frig with local milk and assorted juice boxes, and organic coffee and tea-making items on top. Fresh water is refilled daily. Dishes, utensils, and a wine opener are in a bureau in the sitting nook outside the room. The large claw-foot tub, plenty of towels, and bath supplies are lovely touches. There's local and Canadian native art on the walls. Upstairs, a big open room has old, wide-plank floors and picture windows looking out over even more of the Kootenays. The long communal breakfast table is beside the open kitchen and wood-burning stove, where boots and mittens dry. Breakfast is filling and delicious, with things like frittatas, porridge, or eggs with salsa and corn tortillas. The breakfasts are vegetarian and healthy, like the hosts. For rainy days, the sitting nook has a large screen with HDMI and lightning connectors for streaming movies over the free Wi-Fi from your own computer or tablet, plus a handful of DVDs and a DVD player. The motivation to come ski at Red Mountain is now just as much the hosts and the Red Barn Lodge as the mountain itself. If you love the outdoors and want to be welcomed like family, I highly recommend considering the Red Barn Lodge.
