The Rossland Ski Club was formed during the gold boom by Scandinavian-American miners, and they held the first recorded competitions in Canada. The first downhill race was held on Red Mountain on February 15, 1896. Olaus Jeldness, a Norwegian mining engineer, won the race. He became a major driving force behind the development of skiing in Rossland. Skiing tournaments were held annually in conjunction with the annual Rossland Winter Carnival, and the event attracted people from all over North America. The club, and organized skiing in Rossland, ceased to exist after 1918, due to World War I and an influenza epidemic in 1918.
A second Rossland Ski Club formed in 1933 by Harold Fox, Trig Nora, Ivor Moen, Fred Hackney, and Harry O'Reiley (these were members initially part of the Trail-Rossland Ski Club, but wished to form their own club). In 1934, the club made the base of Monte Christo their headquarters. Archie Coombes presided over the club's newly-built cabin, and the club purchased the land the cabin was on in 1937. The Rossland Ski Club hill held many competitions, including the Western Canadian Amateur finals, zone and club tournaments. By 1939, club membership peaked at 238. Also in 1939, the club built a new cabin in Squaw Basin, which remained in use by the club until the Granite chair lift was erected in 1965. The club held the Grey Mountain Grind from 1943 to 1946. In 1947, the Trail and Rossland ski clubs amalgamated and became the Red Mountain Ski Club.