Mr. Katkov was the CEO of Dock 3, a company in California. He stepped down from that position in early December 2003 to more fully concentrate on the due diligence required for Red Mountain (although he is still the chairman of the board of Dock 3). The rest of his resume is amazing. Real estate lawyer for 8 years, real estate developer for 9 years where he built over 3000 homes, started a very successful cosmetic company, named Jane, for eight years which he then sold to Estee Lauder, and many more successes that prove that this business man is good.

Mr. Katkov is not all business though. He has strong dedication to his family and he has a passion for road cycling. With his past company Jane, he sponsored a road cycling team. Often you will see him putting in miles on the roads around the West Kootenays. His winter sport, without question, is skiing. Enough of me telling you about him, I will let you read his interview.

Stephanie Robinson-When did you start skiing?
Howard Katkov-1966

SR-Where do you ski the most, besides Red Mountain?
HK-I grew up skiing at Mammoth Mountain, California when there were only two lifts and tickets were only 4 bucks. When I attended University of Nevada, I skied at Tahoe. When I move to San Diego to get my Law degree I skied in Utah and Colorado and continued to ski there when I started a family. It was easy to put everyone on a plane and be on the slopes of Utah by 11:30 that same day. But now, I only ski Red Mountain with the exception of a snowcat day or two at Baldface.

SR -What skis do you ski on?
HK-Rossingnol B3’s for my days at Red and a pair of Volkl Explosives for the backcountry goods, I went up to Crow Summit last week with them.

SR-What attracted you to Rossland and influenced your decision to build a house here?
HK-I had been skiing with “Captain” Jack Carey for the last 10 years in Vail. (Captain Jack is the individual responsible for starting the Extreme Free Skiing Comp at Red) Jack kept on telling me about Red Mountain. After 8 years I finally got the hint. So I came up to Rossland with my wife and we bought our property that weekend. We did not ski that weekend. I had a good feeling about this town. We have always wanted to have a home in the mountains but not in a busy, big resort. Rossland suited us. I am passionate about road cycling, and the highways around the West Kootenays clearly satisfy that passion. I ride 150 miles (240 km) a week. We were looking for a place to retire and spend time with our children and friends. We found it.

SR-Why did you want to buy Red Mountain?
HK-When we first started building here, I had no intention or thought whatsoever on buying the ski hill. I became friends with a lot of people here. By talking to these new friends and being out on the streets of Rossland I learned a lot about this town. I learned about the commerce, the mountain and the schools. How the businesses suffer in the summer. I became very familiar with what was happening in the winter with the mountain. When I got more involved with the town, I decided to take a run at buying the mountain. The reasons are plentiful, personal and supported by sound business reasons. On a personal level I know I can help the community. I have not bought the hill yet, and there is always a chance that the sale might not go through, but we are working very hard for that June 1st closing date. A lot of things have to happen. We need to work with the city and we have to raise a substantial sum of money. But I have always closed the deals that I have gone after.

SR-Can you describe some of your background that you believe will benefit the operation of Red Mountain?
HK-My real estate lawyer experience is totally applicable here. I have also run three operating companies. I was a real estate developer that had over 400 employees and 100 million dollars a year in sales which was a very complex business that will provide a sound basis to start our development company. Jane Cosmetics had over 200 employees, 400 sku’s, produced in 11 countries, distributed in all US states and Canada and in over 20,000 stores at its peak. Jane taught me a great deal about marketing and speaking to the consumer, which will again be helpful in running the ski resort. But I believe my passion for this community will have the biggest impact. I want to create balance between the community and my investors. I was skiing the powder last week. I was thinking, why should we develop this, it is perfect the way it is? But then reality hits and, yes, for this town to grow and prosper, things have to change.

SR-Will you be directly involved in the operation of Red Mountain?
HK- Yes. I will be the CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of Red Mountain. I will bring in Phil Dowley, my CFO of my last three companies to help in the management of our company but I will use as much local talent as possible.

SR-On Biglines.com, you are described as a corporate monster; do you want to defend yourself and your business partners?
HK-A corporate monster is someone that steam rolls over the other side. I am not that, far from it. I am a successful businessman. Every business that has had stock, my employees have invested. I am as much a part of the community as anyone else. I ski when it snows. I am out there for first chair on powder days, and then back to the office to work hard. I am a successful family man, married for 25 years. I can relate to the average man as much as the corporate executives and in fact, I consider myself just one of the guys going through life trying to do good and have quality time with business, family and friends.

SR-There is talk and speculation about who you are. Do you want to give the general public some insight on who Howard Katkov is?
HK-I am just like everyone else. I love to play. I work hard. I am very dedicated to family and friends. I ski, I cycle, I like to read, I like good food and good wine.

SR-There is a very deep history of ski racing and its success in this community. Will you support the Red Mountain Racers?
HK-Based upon what I did with Jane and the girls cycling team we sponsored, you can be assured that we will support, where possible, the sports in this community. I am very aware that the Red Mountain Racers have put more individuals on the National Alpine Team than any other ski club in Canada. I want to support that. How? I do not know yet. Getting the 2010 training centre here at Red is something that I am fully supportive of. I believe in sponsoring young people who have great talent to help get them going.

SR-Being an athlete yourself you see the importance of starting young.
HK-Yes. Especially in this community, this is a very active community.

SR-How will you support the downtown core of Rossland while you are developing the base of Red?
HK-We are going to put our offices in the downtown core and we have reduced the proposed on-mountain retail from 100,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet. The downtown is the charm of the community. The town will continue to grow. People cannot find retail space downtown. Look what happened to Olive Oly’s. I was sorry to see such a good restaurant go but now it houses “Out of the Cellar” and Monashee Health clinic. We will have services up at Red Mountain, but those will be necessary to run the ski hill and support our growing skier population.

SR-Who had initial input when developing the preliminary development report?
HK-Highland Consultants, Don Thompson in particular and other consultants and advisors.

SR-Do you have any plans to bring a Mtn. Bike park to Red Mountain?
HK-Nothing as of yet. However, our vision of Red Mountain is to be a four-season sangria la. Pond Hockey, fishing, hiking, horse back riding and in terms of mtn biking, it is one activity that eventually we will support in a big way. When the quads go up though, we will build mountain bike trials. Summer here is as good as the winter. I have so much fun here in the summer. But no one knows about the summers in Rossland. I plan to change that. Maybe establish some fly-fishing camps.


SRThank-you so much for your time Mr. Katkov
HK-Your welcome, see you on the slopes.

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