So I found a nice big flush of these guys and assumed R. brevipes even if it is a bit early for those in my area. I made a cut on the gills just to check if it was lactarius, this photo was after about 1-2mins of waiting for it to bleed. Uploading to iNat I always check my assumptions against the algorithm and it's top suggestion was Lactarius controversus - blushing milkcap. Now that I am looking at it the gills do have a rosy look to them. I couldn't find much info on how quickly L. controversus starts to bleed but maybe I didn't wait long enough. There was no zonation on the cap. Found under pine/spruce/fir/poplar growing closely scattered but fouund them in also a group of about 4-5. Northern interior of BC, Canada.
I'm pretty sure this is R. brevipes but would love feedback because I'm pretty inexperienced with ID and L. controversus wasn't even on my radar before uploading to iNat.
Have you tried tagging experts in the area you live in on iNat? If you give them the same information they should be able to tell (or not, but then you know you won't be able to ID it).
There a couple in my area so may do that.