Kicking Horse Skiing
Kicking Horse: A resort that lives up to its name.
No helicopters are needed to ski over 30,000 vertical feet a day by any social skier whose nerves hold firm. as he or she will enjoy of the most challenging skiing they will probably ever experience. There are some 85 ‘chutes’ in Kicking Horse, I would use the more appropriate word ‘drops’ for most runs. Most of these runs are largely accessed by a single summit gondola lift, a shorter chair ‘Stairway to Heaven’ opens up further breathtaking runs, lift queues are rare.
For respite, there are a couple of other lifts on the lower prepared slopes that offer flattering breathers for relaxing or if nerves get too frayed. However, skiers come here for the adrenaline runs off the ridges down into a series of bowls; inevitably none of these high pistes is groomed. Almost with tongue in cheek, they declare there is a ‘green’ run from each lift, in one case obviously a very dark green by anyone’s standards. Right under the main lift is the largest grizzly bear habitat, its sole occupant, ‘Boo’, his sibling was called ‘Cari’ but Boo is a loner by choice. However, Boo escaped only to be found days later by a searching helicopter. All was not well as he tore up the fencing and escaped again – they had found the wrong bear which was not amused – Boo was found and is reportedly happy in his enclosure.
The green run from the gondola starts off along a narrow ridge. On one side it disappears into oblivion from whence snow is frequently blown over making the run even narrower and cutting down the visibility. On the other side is a lumpy black whilst under the skis it can be icy it was not steep! I would suggest that a couple of ski trips elsewhere would be best taken before a visit here to get the most out of the resort.
Skiing off the summit by the lift is a good introduction and does not need to be too challenging. The more interesting runs are accessed by making your way along the ridges above the bowls, these are obstacle courses with no clear passages as lumps, bumps, trees and drops have to be traversed and avoided before setting off into the bowls.
I am long on experience but short on skills and with a resort like Kicking Horse where there are serious challenges and cliffs to avoid, a guide is a great asset. Our guide checked out our skiing before we ventured into these areas. On my own, I would not attempt most of these runs without having skied them with the guide as it would be easy to be confronted with a cliff and no obvious easy exit.
Not having a head for heights, I was invited to look down the cliff, sorry, the slope I was about to tackle, I obviously declined and took the option of tackling it blind. We descended a couple of meters but still no sign of any slope, and I was presented with a buttress of snow with a track with a shallow quarter radius of about the same as a dustbin that immediately disappeared round the buttress. I came to ski so off I went and eureka what a great run, deep snow plunging right down to bottom of the bowl. The same feeling as when parachuting, you just want to repeat the experience. There were numerous variations on the theme; the tree line is high and skiing through the trees at the very limit of your abilities of skill and nerves makes it all worthwhile. Then a youngster lad whizzes past in great style without a care in the world. Lots of photographs and tales of chest deep powder from Kicking Horse’s regulars confirmed we had missed last winter’s normally reliable deep powder but we were very happy with the deep snow we experienced on the upper slopes.
You can guess that the terrain attracts the devotees, mainly late teens and twenties going on thirties who only care for the skiing, everything else is by the way. This is no bijou Swiss resort, there are a couple of hotels and shops for self-catering and general supplies by the main lift, and some other private fairly elementary modern accommodation nearby that fits the bill with modest costs. Add a few atmospheric bars that serve good helpings of pub style food and the ‘go for it crowd’ are all very happy. Again we get the contrasts. There is no close knit village but there is a wide spread of large to enormous modern, traditionally styled chalets that offer superb and very comprehensive accommodation.
We had a look around a few of these chalets, ferried around in a truly massive 4×4 onto which our host, John Lush could fix his snow plough. We found all of the chalets to be not only of a high standard but vast, our’s was no different. A drive that was snow ploughed daily, a heated double garage big enough for a couple of Chieftain tanks. The ground floor was largely a double height reception room – any one for indoor tennis? – complete with a suitably large real flame fire and an open kitchen. The main suite, again double height, was also on the ground floor. A gallery above lead to further bedrooms whilst in the lower ground floor there were two more bedrooms, a large media and games room plus domestic offices. Outside was a very welcoming hot tub with views across the valley. We could not ask for more.
To complement the chalets quality is Canada’s highest restaurant (7,900ft.), the Eagles Eye at the top of the main lift. The eating experience is certainly fine dining but without the prices that normally accompany such accomplished cooking, hence the necessity to book. The only complaint was that it is not open every night but it became our regular lunch stop.
Kicking Horse is so named as James Hector who was exploring the area in 1858 was pronounced dead after being kicked by his horse and was being duly buried only for him to regain consciousness in the nick of time. and in due course made a full recovery.
The drive across from Lake Louise opened my eyes to the scale and extraordinary beauty in this bewitchingly lonely mountainous scenery. Normally I would object to the intrusion of a railway, however the enormity of the landscape swallowed up the immensely long trans-continental trains as they ponderously snaked their way through the countryside. Every time I lost count of the wagons but their lengths were surely upwards of half a mile long. A solitary elk stood its ground on the track and a train had to wait for it to wander off. Good to see that nature’s creatures prevail sometimes.
The memories of Kicking Horse are all very positive and will remain with me – I surprised myself that I was able to tackle runs that I would normally have used an excuse not to go down. Most importantly I found the whole experience very exciting and enjoyable.
kickinghorseresort.com www.lushmountain.comwww.crystalski.co.ukwww.momentumski.com
