With over 2,800 acres of skiable lift-served terrain and the fourth highest vertical drop in North America, Kicking Horse Resort is one of the top ski resorts in British Columbia.
This was only the second time I had skied in BC. Living in Calgary, I typically go to the closer resorts such as Sunshine Village and Lake Louise but when Dax Justin (a Rocky Mountain Instagrammer) mentioned the possibility of a trip to Kicking Horse Resort, I knew I had to check it out.
Located just 14 km outside of beautiful Golden, BC, it took us about three hours of driving through some of the world’s best scenery to reach the lobby. At first, it seemed like the weather wasn’t cooperating. It wasn’t that cold but the sky wasn’t visible. We had a thick layer of cloud hovering over us and a little bit of snow falling to the ground. The skiing would still be great but I was also hoping to see the world-class views. We strapped on our gear and headed to the gondola, which would bring us to one of the highest peaks of the resort. Might as well start the day off strong, no?
When we got to the top of the mountain and the gondola doors opened, we were literally stunned by the insanely gorgeous views surrounding us. As if the Purcell Mountains weren’t scenic enough, we now had a layer of clouds hovering over the valley, like a lake made of fluffy cotton. It was such a spectacular scenic moment that both Dax and I spent half of our time just marvelling at nature and the other half shredding our way to the bottom.
After a slow start on a black diamond (we probably should have warmed up on a blue-run first), we were ready to rock n’ roll. It was a busy day on the hill but we managed to ski many of the best runs including Cloud Nine, Show Off, Kicking Horse, Grizzly Paw, and Wolverine. I also loved getting off the Golden Eagle Express gondola and heading straight down Crystal Bowl, which is an awesome large and open area to really get some speed going. From here you can take a multitude of runs ranging from green to double black.
Kicking Horse Resort is a great place for everyone with 20% of the runs being designated as beginner, 20% for intermediate, 45% for advanced, and 15% for experts. There are plenty of restaurants available including the famous Eagle’s Eye restaurant, which provides jaw-dropping views of the mountainous scenery. Lockers are available for just $1 and I loved the music that was being blasted to keep us entertained while waiting for the gondola at the bottom.
All in all, Kicking Horse was a great place to ski. No matter where you go in the area, you’ll likely be spellbound by the scenery but the clouds hovering over the valley with the mountains jetting out in the horizon made for one of the coolest views I have ever seen in my whole life.
Thanks Earth.
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For more info, visit http://kickinghorseresort.com
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