Kicking Horse’s big alpine terrain is literally easier to access than much of the trail skiing because of the odd lift infrastructure. I licked into back-to-back big powdays to start my week at KHMR in late February 2021. The alpine area does not track out quickly so there’s no mad rush. I did line up early, but only out of principle. Even 3 days later, there was untouched deep pow on the far side of Fuez Bowl. Hike-to turns waiting to be earned.

This is a very friendly place to ski. Other than the lack of accessibility of excellent upper mountain trails, not much to criticize. Though some of the chutes are just really too scary. Maybe next year.
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Fantastic!
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This year was the 2nd time we visited KHMR. Last year I took my 9 year old there, but unfortunately it stopped snowing a week before we got there. It wasn't great, so I booked group lessons for us both, but no one else showed up so the lessons became private (about $40 extra charge vs hundreds more for private lessons). Instruction was top notch and the terrain begged me to come back
So this December I decided to go there again. what a week!!! twice it snowed overnight, only to wake up to bluebird powder days. Make sure you get in line at least half an hour before the lifts open, although you'll have freshies all day long and even days after if you're into steeper runs. The line to the gondie is actually not that long compared to some of the other resorts, and you'll most likely meet a local who'll be happy to show you the gems.
The terrain is second to none, gnarly and steep and inbounds. Terminator 1 and 2 are short hikes away, even 2 days after the storm still offer first tracks.
The lifts aren't great but as in the description, but I imagine if they served all parts of the resort it would be that much harder to find untouched pow days after the storm
Already scheming to get back there this year
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Since we last visited 8 years ago and 12 years ago, not that much has changed at Kicking Horse Resort. Back in 2005 I was contemplating buying shares in one of the condos at the base because the Kicking Horse terrain was amazing and the resort had soooo much potential, but I’m pretty glad that I didn’t pursue that “investment”. Sure there was a GFC and nearby Revelstoke provided some strong competition, but it’s still very surprising that Kicking Horse hasn’t had the funds to develop the ski area (not just the real estate) significantly.

Some minor improvements were evident on our last visit including a small amount of glading. A cat track has been a welcome addition on Redemption Ridge which provides access to a wide range of runs without having to negotiate a rocky bumpy line every time. Super Bowl has officially opened as in-bounds terrain rather than sidecountry so it’s avalanche controlled, but there’s still the tedious run out. Some additions such as tubing and a little ice skating rink have made KH more family friendly. The only other major noticeable difference is the popularity of Kicking Horse, and now on a powder day there are decent queues for the gondola (but nothing as crazy as Revelstoke or Whistler).

Otherwise the pros and cons of Kicking Horse pretty much remain the same (see the overview page for our thoughts on these). Also see our Canada ski resort ratings to see how we compare KH to other western Canadian ski areas.

It’s a must do on a road trip of the Powder Highway, but if you only have time for one resort, I’d pick KH over Revelstoke any day. It may get less snow than Revelstoke but the snow quality is better, the expert terrain is far superior, and the little village feels like a village.
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I recently spent 3 nights at Glacier Lodge at Kicking Horse ski resort in Golden, BC. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the accommodations were and my first evening dinner at The Cork restaurant was fantastic. Woke up to a fresh 12" of fresh powder and had one of my best days skiing ever. What an incredible mountain and I loved the steep vertical and challenging terrain! Had another wonderful dinner at The Cork and the salmon was definitely fresh and delicious. Day 2 was an epic adventure due to 18" overnight and hiked to some of the most terrifying, but fascinating ski runs of my life. It was a day to remember and I will definitely return to this amazing resort. Dinner my last night was at the Golden Eye restaurant at top of mountain, and the Waygu beef was off the chart. Everyone who loves to ski should visit this resort!
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Kicking Horse is one serious resort and there are so many runs that can humble even the most expert skiers. There are chutes, bowls and many ridges you can just ski down until you find a spot you want to ski down.

There is something for everyone at Kicking Horse with arguably the best alpine terrain in Canada and awesome tree skiing. The snow was superb, light, fluffy champagne powder and there was lots of it. Even though the top of the resort is an experts paradise there are easily manageable runs from a strong beginner to make it down. The bottom part of the resort is well suited for beginners and intermediates.

The only real negative is the lift infrastucture. Doing laps of the gondola which all runs funnel down to can be very frustrating for skiers and riders who just want to stay in the bowls. The only chair up high in the crystal bowl is slow and only accesses limited terrain. Another chair up the guts of bowl over would vastly improve the resort.

Kicking Horse VS Revelstoke
After going to both resorts this season I would have to pick Kicking Horse as it is more an all round resort.There is an actual beginner/intermediate area and even for advanced skiers there were more options with both alpine terrain and tree skiing. The snow was also better and was way less crowded, but a major difference for me was that Kicking horse actually groomed there runs which Revelstoke didn't do enough of.

Definitely recommend the Discover Banff Tours Powder Express if you are staying in Banff.
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Our review is based on a quick pit stop of 3 hours enroute to Jasper from Revelstoke.

Great new resort with some of the best views we encountered on our journey.
I would liken this to Revelstoke e.g. big terrain!

Like Revelstoke, this early on in the season proved difficult with snow covering.
The bottom half of the mountain was open but shouldn't have been. Quite rocky and the number of scrapes we heard coming from our skis was cringeworthy.

The resort village is small but great enough for a feed or coffee. For nightlife, i didn't see much. It's probably in nearby Golden, albeit we didn't see a great town centre for pubs and clubs. Revelstoke would win on this one.

At the top of Kicking Horse is a restaurant though which i'm told is amazing. From the outside, i would agree. The views from up here would be great.

Serviced by a Gondola to the top of the mountain, the runs were groomed and very wide. Despite the extreme cold temperatures, the groomers smoothed the iced over powder bumps - something Revelstoke didn't do enough of.

Some of the other lifts seemed slow though. Maybe we weren't there long enough to check out the others.
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Great Resort for riders looking for a challenge. Best steep terrain in North America.
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Pro:
Excellent for experts, many really advanced terrain. Nice long runs. Nice village. Good dining variety on the slopes. Amazing with powder.

Contra:
Only 1 lift takes you up. During the weekend you can wait up to 1 hour to get up.
Few lifts and some are closed during the weekday. If you don't stay up in the Village but in Golden, it is a bit ugly...
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Visited on bluebird weekday with dusting of new snow. Awesome, no queues, great terrain, great coffee.

Visited again on a holiday weekend and limitations of lift system severely exposed. Gondola queues of an hour, only option to stay high is slow stairway to heaven chair accessing only limited terrain. Everything for advanced beginners, intermediates to experts all funnels to gondola and another hours queue. Glad didn't pay full price, especially as at the start of the day RCR didn't let normal punters ride gondola until 0920, spending 15mins solely loading junior ski race participants.

Awesome on a midweek day but Would not visit on weekend/holiday again until have improved lift infrastructure
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