Kicking Horse
If you’ve been skiing or snowboarding at the Kicking Horse Ski Resort in BC Canada already, there’s a good chance that you’ve been kicked by the horse! Kicking Horse Mountain Resort has a great reputation for being hard core and many an expert has been humbled here due to the many gnarly double black diamond chutes and bowls. Kicking Horse Resort cites 45% black runs and 15% double-black diamond runs, although some of the single black diamond runs would be considered double blacks elsewhere. The peaks at Kicking Horse Ski Resort were once only available to lucky heli-skiing guests, and now us mere mortals can access this great terrain.
Ski Kicking Horse: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Kicking Horse Resort has fantastic expert and extreme terrain.
- On a powder day you might have to wait for the gondola but once you’re out there it’s easy enough to find fresh tracks.
- The snow quality is usually pretty tidy!
- The combination of the fabulous terrain, snow and freshies make Kicking Horse a very good powder hound destination.
- Kicking Horse has good options for lodging that’s ski-in ski-out or very close to the slopes.
Cons
- The hill needs more lifts. The best fun for advanced and expert riders is at the top of the Kicking Horse ski area, yet most of the lines require you to ski all the way to the bottom to catch the gondola again, and the runs in the lower half get very monotonous.
- Gondola queues on a powder day can be rather long.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- The village is rather quiet and cute and the nightlife is rather sedate, but if you want big nightlife you can go to one of those super busy ski resorts like Whistler.
- Epic Pass holders have partial access to Kicking Horse, which is likely to increase skier traffic.
Kicking Horse Ski and Snowboard Terrain
The in-resort
Kicking Horse skiing terrain is 2,800 acres (1,133 hectares). The top of the mountain consists of four main bowls and many ridges that fan down into one main face, providing a total of 128 named runs. Ski Kicking Horse for the significant vertical of 1,260m, which is one of the longest in North America, and your legs will be toast!
The resort only has four chairlifts, one of which is solely for beginners. The main lift from bottom to (almost) the top is a high speed gondola which allows access to the huge variety of terrain for experts at the top of the mountain. Further down the mountain it flattens out to advanced and intermediate terrain, and then mostly beginners’ territory, and if you want to remain on the upper mountain your choices are limited. There’s the slow Stairway to Heaven chair near the top that only services one ridge, otherwise your only other option is to ski right to the bottom to catch the gondola again.
There’s enough terrain for beginners to improve their skills at the base of the mountain, and the 10km “It’s a Ten” run from top to bottom. There are plenty of runs for intermediates although not all are groomed, and currently intermediates need to repeat the same two runs at the top through Crystal bowl in order to access the intermediate terrain in the middle of the mountain.
Experts are very well catered for, and there’s also some easily accessed out-of-bounds and backcountry skiing. As to be expected with the steep terrain, proper avalanche safety precautions are required.
Kicking Horse Snow
The location of Kicking Horse is ideally situated to produce light dry powder. Kicking Horse receives 7.5 metres of snow on average per season, which isn’t abundant compared to some BC ski resorts, but it’s certainly very respectable when compared to Lake Louise in Alberta just a little further to the east.
Where is Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (KHMR)?
Situated on the British Columbia
Powder Highway in Canada, the Kicking Horse Ski Resort is located 14km outside the logging town of Golden. It’s about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive (275km) from Calgary, and is about 150km west of
Banff Alberta, and 164km northeast of
Revelstoke.
Kicking Horse Accommodations
The Kicking Horse village is reasonably small and very cute. There are various on-mountain Kicking Horse accommodations, some of which have the fantastic convenience of being ski-in ski-out or only a short walk. Cheaper alternatives are available down in Golden if you’re happy to catch the bus or drive up each day.
Kicking Horse Accommodations Listings
Resort Facilities
There are a few on-mountain eateries and it’s essential to spoil yourself at least once with lunch or dinner at the Eagle Eye restaurant, which is perched up on the mountain top. There are a few bars on-mountain, but there’s probably more action down in Golden.
The other Kicking Horse ski resort facilities are also fairly minimal, but very adequate considering the number of visitors. The amenities include equipment rental and a couple of ski and snowboard shops. The ski school has top notch instructors, so if you want to progress your skiing or snowboarding to ride those steeps, this is the place to learn.
How Does Kicking Horse Compare to Revelstoke?
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is commonly compared to the nearby
Revelstoke Mountain Resort which is also part of the
Powder Highway, because they started off in the same fashion and have similarities in the significant vertical and pitch of the mountain. The Kicking Horse lift infrastructure might not be quite as good as that at Revelstoke, but the snow quality and terrain are much better at KHMR. Steep open bowls, well gladed trees and dry powder – absolutely perfect!