Kicking Horse, Canada
Your views
Freerider paradise
Thu 15 July 2004 David
Ok, so this isn’t a huge resort, there are hardly any lifts and there’s no life in the surrounding town. The upside is that the lack of facilities in the town and its distance from airports keep the crowds away. Better still, as it’s so under-developed, the owners haven’t had chance to piste the hell out of the slopes. What you’re left with is a free-rider paradise. Kicking Horse (formerly Whitetooth) is basically a row of four or five powder bowls leading down into the tree line. Plenty of scope to get some steep, deep, powder action and take on some natural hits, before charging into a tree run. Don’t bother collecting a piste map, as you can pick out a route you fancy whilst on the Golden Eagle Express gondola on the way to the top - and it’s well worth a run outside the rope.
Unfortunately, the lower areas in the resort consist mostly of unchallenging pistes, but if you pick the right route through the trees, it’s possible to take one of the chairs back up from the midpoint and stay in the champagne powder. If you decide to go right down to the bottom, at least you’ll have enjoyed a vertical drop of over 1,200m, and will be able to take the gondola all the way back to the summit in just 12 minutes.
A great place if you’re up for some balls-out free riding, but not one for the hard boot brigade or anyone wanting to spend the day mincing around town rather than boarding.
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Resort Statistics
Resort Type:
Alpine
Winter: Dec to April
Summer: None
Lifts
Total Lifts: 5
Gondolas: 1
Chair lifts: 3
Drag lifts: 1
Max people per hour: 1,400
Board Leashes required: Yes
Mountain
Total pistes/trails: 106
Total ride area: 2,750 acres
Longest run: 10km
Top lift: 2450m
Vertical drop: 1260m
First lift: 1190m
Piste suitability
Green runs: 20%
Red runs: 20%
Black runs: 60%
Lift Passes
Lift Passes:
Half-day pass $44
1 Day pass - $59
6 Day pass - $321
Season pass - $799
Lift times:8.30am to 3.30pm
9:00am to 4:30pm from feb
Snowfall
Average annual snowfall: 7.6m
Facilities
Night Riding: :
No
Snowboard Schools:
Private lesson $459 (6rs)
Group lesson $50 (2hrs)
Beginner package $80 full day inc equipment, lesson & lift pass
Snowboard Hire:
Board & Boots $31 per day, performance stuff $47
Heliboarding: :
See the client services at the base lodge for information on this.
Snowmobiles:
Bring your own snowmobile or if you dont have one you can rent one. See the client services at the lodge for information on how to obtain these.
Further information
www.kickinghorseresort.com
Email:guestservices@kickinghorseresort.com
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Summary
Up-and-coming resort named in the top 10 hot powder spots worldwide by CNN in 2004. Lots of money being spent in the area so will vastly improve in the near future. A freeride paradise!
ON THE SLOPES Good
OFF THE SLOPES Quiet
MONEY WISE Not bad
Terrain & parks
Halfpipe:
-
Terrain park:
-
Backcountry/off-piste:Yes
Tree runs:Yes
Image Gallery
Piste Map
Click to expand | PDF
