You need to ski Kicking Horse

Skiing at Kicking Horse is something every serious skier should do at least once.

Steph and I have skied in a lot of places, from Taos and Jackson Hole to Niseko and Whistler, and one of the most unique, incredible, and frankly insane resorts we’ve ever skied is Kicking Horse. It’s like nowhere else on earth. The quality of the skiing here feels like it’s in another league, even compared to the world-class destinations above.

Kicking horse doesn’t feel like a traditional ski resort but more like some kind of barely sanctioned avy controlled extreme backcountry. When a friend asked me how Kicking Horse was, I said: there are resorts with amazing apres and one piece ski suits and then there’s this. The resort, if you can call it that, is composed of 5 bowls, 3 of which are hike-to. It also has only one main lift to get you to the top. The drop ins to the bowls are all near vertical. This is easily one of the best resorts on the Powder Highway and a bucket list item on my ski list.

Why you should go to Kicking Horse

The terrain here is second to none and easily the most difficult marked inbounds terrain I’ve ever seen. The skiers are all laid back, friendly, and of course extremely skilled without all of the ego or superiority you sometimes see in other “serious” resorts.

I lost a ski coming (badly) off a small cliff in a steep-ish unmarked tree area. At least 3 groups stopped to help look for my ski. We eventually found it 300 ft downhill and to the right of me, in the trees. I probably never would have found it without them. It didn’t help that my half of my ski has a blank white topsheet:

The bright jacket really helps search and rescue.

Kicking horse has an awesome vibe. It’s a great place to ski for any skill level but especially if you are an expert. Everything about it, from lodging to food to lift tickets, is also on the cheaper side of destination skiing, especially compared to nearby Revelstoke or Lake Louise/Banff. Of the three, Kicking Horse probably has the best snow quality although it’s close.

The snow

While Kicking Horse doesn’t get as much snow as its nearby neighbor Revelstoke, it’s often considered the champagne powder capital of Canada, with snow quality similar to Alta and incredible snow retention. With fewer visitors because of its location and reputation, a lot of the resort stays unskied for days after a snowstorm. Steph couldn’t stop talking about how amazing and fluffy the snow was, each day.

Skiing at Kicking Horse

Skiing at Kicking Horse is like no other resort in the world that I’ve been to. It doesn’t matter how good of a skier you are, there will be terrain to challenge you and at least one near death experience if you step up to the challenge. While the lower mountain is fine for family and new skiers, at least 75% of the mountain is dedicated to feeling like you are in your own freeride world tour.

Above Midmountain

Generally the bowls are all black and double black diamond runs with mostly hike-to terrain. If your cardio’s not great or you just hate bootpacking, you can still access 3 out of the 5 bowls without hiking. A lot of the bowls flatten out and reward you with freshies, which is what’s depicted in most of our photos. You will need to be an expert to access every bowl but crystal, just due to the more difficult drop ins. The closest part of the photo below shows the easiest part of the drop in to whitewall in the fuez bowl:

There is an even easier entrance via a run called Horse’s Mouth, but you won’t get the untouched lines.

One of my favorite parts of skiing in BC is that Kicking horse, like most BC mountains, allows you to go just about anywhere including out of bounds as it’s in a giant provincial park. There are just a few permanently closed areas due to potential avalanche hazards to others. Those areas are incredibly hard to get to and you won’t find yourself there by accident.

In terms of non-expert runs, there’s one green run down from the top of the gondola, and that’s about it. The easiest bowl (crystal) is officially rated green and blue. The truth is that it’s both closer to a black run on most other mountains and also filled with experts who may be going faster than you’d expect on beginner runs.

Below Midmountain

Below midmountain is where you can spend time with family or newer skiers. Even here, you will still find super fast skiers passing through the runs to get to the one gondola’s base. The snow tends to be more freeze/thaw and firmer on days without fresh snow, and all the blue runs tend to be moguled out.

My recommendation for the lower mountain is to stick to the trees. They’re often untouched even a few days after a snow event. That way you can leave the green/blues to the people who need them.

Apres and on mountain eats

There isn’t any apres scene or on mountain eats to speak of in Kicking Horse. There’s a basic yurt at the bottom of the stairway to heaven lift. There’s also one sit down restaurant at the top of the main gondola called Eagle’s Eye with good views and otherwise pretty generic, too fancy, and not really ski compatible food (think antipasto salad and charcuterie boards).

It does have reasonably priced beer and wine for apres though.

Where to stay in Kicking Horse

Like most ski resorts on the powder highway, there’s a lot of ski-in ski-out on-mountain accommodation, many with private hot tubs. The first year we came to Kicking Horse, that’s what we chose.

But I found that barring powder day weekends (and maybe not even then) the parking lots never fill up. All the parking is close enough to the lift that it’s just as nice and much cheaper to stay in town and do the short 15 min drive up. You’re going to need to go into town most days because the on-mountain restaurants are few and far between, so these days we stay in town and drive up each ski day.

Where to eat and drink in Golden BC

Reposados is a pretty decent taqueria/tequila place that feels like the most modern restaurant in town. It’s located in a new development purely built as airbnb condos for skiers, so you might find yourself living right above the restaurant. There’s an igloo experience which looks a bit underwhelming in real life, but the main dining room is a fun and buzzing space. We got there just before 7 with no resos and got the last table. On Tuesdays they have $4 taco night, and the pork cochinita tacos were great, as were the margaritas.

Whitetooth Brewing Co. is a hyperlocal brewery newly opened in Golden. The beers are fantastic, especially the Blower IPA and Belgian Inspired Icefields Pale Ale. You won’t find them at most beer stores in BC – the distribution seems limited to Golden and nearby towns only, so this is a good chance to try them. The room is dark, cozy, and inviting and honestly kind of a better choice for apres than anything on the mountain. Although, when we went at 3pm it was completely deserted, but the staff were super friendly and it wasn’t awkward at all.

Kicking Horse Village

Kicking horse has a tiny village, barely large enough to be called one at all. It’s mostly a large building at the base of the gondola with the standard rental and ski shop, a cafe, and a couple of bars and counter service restaurants. If you’re looking for a picturesque ski village, this is probably not your place.

Parking

Parking at Kicking Horse is the best ski parking experience I’ve had, bar none. Revelstoke comes close but Revy is often muddy and this is not. The lots are all close to the lift and even on a powder day I’ve never seen them full. In fact, weekdays we roll in at 11am on weekdays and the closest parking lot to the lift will still be half empty.

Facts

Avg 295″ of snowfall per year (Compare to 400″ for Whistler or 550″ for Alta)
60% officially black or double black diamond expert terrain (it’s more though)
3486 acres of skiiable terrain (Compare to 8171 acres for Whistler or 2614 acres for Alta)
1 main lift (plus two secondary lifts, plus two that aren’t useful)
Base elevation: 3900ft
Summit: 8218ft (this is pretty high for those who aren’t used to elevation)
Vertical drop: 4314ft
On the Epic pass