Snowsure: 4.2
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Kicking Horse is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Kicking Horse Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
January 26, 2012
frank
frank
Been skiing here for 6 seasons. Today was one of the good days. No food, no water all day, sick skiing. This hill is my muse. Was a monster park skier when I moved out here. Spent my winters hitting booters and stuff. Came here expecting to be the shitz. First glance, no high fashion riders here, no solid riders here??? A whole lot of duct tape I thought. First I had 2 swallow my pride, then went on a 2 season learning streak. I had skills and ballz back then. But could not ride anything close to what the locals were doing. Then she stopped intimidating me and realized what she had done to me. She turned me into a monster. Steeps, cliffs fastest skiing have ever done was here. Holly f*** try straightlining Showoff when groomed if you think you know what fast is. This hill has no limits, so you need to set your own here. She has dislocated almost all of my limbs, but I keep coming back for more.
I've spent really dry years here and really snowy ones as well. But a big dump here is unreal. Ever heard the word Huckfest. Even when she's dry for a month, this is where you become a solid rider. Traverses, hard pack steep chutes, bumpy high speed runs. Leg burners.
If skiing is important to you and are not afraid to make the commitments needed to push your skiing to levels u did not know existed. If you are not gonna complain about dry days and just build your legs for the pow days. And if you are not gonna complain about skiing 1200m every time you wanna go back up. Well, this is your home.
If you're looking for a big family resort, Banff and Louise are waiting. If u want the soft stuff every day go to Revy. If you wanna push it hard stop by Kicking Horse.
And seriously, for ppl complaining about going all the way down to ski the top, not those whining about the wait lines. U probably should not be skiing here in the first place.
If you're gonna come push it hard here, one word: Recon, get to know the slopes before you go full speed. Once u know go all out but check it out first. The speeds here can really hurt you. Check ridges from below before u hit cliffs, some are ok but some can be death traps.
January 25, 2012
john
john
Not sure where another reviewer usually skis or boards. Canada Olympic Park in Calgary?
The longest the lineup was, at Christmas, with record crowds was 20 minutes. I have been here for 8 years and talk to good skiers and boarders from around the world who have skied or boarded some of the best terrain in the world...not in Calgary or Edmonton, and they can't believe the terrain, the snow. They keep coming back year after after year because of the fabulous resort here. Enough said.
January 21, 2012
Snow flakes must die...
Snow flakes must die...
Although the mountain has a ton of vertical, only the top third to half of the mountain has the goods. The lower mountain really doesn't have much to offer for your average powder glutton and really becomes nothing more then a commute as in order to access the upper terrain you need to do full runs to valley bottom. This can be a problem, especially if the gondola line up is a zoo, which it will be during weekend dumps or during holidays.
The consistency of snow is well, not that consistent. Kicking Horse sits on the dry side of the Purcells, and much of the Pacific moisture is sucked out of systems as it crosses this range and dry spells can be common. There can, however, be the odd sneaky snowfall to watch out for... On the plus side, when it does snow it tends to be blower. Also, if a system pugs out the upper portion of the mountain is usually high enough to avoid rain. The slack country is awesome, but it's easy to get in over your head if you're not familiar with the area and the stability of the snow pack tends to resemble it's temperamental cousins found to the east in the Rockies.
I would describe KHR as cross between the cold rocky resorts of Banff and that of the snowier interior. Definitely worth monitoring, you could score a gooder but you're also just as likely to take several core shots and suffer from frost bite if your timing is poor or not flexible. I'd give it 6.5 to 7 out of 10 on the filth-o-meter.
December 04, 2011
Dick Barker from
United Kingdom
Dick Barker from
United Kingdom
I have been skiing Kicking Horse every season since 2006 and can honestly say that I have never been disappointed...the terrain is fantastic, the people friendly and Canada always great to visit.
The resort may be small but the chutes and drop-ins within the in-bounds terrain give you 1000 different ways to get down the hill...and the back-country skiing will blow you away. Although a resort with a reputation for the extreme, there is terrain to suit everybody. A lot of the in-bounds skiing looks a lot harder than it is, with things like Terminator and Whitewall being well within the reach of a good intermediate skier, so long as they have a bit of adventure in their belly.
The lift queues can be a bit long on powder days and holidays but long there is relatively short compared to most north American resorts and nothing when compared to Europe. Tip: use the singles line up and you will be on the lift in 20 mins max even on the busiest days.
The slopes are generally empty and most of the time you will have the mountain to yourself...literally.
Kicking Horse and the town of Golden arn't about being a huge party town, but they are about some of the best skiing you can get.
May 04, 2011
John
John
April 12, 2011
Phil
Phil
This is my first true season out west and decided to settle in Golden this winter for KH's "gnarly" terrain... Well it didn't disappoint. Thankfully it's been a lucky season for snowfall as well.
It takes a little while to get accustomed to the entire mountain but once you do... My god is it awesome! Even when it hasn't snowed in a while. I'd say 80% of the folks coming in and out of there, stick with the groomers and easy access chutes.
Best runs, treed chutes into bowl over, chutes off of CPR ridge dropping into Crystal Bowl then taking the Stairway to Whitewall, or Fewz if it's closed. T1 both sides, but the north side dropping into bowl over is less tracked and protected facing north. Lets not forget T2!
Lets not forget the slack-country possibilities, with proper gear and knowledge of course! "T3" (f**king epic), T4, Rudy's Bowl (past Fewz) and more. The nice thing about the mountain is that, most of the slack-country will lead you back, or close to the mountains base ( Unlike Revy's conical shape that lead's you astray in the woods for a night).
Most of this terrain (oh yeah, and a lot of cliffs) ain't for the faint of heart but if you're willing to throw down, it will carve you into a solid skier/rider and prepare you for real back-country terrain. Like I said, I've been here all season so most of this stuff didn't come overnight for me.
Bad parts? some white out days and dry cold snaps. Overall, this mountain is worth more than one season of exploration.
April 03, 2011
C. Johnson
C. Johnson
I skied KHR (Kicking Horse Resort) on April 2/11. The conditions were unreal and the lift lines were minimal. This is one incredible mountain, and when they get snow like this year, I don't think you can beat it. It wouldn't be the first place I would take beginner and intermediate skiers/boarders, but it is heaven for advanced skiers/boarders.
January 13, 2011
720D from
Pakistan
720D from
Pakistan
January 13, 2011
Jben
Jben
January 12, 2011
Jason
Jason
Bar none KHR (Kicking Horse) is awesome. I have been skiing/boarding there for 5 years and have become a bit of snow snob due to the fantastic conditions there. What I consider a bad day at KHR is a great day at Louise! The bowls and steeps rock, and then you can open it up on the bottom end for some high speed. Even at the end of the day, you can can still find some great spots even from the Catamount chair. KHR is a mountain that is harder than most. Their blues are blacks at most other resorts. But Catamount is gentle on the beginners.
Have fun and enjoy it!
Nearest