Kicking Horse Mountain ski resort, Canada

Situated high in the endless topography in the heart of unblemished wilderness, Kicking Horse Mountain ski resort is surrounded by the Dogtooth Range of the Purcell Mountains, the Rockies as well as the Selkirks. This location, close to the town of Golden, Canada, is about 1 ½ hours drive from Banff National Park and about 2 ½ hours drive from Calgary International Airport.

This gigantic mountain resort is called the ”Champagne Powder Capital of Canada” and is the first mountain resort in the Rockies that was open for all four seasons for the last 25 years. Kicking Horse Resort encompasses about 2,750 acres of terrain with a vertical drop of 4,133 ft (1,260 m) making it the second highest in all of Canada.

Some of the attractions here include Canada’s first, level, walk in Gondola cabins including the Omega III which seats eight passengers. The Golden Eagle express Gondola can haul 600 eager skiers and sightseers up 11,266 ft (3,413 m) per hour. A fixed grip quad chair called “Stairway to Heaven” is even better; it can take 1,200 people per hour. There are a total of five lifts including a 4 passenger fixed grip chairlift, a 4 passenger fixed grip quad, and a 2 passenger fixed grip chairlift and a Pony Express surface lift.

 

 

There are 106 runs allotted in the ratio of Beginner – 20%, Intermediate – 20%, Advanced – 45%, and Expert – 15%. Average snowfall in the Summit snow stations here is 700cm (275 inches).

Eagle’s Eye, a restaurant perched at the top (7,705 ft or 2,350 m) of the mountain is Canada’s highest restaurant which can seat 130 people indoors. The Big Mountain Centre Learning School offers many programs including skiing, snowboarding, avalanche hazards and safety, summer camps, kids programs and Instructor training programs.