Horse Kickin'

On Wednesday, I didn't work. Not because I was ill; not because I'd been fired; not because I was lazy. I'd gone to Kickin Horse with 30 other Sunshine Village staff members for a day trip to one of the most famous 3-lift resorts in the mountains.

Kicking Horse is like this: 3 bowls in a line, which extend half the way down the resort, then long and well-groomed but steep cruising runs take you back to the base. One long gondola (the twin of Sunshine's, but slower) takes you from the base, over the lower runs, along one of the ridges and then to the top of one of the peaks. From here, you can ski one of the bowls to the left or right of the ridge, from those bowls you will find yourself on the long cruisers which take you back to the base. Then you hop on the gondola and do it again. Alternatively, you can go to the far right, board the Stairway (or Chairway?) to Heaven chair to the top of the next ridge, where you can ski to the left (into the middle bowl) or hike to the top of the right hand bowl. If you skied to the left, you can get back on the chair and do it again, but if you hiked to the right then it's another long run to the base. The third and final lift (at least, the third lift open when we were there) takes you from the base to the top of the cruisers, and is really for beginners. The crazy thing is that the chairlift has a mid-station but the gondola doesn't!

Do you understand what I just said? Probably not, so have a look here: http://www.kickinghorseresort.com/pdf/KHMR_Trail_Map.pdf

Anyway, I skied around for most of the day with Steve, Georgie and Jeremy and were joined from time to time by others like Tom (see below) and Paul (don't see below). We were able to stick together most of the time although I was slower on the steeps and in the powder and maybe little faster in the bumps and on the cruisers. The snow at KH was pretty good- although there wasn't any fresh, you could see that the day before had been excellent. There was still powder to be found, and the moguls were just how I like them- medium sized, regularly spaced and still a little bit soft. There wasn't much ice or scratchy snow to be found, and off the blue runs was still really nice soft snow which, although tracked, was very satisfying.

The left hand bowl was where we went first- moguls at the top and then into a long groomer which took you through to the bottom of the bowl. But there were plenty of moguls either side of the groomed runs, which I enjoyed playing with before carving at top speed through the lower runs back to the gondola. Next we went right, down a nice steep run before playing with jumps on the green run in the centre then up the Stairway to Heaven lift.




While coming up the chair (I took both the above pictures then), we noticed a nice area below with soft snow and well-spaced trees. Although not quite as nice as it looked from above, it was still skiable and good fun. This is where my Achilles Leg became pretty obvious- I just don't have faith in my left one when I really need it. Must pactice more...

Anyway, back on the chair to the top, then we went to the right and took our skis off. A short 100m hike and we were at the top of the Feuz Bowl, and the view was incredible. The snow too, and when you look over the edge all you can see is a sheer drop then some moguls underneath. It's supposed to be Kicking Horse's version of Delirium Dive (which I hope to do soon!) and is awe-inspiring. We walked around a bit trying to find a good place to jump in, then did! I went first and got in a few turns before finding myself stuck on top of a ridge with a drop to the left and not enough space to turn below me. So, of course, I sat down and dug my skis in tail-first, and took some pictures of the others as they came down (see the next post). Then it was just a matter of turning my skis in the other direction and carrying on!

By the time we'd finished that bowl, and cruised back to the base, it was time for lunch so we went to the Daylodge for some nibbles. Comparing our respective jobs at Sunshine with those we saw at Kicking Horse, it looks like a pretty awesome place to work especially when you're on a ride break- but everyone lives in Golden (the town in the valley), which doesn't seem quite as cool as Banff... What's more, since we all lived on hill, the lack of on-hill staff accom at KH seemed a bit of a minus point. But they still looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Next we headed back up the gondola then again to the top of the right hand ridge, where the plan was to ski the Feuz bowl again. But cloud had filled in, it was snowing, and the light was looking pretty flat; so while the others continued to de-kit and hike up to the top I played it safe (at least I'd already done it once), skied down to the base, headed up the gondola and worked in the left-hand bowl on my mogul technique as well as skiing with the wrong foot (ie. lifting up the outside ski while turning and stopping) to try and improve my left leg.

At the end of that run, I found everyone else in the bar at the bottom with a jug of beer- I think they'd headed in after doing their second lap of the Feuz Bowl. But the bus was leaving in 15 minutes so I sat down and joined them while the sun shone through again. Then load the stuff back into the coach, boots off, coat in locker and spare thermals under head as I (and the rest of the bus!) settled down for a nap for the rest of the 2-hour bus journey.

The evening was mostly spent in the hot-tub and bed!