Kicking Horse/Sunshine Village 02/12-02/18

[MadMadWorld]

From Boston it was about a 6 hr. flight plus a layover in MN. I highly recommend stopping in MN as it seems to be a natural halfway point and really breaks up the flight. We only had one real powder day during the whole trip but at least the weather cooperated. It was about 20 degrees, no wind, and lots of sun. We skied Sunshine and Kicking Horse during the trip. We did get a chance to ski Delirium Dive and Wild West while we were there but after both of our skis got core shots we decided to head to the other side of the mountains. Everything you read about Kicking Horse is 100% true. There are so many things that make this mountain "special". I highly recommend EVERYONE to make a trip out to interior BC/AB! (In both the videos I am the one filming)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4r8K6_htQc



www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB314JQIJ58

[emmaurice2]

From Boston it was about a 6 hr. flight plus a layover in MN. I highly recommend stopping in MN as it seems to be a natural halfway point and really breaks up the flight. We only had one real powder day during the whole trip but at least the weather cooperated. It was about 20 degrees, no wind, and lots of sun. We skied Sunshine and Kicking Horse during the trip. We did get a chance to ski Delirium Dive and Wild West while we were there but after both of our skis got core shots we decided to head to the other side of the mountains. Everything you read about Kicking Horse is 100% true. There are so many things that make this mountain "special". I highly recommend EVERYONE to make a trip out to interior BC/AB! (In both the videos I am the one filming)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4r8K6_htQC

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB314JQIJ58

Nice report!

First vid wouldn't load for me.

The Wild West video did...if I ever make it out there, I know what I won't be skiing!

Did it look like the mountains had good options for varying ability levels?

[MadMadWorld]

Nice report!

First vid wouldn't load for me.

The Wild West video did...if I ever make it out there, I know what I won't be skiing!

Did it look like the mountains had good options for varying ability levels?

Sorry the the first link is updated. It's the better of the two by far. You will see why if you watch the video all the way to the end. And yes, Banff has terrain for all ability. There are 3 mountains (Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise) all within a 20 min ride of one another. All 3 offer very different things. Lake Louise is known for its tree skiing, Norquay is a great intermediate mountain, and Sunshine is known for its big mountain skiing. However, with the exception of Wild West and Delirium Dive I found the mountain to be pretty tame. Because of the lack of snowfall we ended up skinning WaWa ridge and found some true champagne powder. Kicking Horse is a whole different animal. Lots of hiking involved but skiers are rewarded with some of the nastiest chutes, cornices, and cliffs you could ever imagine. And once you reach the bottom of the bowl you are welcomed by 1,000 ft of moguls. Needless to say, I have never been so exhausted from 2 days of skiing in my life.

[emmaurice2]

Sorry the the first link is updated. It's the better of the two by far. You will see why if you watch the video all the way to the end. And yes, Banff has terrain for all ability. There are 3 mountains (Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise) all within a 20 min ride of one another. All 3 offer very different things. Lake Louise is known for its tree skiing, Norquay is a great intermediate mountain, and Sunshine is known for its big mountain skiing. However, with the exception of Wild West and Delirium Dive I found the mountain to be pretty tame. Because of the lack of snowfall we ended up skinning WaWa ridge and found some true champagne powder. Kicking Horse is a whole different animal. Lots of hiking involved but skiers are rewarded with some of the nastiest chutes, cornices, and cliffs you could ever imagine. And once you reach the bottom of the bowl you are welcomed by 1,000 ft of moguls. Needless to say, I have never been so exhausted from 2 days of skiing in my life.

Thanks for the info and glad you're okay! That was a brutal fall.

[MadMadWorld]

Yea it was. The whole thing I could think about during the slide was, what could I possibly hit that will stop this slide and how many bones am I going to break in the process. Luckily, the only injury I sustained was to my ego! It took 20 seconds from the moment I fell until I came to a stop based on the video. My buddy told me I was traveling at least 30mph. I haven't had the time to do the math but I'm guessing I fell pretty far. I was really lucky that I was able to grab hold of a marker instead of many rocky outcroppings or the avalanche debris that was at the bottom of the bowl.

[filejw]

Nice...FYI if you are at Kicking Horse I highly recommend driving up the road to Revelstoke. Best of all of them..

[MadMadWorld]

Ugh I know. I wanted to but the person I was with didnt want to make the haul from Banff to Revelstoke. Next year I am definitely going to stay in BC so I can be close to Kicking Horse and Revelstoke. Apparently there is a group of angry former sunshine (rightfully so) patrollers and staff that just opened up a cat skiing operation on Fortress Mountain (the one from the movie Inception). Unfortunately, we found out about it last minute and there were no seats left. Looked pretty awesome. If anyone wants their info let me know!

[kingslug]

That is some serious shit.I was at both resorts several years ago but didn't try those runs...I think that chute would have bugged me out..big time..

[snoseek]

Whoaa! 3:30 in that second vid looked like a leap of terror! Seriously steep stuff. Did your homie make it off that alive?

[wawawawawa]

feels great to push the limits...seems like you guys went way past.