March 15, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Snowshoeing
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I have skied Whistler Blackcomb a couple of times - and a number of times in the Colorado region, but never before in the Canadian Rockies - Banff, Lake Louise, Kicking Horse and Revelstoke.
We almost cancelled our trip because of the lack of snow - but upon checking sites saw that a weather front was on its way, with good falls of snow expected.
Well - we got lucky.
Our first day was at Sunshine and we got about 6cms of fresh
Our second day saw us driving from Banff to Lake Louise at 7.30 - and it was dumping snow...approx 30cms. On the drive up we counted 11 semi trailers off the road and 8 cars - in a 48km drive.
We had a fantastic day skiing the trees and bumps off Ptargamin and Larch - the fresh snow making us look like heroes - and once we arrived back in Banff heard that 18 semi trailers had gone off the road...and that there was a 2.5hr queue to get up to Lake Louise.
So we got lucky - very lucky given it hadnt snowed for a month or more.
We moved on to Revelstoke, where we skied with some friends from Canmore. On our first day there we had the BEST corduoroy skiing I have ever experienced (who would have thought that corduoroy could have been so much fun) and ripped the mountain from top to bottom all day. Given the vertical at Revelstoke it was one of the most tiring (and exhiliarating) days skiing I have had in years.
The next day saw another 6cms fall - so once again we got lucky.
On to Kicking Horse. Wow - what a mountain. Easily my favourite ski filed in Canada - the terrain is magic. We stayed right on the mountain at the base of the lift, so were able to visit the local English pub...which was sensational and served the best beef stew I have had - possibly ever.
And then back to Lake louise, where we got another 6 - 10cm of fresh. There was virtually no one up the mountain and we spent all morning sking fresh tracks in virtual solitude.
This part of the world is absolutely stunning - we like to think our Queenstown is pretty special but its not even close to this place - awesome mountains, snow and facilities.
I will be back in summer to backpack and flyfish the backcountry rivers - if its this good in winter I can only imagine how good it would be on a warm, sparkling, sunny day with the fish rising.