Kicking Horse, or White Tooth after hitting puberty, has grown up to be one good-looking hunk of rock. Cut in all the right places, tall and shapely with an open, adventurous personality, this stud has more than a mountain to offer.
One lift whisks you to the top and then it’s like the fun floodgates open and you can turn around pretty much 360 degrees and take your pic of where you would like to launch yourself off the mountain. There’s the nice little groomed cat track for the timid at heart. There are bumps for the mogul aficionados. To the left, please, help yourself to wide-open, steep bowls and tantalizing chutes to put the edge on. Oh, and behind you, yes….you can go there. Just drop down the backside and frolic in some powder. Why not, there’s so much just for you.
The crowds haven’t really arrived yet. Resort peeps seem to think that any day now, Kicking Horse will be another Whistler but Calgary, though a close two and a bit hour drive, is no Vancouver in terms of feeding population onto to the ski runs. This, for you and I, is a good thing and it seems that the resort is doing well enough to continue to up-keep and expand.
The one rough thing about this stallion is that it really kicks your ass as you have to pretty much ski out all the way to the bottom each run and then take the one gondola back to the good stuff up top. It will test the true nature of your ski legs and leave you bruised and battered by days end.
You can also indulge in a little food at the rotating restaurant on top. Called Eagle’s Eye, this is Food with a *(#*&#*(^^!! view. The hamburgers are, like the location, top-notch.
For an excellent dinner, head 30 minutes toward Invermere on highway 95 to the Timber Inn and Restaurant. They serve up excellent German cuisine in a homey, Euro atmosphere and provide a night that is sure to be a little wild. Schnapps, live music, extremely animated hosts, big beers and sausages - need I say more?
Kicking Horse does it for me. And did it over and over. We had nine runs of powder, back when you had to hike each time to the top. A perfect steepness to really get your speed on even without water-ski powder skis (no offence). A definite player on the expert mountain scene, take a gander. It won’t disappoint.
There’s not too much of a ski village but the town of Golden is right beside the mountain. The town has gone through quite a renaissance and it has some fun and weird and wacky bars and some really nice restaurants. Just don’t pick a fight with a Golden Local. You’ll lose.
