"Crazy Good" skiing at Kicking Horse. Boot top powder at the top and making fresh tracks. And it didn't get sticky until almost at the bottom. April 19th!! One more day...to end Vagabond Lodge's 10th Season. Great atmosphere and a lot of new people realizing what a great mountain we have.  

Hard to believe our 10th season at Kicking Horse is coming to a close.  When the resort announced they would be open until April 20th I was sceptical whether the snow would still be around.  That certainly is not an issue. We could be open for a few more weeks from the looks of it.  We received in some places another 10 cms a couple days ago.  I went up with Patrick from Selkirk Sports to T2 and found nice untracked powder yesterday.  We didn't go up until about 1pm and it looked like there had only  maybe been a couple of other people up there ahead of us.  It wasn't until we got about 2/3 thirds of the way down before it started to get mucky and that was a challenge on the knees slugging our way to the bottom.  It was back to the top of the mountain to the Eagle's Eye for a beer after that which is a great way  to end the day.  If you are thinking of coming skiing next winter, love to have you stay with us.  Give us a call 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca. 
Our 10% Early Bird booking is in effect.  

Today it felt like Spring Skiing..finally.  The weather warmed up a few degrees, the sun was shinning brightly, the resort was deserted(good for skiers, bad for business) and the snow was softening up nicely. 
I had a big day for exercise.  I did 3 hikes.  The first were up to the top of Terminator 1, which is the peak to the south of the gondola.  I knew as soon as it got a little warmer it was going to be sweet and it was.  There were a couple of inches of soft snow on top and it was like skiing powder.  I came back down and ran (not physically) into a friend Patrick who owns Selkirk Sports and he suggested we go back up again to the top.  It was good the second time too.  

We have our final guests of the ski season.  They are 3 guys from Chicago area and stayed with us for 5 nights and were loving our area.  One of them, Vincent wanted to finish off his stay with a run from the top of T2 which is the furthest peak to the south and involves another hike/climb.  We did it as the sun was going down over the ridge and were the last skiers to go up for the day(ski patrol were prodding us from behind) . Vinny had a great time and no doubt will remember his stay with his final run. 
Photos of his hike and run below.  Kicking Horse closes on Sunday April 20th so I have a few days to spend all day skiing.  I think I will. 

Its hard to believe the count down is on for the end of the ski season here at Kicking Horse.  It has been an amazing year and especially the last month or so.  It is warming up in the last few days so lots of spring skiing but the top is still winter conditions.  Today there was some light snow and wind but once you got off the top it was great and as you got closer to the bottom it got pretty mushy but still nice. The Resort closes on April 20th so there is still time to get in a few last turns. 
Yesterday I had another first.  I went with a friend Ken Schroeder who is a former Parks Canada Warden and Patrick who owns Selkirk Sports which is next to the gondola for a  trip into the Ozone.  It is out of bounds and accessible from the top of the Stairway to Heaven Chair.  From there you hike and climb for about 30 minutes.  From the top of the ridge you have a pretty crazy narrow opening to side-slip down and then a short traverse and after that it opens up into a great slope with all sorts of powder skiing.  You can make your way through the trees at the bottom back into the Resort.  It took us about an hour and a half all together for the trip and well worth it.  I do not recommend anyone to do this without having the proper avalanche gear and a guide who knows not only the snow conditions but the terrain and we had both.  
Check out the video. 

I know this may sound repetitious but the conditions are so good!!  I didn't get out yesterday but anyone who did raved about how good the skiing was.  We got about 5 cms of new snow the day before and it still wasn't warming up to the point of ice or slush.  I had to go up to my usual haunt to the top of T2 this afternoon and it was winter conditions with blowing snow and cool temperatures.  And it looked like I was the first one up in awhile since my tracks were fresh on my way up.  And the snow coming down was so nice.  It really didn't begin to toughen up until almost at the bottom with a little slush.  Still some flurries blowing through off and on.  We still have a couple of weeks left of skiing with the resort open until April 20th.  I heard rumours today they may even stay open longer because of all the snow.  I am not sure they will get too many skiers but with all the other resorts in the area closing down this weekend it may be a good idea.  Revelstoke, Panorama, Fernie are all closing after this weekend and I am sure there are a few more.  The only resorts that stay open longer is Lake Louise and Sunshine. So there may be a market still.  Whatever is the case...the conditions great. I am enjoying it while I can. 

Another fabulous day for skiing at Kicking Horse.  I know I have been saying this all season but it is the truth.  Best snow conditions for this time of the year since we have been here which is 10 years.  There is some sort of temperature inversion where it is warmer at the top then at the bottom which is keeping the snow great from top to bottom.  I made a couple runs late this afternoon and was still skiing boot top powder off T2 which is the run in the photo.  And we had about 6cms yesterday and was finding nice fresh snow all the way down. 

I was surprised on how good of conditions it was today.  We had about 6 cms of new snow but also the weather got pretty warm.  I was expecting some pretty heavy snow.  I didn't got up until about 2pm and it was great from top to bottom. It was slightly heavier near the bottom but not much.  
And at T2 I was skiing from boot-top powder to at one point I found a stash of knee deep powder.  With some clouds and fog coming and going, I guess it scared a lot of people from heading up to the top.  But I just waited a few minutes and it cleared up.  At one point there was a squall that blew through and it was snowing hard.  And then a few minutes later the sun came out.  
A great day. 

It doesn't get much better than today. Well..yesterday was pretty good too.  We got 18 cms over the past couple days and although yesterday was pretty amazing today we got some sunshine too at the top.  And both Terminator and T2 were open for the first time in a couple days.  And that's where I went.  First I did the climb to the top of Terminator and was shocked that I could pick any line down and have first track of boot-top soft powder.  That was pretty spectacular.  And I looked over to T2 which is the next peak to the south and it had just opened so after making my way to the bottom I headed back up top to T2.  Doing two hikes takes a lot out of me but ....it's all for a great cause.  
And I was one of the first to ski down T2 and again it was pretty sweet.  After those two runs it was time to put the body to rest.  A great couple of runs and a couple of hikes.  The resort is pretty quiet which is great for skiing but not great for business.  Not sure why it is so quiet??  Maybe people have had enough winter. 

Another great day yesterday.   Woke up to about 10 cms of powder and went out to check it out about 10am.  I did three runs from top to bottom(12 thousand vertical feet) of mostly boot-top untracked powder.  It was the type of snow, where you can just aim your skis downhill and let them go.  Really enjoyed Terminator which is the furthest run to the south of the resort.  There are bumps all the way down but when you have boot top powder in the bumps, it makes it a lot of fun.  
And this morning we have another 11 cms of snow.  I just may have to do it all again.  Photo is from Kicking Horse Webcam this morning.  Not much else to say.  

It's been mid winter temperatures here at Kicking Horse the last week.  Usually this time of the year the weather starts to warm up with the light snow at the top and as you get closer to the bottom the snow gets heavier. But that is not the case.  It has been staying below 0C or hovering around that temperature during the day and at night about -8C.  Yesterday it was a light snow coming down off and on for most of the day and with the cooler weather the snow was fabulous.  I went for a run in the afternoon with Patrick from Selkirk Sports and we ended up at my favourite spot T2.  We hooked up with a snowboarder on our way who had never skied T2 and wasn't even aware of it.  Well...he had a great time to say the least.  Forecast is calling for about 20 cms of snow over the next couple days.  The conditions right now are certainly the best of the season.   Fabulous coverage from top to bottom. 
Vagabond Lodge has rooms available if you want to ski the one of the best Resorts in the World.   Give us a call 250 344 2622 or email me at info@vagabondlodge.ca