Another ski season is in the books here at Vagabond.  And wow.  What a great ski season we had.  Over 1000 cms of snow at the top of Kicking Horse which was a record.  And it is still coming down as I type this up. I managed to get up for 100 days of skiing this winter which is the most I have ever done in one year.  And most of those are climbs to either T1 or T2.  The video is from the second last day on April 14th.  I did go skiing on the final day but the visibility was very poor and my body said "enough is enough." One run down on the final day just to say I skied the final day.  We had some great guests over the winter with a great many of them returning year after year and a number have already booked their stay for the 2018-2019 ski season  Now we get a month and a half break to recharge and then we will reopen Vagabond in early June.  It already looks like it could be the busiest summer we have ever had.  I am looking forward to some great hiking, kayaking and mountain biking.  All we need now is to get rid of all our snow which may be awhile yet. 
Give us a call here at Vagabond at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca to book your stay or fill out the form on this page and I will get back to you. 

We are in the last few days of operation at Kicking Horse.  Vagabond has been closed for a couple weeks so it gives us a chance to relax and enjoy the skiing.  And boy has it been a treat.  I have done some extra exploring near the resort with some friends and have actually tried some new terrain just out of bounds.  We always carry avalanche gear.  
It has been an awesome winter.  We will take a break and get ready for the summer season and from the looks of the early bookings, it will be very busy again. 
Vagabond has an early bird discount for the 2018-19 ski season.  If you book direct for the next little while you will receive a 10% savings.  But this has to be done direct by either phoning us at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 
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The snow keeps coming.  Although we have shut the door for the ski season at Vagabond, the skiing continues.  I went with a couple of friends Ken and Spencer the other day just out of bounds off T2 at Kicking Horse.  Despite being here for 15 years this was the first time I had skied this run.  Since it is out of bounds, I never recommend doing this unless you have all the necessary avalanche gear and go with someone who knows the terrain because it is easy to get into trouble. It was a fabulous run. 
We are taking reservations for both summer and next winter at Vagabond.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort  closes on April 15th and then reopens in May until October for the summer.  Vagabond will also be reopening in June. 

We are still finding fresh powder and the season is almost done. We just need to work a little harder to find it. With warmer weather now the condition's vary from top to the bottom here at Kicking Horse. And it will vary depending on what side of the mountain ..north facing or south facing. Patrick from Selkirk Sports and I headed up to the top of Terminator Peak a couple days ago.  Although it was sunny it was super windy at the top.  Maybe the worst wind I have experienced.  We  had a tough climb with a cold wind blowing.  But it was definitely worth it as we found untracked powder to the bottom.  Nobody else wanted to go except for a couple of old farts...us.  
Sweet run.  Vagabond closes for the winter season on March 29th and will be reopening for summer in June.  The resort is remaining open until April 15th so we will still have a few more weeks of playing. 
How good is that?  Book your stay this summer or next winter and give us a call here at Vagabond.  250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 

I did a fantastic trip recently near Kicking Horse.  Along with some friends including one who is a guide, we went into Rudy's Bowl and Ozone.  It involved about a half hour boot hike, then a great run into Ozone and then a couple of trips skinning to the top of Rudy's Bowl and then skiing  down to the bottom of Kicking Horse.  We left the base of the resort about 10 and returned about 3pm.  We had all the avalanche gear including transceivers and everyone knew how to use them properly.  I have been in this area a few times and love it.  I could see doing this more and more often as the resort gets more popular and that is happening.  Not that we have any major lift lines but it will get that way eventually.  There is a solitude to skinning up to the top of a mountain which is most cases is probably just as much enjoyment as skiing down.  We took along a couple of our guests at Vagabond.  It was fun to show them another side of what this area has to offer. 
The area we went into is probably going to be part of the actual Kicking Horse Resort soon and will certainly be a lot busier than the day we went with maybe another half dozen people in the area. 
It was a very special day. 

We know how to have fun atVagabond Lodge. It truly has been a ski season to remember with continuous snow and cool temperatures.  It does look like a warming trend is in the forecast but this time of the year is not a surprise as the season starts to wind down. 
A group of us had a fabulous run from the top of T2 the other day.  We were at the right place at the right time. We basically followed the ski patrol to the top and were the first skiers/boarders down after a nice snowfall.
Big news this week from Kicking Horse.  They are part of the EPIC PASS that includes everything from Whistler to Vail and other resorts around the world.  It will be interesting to see the effects on skier visits to our area.  I am not sure if  I am that interested in more skiers coming here but at the same time I realize it is inevitable.  We have just too good of terrain to keep it hidden for too much longer.  I think they will have a record year this year as it is. Progress?? 

February is always our busiest time of the ski season and this year is not any different.  Great to see a lot of familiar faces from guests who come year after year.  Although we haven't had a big dump of snow in a week or so conditions are still great.  And if you don't mind doing a little exploring there are still patches of fresh powder.  Video is from the top of T2 which is my usual haunt.  There are a few chutes that seem to get always have some nice soft snow even when everything else seems to be skied.  It looks like more snow coming next week and temperatures are staying below 0C for the most part which means great skiing from the top to the bottom.  It has definitely been a winter to remember for not only consistent snow but also cooler temperatures.  We still have some rooms available at Vagabond in March.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or emailinfo@vagabondlodge.ca 
Hope to see you. 

It has been a great start to the month of February here at Kicking Horse.  More new snow and the weather is staying nice and crisp.  The resort hosted the World Freeride Tour which is a big thing for Golden and area.  It is the only stop in North America and in reality there are probably very few resorts in the World which the type of terrain needed for these skiers/boarders.  And we have it. They do some pretty crazy stuff.  We had one of the mothers of one of the contestants stay with us and she was a basket-case watching her son do his thing.  Because the first tour stop was cancelled in Japan they held 2 events here.  The first one was in a  an area that has never been open to the public and it was pretty wild  seeing these kids come down ozone.  Rumours have it, it will be open to the public before the season is over.  
Son Kori and his wife Elaine spent a couple days here over the weekend and we managed to go for a few runs in the nice powder.  One was off the top of T2 and we managed to get a small window of brighter skies late in the day.  It made for some really nice colours as you can see in the video. 
February is pretty solidly booked here at Vagabond but we have some availability in March which has always been a great month for snow.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 

It has been a January to remember here at Vagabond Lodge and Kicking Horse Resort.  It seems almost everyday we get more snow.  The knees are getting a little worn but loving it.  We have had about another 47 cms of snow over the past week and as I am writing this, we have a heavy snowfall warning with another 20 cms predicted. While other areas may be getting a lot more(Whistler) the difference here is our snow is not moist and wet.  It is nice and dry and you can still find great stashes of powder days after a snowfall that is as light as the day it fell. 
This video is from a couple days ago when we managed to get some visibility coming down from T2.  Patrick from Selkirk Sports joined me for a hike up.  
If you are looking for a great winter getaway, give us a call atVagabond Lodge 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 

  The video tells the story.  After a couple weeks of temperature inversion where the top of the mountain was really warm(above 0C) and the bottom was a lot colder the weather had a dramatic change for the better. It snowed for about 2 days pretty steady with 25 cms of beautiful soft powder.  And it came in the middle of the week so we didn't have to contend with the weekend warriors using our snow up.  Sorry..I am selfish with my snow. 
As you can see we had some fun playing in the snow.   The forecast looks great too for the next couple weeks with cooler temperatures of below 0C and a few more dumps of snow.  
January is winding down but we still have some room at Vagabond for the end of the month.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 
You too, can come and play.