I almost missed this!!! But Kicking Horse Resort is offering a great deal on summer Gondola sightseeing passes. The price is just under $26 dollars plus tax of course for the entire summer.  It is the same price as 1 ride. There are some awesome hikes off the top of the mountain and it is always nice to stop at the Eagle's Eye Restaurant for lunch before heading down. The deadline though for buying this pass is May 31st. Click Here for the link to this. I played my first round of golf this season  recently.   Nice day.  Course is always fun to play.  But the treat, was seeing a mom and 2 cubs running across one of the fairways as we are getting set to tee off. 
They let us play through!!!

 
 
Bear Spotting, Whitewater Rafting, Cross Country Mountain Biking,Canoeing on the Columbia River, Tandem Paragliding,  and Golf, are all available on the doorsteps of Vagabond Lodge. We have seen bears daily on the road between here and Golden. There must be over a dozen hanging out in the area.   And the whitewater rafting has started  on the Kicking Horse River. .  The Moonraker biking trails are just down the road from us and are fabulous.  
Give us a call toll free 1 866 944 2622.  Great time of the year. 

 
 
A fabulous few days here.  Warmer temperatures, sunny sky's and still a lot of great snow to be had.  I went up this afternoon for a couple runs and was surprised I could still find some fresh powder here and there and the tracked snow was still nice.  Going later in the afternoon was certainly the key.  I am sure the morning wasn't as nice.  Even the bottom part of the hill was fine.  A few patches of hard packed but that was it. Snow is holding up great and more snow is predicted later this week. 
A new area that has been added to the resort this year is "T2" or Terminator 2"  It involves a hike to the top of a mountain they call Terminator 2 and accesses  some amazing runs.  It is a challenge to get to the top and certainly is not for everyone which is good. If it is was easy everyone would be doing it.  Narrow path and in a couple places very steep and difficult to get any sort of foot-hold.  They have a rope at the last little section to pull yourself up which is a must. But the scenery is stunning and the runs are fabulous.  I did it for the first time a few days ago  and wasn't disappointed.  I may not do it for awhile but I am glad I did it. 
 
 
Great day at Kicking Horse skiing.  But it really doesn't matter. What does matter is what has happened in Japan.  Our thoughts are with those people.  Everything else is unimportant.

 
 
Temperatures have warmed up a lot and the snow keeps coming down. Snowed all day yesterday and most of the day today with accumulation of about 20cms or so in some places.  I took a run later in the day and off the top it was especially nice with boot-top powder.  Bottom part started to get a bit heavier but that is expected this time of the year.  Temperature was about plus 2C at Vagabond Lodge. 
 
 
Great day at Kicking Horse.  Sun came out and temperatures were around 0C at the bottom. And with about 40cms of new snow over the past week it was fabulous skiing.  I went out with some guests for a few runs after lunch and went into SuperBowl, Feuz Bowl and then Double-header and they were all good.  It was also a demo day for Salomon and Blizzard and I tried 3 different skies.  Fun doing that.  These are all skis for next year.  Things are quieting down here at Vagabond Lodge but the conditions are so good. 
 
 
We had our second Jazz Night at Vagabond Lodge this past Sunday.  Parson Jazz Cooperative played for happy hour.  We are working witha  new singer, Terry Pittman and she did a great job. We will getting our "Act" together for a show we are doing next door at Corks Restaurant on March 19th.  It will be a fundraiser for the Golden Nordic Club's New Lodge and will be playing for "Happy Hour" from about 4.30-6.30. 

 
 
Woke up to a nice snowfall this morning.  Received about 7cm overnight and about 24cm in the past couple days.  Weather is still pretty cool...-15 in the morning and it didn't warm up that much during the day..maybe -8C at the top.  So the snow is nice and light.  And nobody on the hill so a great chance to take advantage of the snow and no crowds. I went up later in the afternoon with a neighbour for a couple of runs and it was great skiing.  Visibility wasn't very good for our first run but it started to clear up as the day ended.  More snow is predicted in the next few days.
 
 
Woke up to about another 12 cm of fresh snow.  And then a blizzard hit for most of the morning.  It was a whiteout for a few hours.  And then after lunch the sun came out.  Wow.  I went up about 2pm for a couple runs.  Sweet.  Went into Feuz Bowl with some of our clients for a nice runs and then was hoping to go to Superbowl but it was closed.  So I just dipped down into Bowl-over and then double header.  Snow is just fantastic.  Biggest weekend of the year coming up. Alberta Family day.  If you don't have a reservation, too bad. 
 
 
It was a nice change today at Kicking Horse.  No lift lines and that is time for me to ski. It was quite windy at the top with poor visibility.  But once you got off the top it was fine and the snow was very nice. We received well over 40 cms of new snow in the past few days.  The best run I had was into SuperBowl.  I questioned myself a few times for going there since I couldn't see anything but it kept most people from going there.  And I found out it wasn't open on Sunday.  That's why I had about a knee high powder.  Very nice. Great bunch of guests including a group who have been coming for years to stay with us.  We have 1 room left for the weekend coming up.  $295 plus tax(double occupancy).