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Kicking Horse is known for it's steep chutes. There are a lot of them. There are some that are easy to access and pretty straight forward. Aim your skis downhill and away you go. But there are others that are a little tricky to get into. And unless you go with someone who has been there before, it is easy to get into trouble. Even after 11 years skiing here, there are a number of chutes I have not skied for one reason for another. Patrick from Selkirk Sports suggested we go into "Red Light." You access it from the top of Redemption ridge after taking the Stairway to Heaven Chairlift. And even Patrick had a hard time finding the entrance. It involves some sideslipping down a narrow entrance, and then around a couple of corners and then into the actual chute. Then it opens up into a pretty nice slope into Feuz Bowl. Snow was nice. Now that I did it once, it is one that I probably won't do again. There are a lot of other chutes that are less hassle to access and you don't have to worry about sliding over rocks to get in. But it is nice to say I did it once. Thanks Patrick. Here is short video I did on our trip into the Red Light District at Kicking Horse. It has been some crazy weather here. First huge snow and then rain. But the good news is while it rained on the lower slopes for a couple days, it was puking snow at the top. Yesterday they opened Terminator which is the mountain to the south of the Gondola. Patrick from Selkirk Sports and cued up to await the Green Light from the Ski Patrol. It was worth the wait. After a week of drought, it has been snowing off and on for the past few days which is really needed after the warm weather we had a couple weeks ago turned the bottom part of the hill into a skating rink. The top part was fine but you have to come down eventually and you had better hang on in a few places.
But that is basically over. In some spots under the new snow there are a few slick spots but nothing like it was a few days ago. I have been going daily up to T2 and it certainly has had the best snow on the hill and usually is all the time. It is an East facing slope and doesn't get any of the warm sun and it doesn't get a lot of traffic. Many days, I am the only one on the slope. With a few more cms of snow I decided to go to the top of Terminator today which is the first peak to the south of the top of the Gondola. It is about a 20 minute climb to get there. Most people go to the top of the peak but I exit slightly lower and it accesses the best fall line on the hill in my mind. Some of the other runs off the top, you have to pick your way down a few rock faces when you get close to the bottom. Today I was pleasantly surprised with untracked boot-top powder. Great run. It was a heli skiing slope without the $1000 price tag. |
KenKen along with his wife Lori are the owners and operators of Vagabond Lodge at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Archives
March 2023
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