Kicking Horse is known for some of the most interesting and technical terrain on the Powder Highway, but if you’re a novice snowboarder or skier, that shouldn’t scare you from earning your chops on the slopes. 

A few starter runs on the Jellybean and Pony training hills are the perfect way to get things started whether you’re a first-timer or are coming back from an extended absence. 

From there, our trainers from our snow school will work with you to figure out which hill to tackle next. 

Our Catamount chair services a solid chunk of beginner and low-intermediate terrain (primarily green runs). This includes runs like Big Ben and Wolverine, heading down towards Beaver Tail and Crowfoot. Overall, it’s a great lift for to build your confidence, nail turns and improve general skill. Since most of our beginner and intermediate terrain is located below mid-mountain, it’s not a very daunting proposition if you’re a rookie. 

When you’re ready to progress to longer runs and looking to work in some blue/intermediate terrain, take our gondola to up to Eagle’s Eye and use It’s a 10 (green cat track) to enter Crystal Bowl. There’s a mix of blue and green terrain available in Crystal Bowl (one of our personal favorites is a blue: Northern Lights) They can then use It’s a 10 to travel down the mountain (a 10 km long track from top to bottom!) to access more beginner runs in the lower mountain. Alongside this run, you have to check out Kicking Horse classic #43 Blaster as well, which is a green run.

Turns in Crystal Bowl

If you’ve earned your chops and tackled this suggested lineup, that’s a solid day’s work. End your day back at Peaks Grill with a couple of beers to analyze the day’s runs and take a look at tomorrow’s conditions. There’s so much terrain to discover at Kicking Horse, you’ll find yourself with far more to conquer than you could ever do in one trip, but the best boarding/riding weekends are the ones that leave you wanting more!