Summer Season 2020 – A Note from Area Manager Mike Rubenstein
Welcome Back Guests!
We are very excited to announce our Summer Season opening on June 26, 2020. After an abrupt end to our winter season and your riding pleasure, we at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort look forward to welcoming you back to the mountain. But first I would like to explain where we are as a resort and a company and how we got here.
First of all, everyone at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort wishes to thank our medical community and all other essential workers. Many of us have spouses, partners, parents or kids who are working long, stressful hours to help make sure we are safe and cared for if needed. Golden shines for many reasons, but in particular it really shines when there is a need for compassion and support.
After deciding as a company to cease operations on March 16th, our community, our team and frankly the entire mountain tourism industry have worked tirelessly to get to the exciting announcement that we will be opening for summer operations on June 26th.
All of us at KHMR want you to be able to enjoy the mountains and trails that define our home. Tireless efforts have been put forward by staff and industry partners to figure out a way forward and now feel we have a summer program we can be proud of while ensuring the safety of our guests and our staff.
Some things will be very familiar at the Resort while other aspects of our summer operation will feel different, even strange. But rest assured, with an abundance of caution and a goal for a safe, sustainable program, we will offer Mountain Biking, Hiking, visits to see Boo and the Grizzly Bear Refuge team and Sightseeing seven days a week with the Via Ferrata four days a week from June 26th to September 7th. For the month of September our resort offerings will be scaled to four days a week. The Eagle’s Eye restaurant will be open for dining, and Bike Rentals and Retail Goods will be offered.
Opening a mountain resort during these times is a complicated, challenging exercise, one in which every aspect of human interaction needs to be thought through.
Some of the changes you will encounter this summer are:
- When you arrive at the base area, you will see signs and team members asking you the basics: Are you experiencing symptoms of COVID-19? Have you been out of the country in the last 14 days? Do you live or work with anyone who has any symptoms?
- The purchasing of lift tickets, passes and bike rentals will be handled from behind plexiglass barriers at Guest Services Desks, the Rental Shop or in the Retail Cabin.
- You will be riding the Golden Eagle Express gondola or Catamount chair by yourself, or with your family or travelling group.
- Your tickets will be scanned through a barrier from a distance.
- Line ups will be spread apart to meet provincial health guidelines.
- We do expect there to be longer wait times during busier periods and hope that you understand the necessity of this process. Our commitment to providing a top-notch experience will remain the same.
- Dining and drinking will be offered both indoors and outdoors, and tables will be spread apart to ensure our guests and staff safety.
We do anticipate that changes will continue to happen and we will adapt as necessary, so thank you in advance for your patience. We look forward to sharing more adventures and building great memories together, and having a great, safe summer.
Kind Regards,
Mike Rubenstein
- Published in Press Release, Summer
New Season. New Terrain.
The Horse is back with more kick than ever! With our recent expansion, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort can now offer 4314 feet of vertical descent – the 5th biggest vertical in North America!
Here are the fast facts:
- 4314 feet (1314 meters) of vertical
- 3486 acres of skiable terrain
- 8218 feet (2504 meters) at top elevation
- 5 alpine bowls
- Endless Champagne Powder
Dialing up for this coming winter, Kicking Horse’s new terrain includes the legendary Ozone South face (made famous as the competition venue for last year’s Freeride World Tour event) and Middle Ridge, offering fantastic turns into both Feuz Bowl and the adjacent Rudi’s Bowl. This is Canada’s BIGGEST expansion in skiable terrain – a loud and large 660 acres of new, rowdy skiing! 660 acres that embody what Kicking Horse represents: adventurous terrain offering challenges to all skiers and riders.
To access Ozone, skiers and riders will hike up to Whitewall, ski/ride down to the saddle and hike up to the top of the face. For Middle Ridge, a dedicated bootpack will head up from the bottom of Feuz Bowl. Big rewards will be available to those happy to do a little hiking!
Like all of our existing terrain, these features will be opened and closed at the discretion of our Mountain Safety team, allowing for the necessary avalanche control to be completed so that we can all play safely!
This would not be possible without the incredible support of Purcell Heli-Skiing, who will be offering their beautiful brand of small-group heli-skiing from the base of Kicking Horse this winter! Adventures abound from The Horse – the finest marriage of lift and heli-accessed terrain around!
We want to give fair warning now: when these features are opened, you will not want to be sitting in the day lodge. This is some of the most exciting in-bounds terrain you will ever make turns on, so do not miss out! Going forward into this winter season and beyond, Kicking Horse will boast more inspiring and vast terrain than any one pair of skis can handle!
So, have you started waxing your skis and boards yet?
Photo:
Andrew Chad
- Published in Winter