Kicking Horse Living Offers a Different Pace of Life
As our gondola cabin flies past the third tower, the Columbia Valley comes into focus to the south. North America’s second-longest river winds along banks already turning green in the spring sun while a bounty of late-season powder awaits in the alpine. It looks like a fantasy landscape. “This is why we live here,” a spry fellow in his 50s says, shooting me a knowing wink. He gets it: there’s no competition here, no glitz, no glam. It’s just us and the mountains—an unvarnished, direct relationship. There are few places like it, and fewer you can call home.
Now brimming with self-confidence at 25 years old, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort knows exactly what it is—one of the last holdouts of authentic mountain living in the frenzied world of resort developments. Sat in the Purcell Mountains’ Dogtooth Range above the blue-collar town of Golden, Kicking Horse is a confluence of giant landscapes and simple values. It’s a tight-knit community of homeowners and Golden locals whose priorities are exactly the same: unfiltered mountain life in the largest setting possible, with as few distractions as possible. Think Whistler or Jackson if no one was there, and you’d start to get the picture, but still miss some of the nuance.
There’s 1,315 metres (4,314 feet) of vertical drop spanning ski terrain that’s rowdy enough to host a
Freeride World Tour event, or mellow enough to baby sit the kids. All of it funnelling back to a single base area that feels like a family ski hill, and all of it at elevations resilient enough to deliver over 6.5 metres of dry, consistent snow every winter. A small village with restaurants, cafes, pubs, and shops keeps the vibe centralized, making it easy to find your friends and neighbours. Some of whom might be just as entranced by the perfect pitch of the Dawn Mountain Nordic area only a hop away.
Come summer there’s a raucous downhill bike park to keep the energy going, or the Moonrakers cross-country mountain bike network, where you can flow endlessly through untrammelled forests of cedar, spruce, and pine that orbit the year-round resort. You can likewise spend long, warm days hiking or running the lofty alpine trails via gondola, or go it with human power alone. Whatever you choose, you’ll be in good company—but no too much company. And that’s the point. When you have the biggest outdoor recreation in North America at your doorstep and a decidedly small cadre of like-minded souls to share it with, you don’t need much else. And that’s the way we like it.
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Construction is well underway for the final phase of The Cedars development and sales have already started! This first release of homes will be on lots 19, 20, 21 and 22 and will be ready by Spring 2025.
4 Bedrooms / 3 bathrooms – 2594 luxurious square feet – Starting at $1,499,000
At The Cedars, healthy mountain living is a priority, offering clean air, pristine water, and a vibrant lifestyle. Commitment to High Performance goes beyond energy efficiency – it’s about enhancing your comfort. All Season Comfort, Climate-Resilient, All-Electric, Net Zero Energy Ready homes.
See the Buyers Guide for more information.
Contact Ned Johnson directly, njohnson@innovationbuilding.com, for all the details on the straight forward ‘Developer, direct to Purchaser’ sales process.
- Published in Real Estate, Real Estate, Summer, Winter
The Cedars at Kicking Horse – The Final Phase
Sales launch June 20th!
We are excited to share that construction has started for the Final Phase of the Cedars. Sales will start Thursday June 20th, 2024!! This first release of homes will be on lots 19, 20, 21 and 22.
Contact Ned Johnson directly, njohnson@innovationbuilding.com, for all the details on the straight forward ‘Developer, direct to Purchaser’ sales process.
Your home will be ready next Spring. Joining the amazing Cedars community will be a breeze!
See the foundation for homes 21 and 22 shown here. We are pouring concrete for footings today!!
View from the deck of Cedars 21_22.
Where Mountain Modern meets High Performance
4 Bedrooms / 3 bathrooms – 2594 luxurious square feet – Starting at $1,499,000
At The Cedars, we prioritize healthy mountain living, offering clean air, pristine water, and a vibrant lifestyle. Our commitment to High Performance goes beyond energy efficiency – it’s about enhancing your comfort. All Season Comfort, Climate-Resilient, All-Electric, Net Zero Energy Ready homes.
- Experience double wall insulation, draft-free interiors, consistent heating and cooling year-round.
- Breathe Easy with 24/7 fresh, filtered outdoor air and abundant natural light from our passive house certified windows.
- Fresh interiors, light and bright.
- 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and 10-foot ceilings on the second floor.
- Private paved driveway, with more covered parking outside.
- Rough in ready for Fast Charging EV station.
- Rough in ready for hot tub.
- And we haven’t forgotten the luxury part, see our Buyers Guide (in the link above) to learn more about all the fine finishes.
Rest Assured knowing you’re purchasing directly from the builder-developer, ensuring a seamless experience. We deliver on our promises.
Don’t miss out on your last chance to be a part of the Cedars community.
Stay tuned for regular updates and talk to you soon,
Ned
#CedarsatKickingHorse #kickinghorsemtn #champagnepowder
- Published in Real Estate, Summer, Winter
Innovation in Action: Third Phase of Kicking Horse Cedars Neighbourhood Goes “Mountain Modern”
Ned and Rachelle Johnson’s move from Whistler to the BC Rockies and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort came from the desire to “live in a real working person’s town.” From 1992 to 2005, Johnson worked side by side with Rod Nadeau at Georgie-Award-winning Innovation Building Group, creating some of Whistler’s most iconic residences.
In 2005, Nadeau and Johnson purchased a lot at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, a sprawling, magnificent canvas of skiing terrain just outside of Golden, British Columbia, He cut a deal with Rod Nadeau, his business partner in Whistler, to bring on some projects at the diamond in the rough resort, and oversaw the design, construction and completion of the Palliser Lodge, a 48-unit condo hotel located in Kicking Horse’s central plaza.
“We’ve been here for 19 years, and we absolutely love it. Rod and his team still manage projects in Whistler, Pemberton and the Sunshine Coast and there has been plenty to keep me busy around here.”
Innovation’s current project is Phase Three of The Cedars; a bare-land strata project that backs onto the Dawn Mountain Nordic Trails. Phase one and phase two featured similar lots and were sold before the pandemic.
It was just the breather that Johnson needed to re-think what a truly revolutionary mountain home concept might look like.
Johnson explains: “Coming out of the pandemic, labour and material costs are up 30 to 40 percent.
Financing and insurance are up too. It would seem natural to “dumb down” our designs, but we won’t. We’re going remain true to our company philosophy and build carbon-neutral, climate-resilient, high-performance homes and have proud new homeowners living in homes with efficiency standards that will not be law until 2032.”
Johnson canvassed as many Kicking Horse homeowners as he could; not just in The Cedars but in other developments, to find out what they loved about their homes, and what they would change. Combined with his own experience in building a variety of innovative projects—including the newly-completed award-winning Oso in downtown Golden—Johnson created the concept of “Mountain Modern” Duplex homes to make up Phase 3. “There has to be an aesthetic that strikes a balance between space-wasting and energy-wasting 12,000 square foot Western gothic cabins on steroids and tiny, almost windowless Passive Houses.”
“When we talk about building a high-performance house, most people think that it’s going to involve a lot of up-front costs that will save money down the road. At Innovation, we’ve been in the game long enough to learn from our mistakes and know what works and what doesn’t. Building high-performance does not have to cost more and it will save you money from the beginning. Investing in more insulation, great windows, a well-sealed envelope with fresh conditioned air, and your mechanical systems can be smaller while occupier comfort increases. Right out of the gate, your energy consumption is less. We can truly build better homes that are more energy efficient without breaking the bank. High-performance homes are simply a better way to live.”
He continues: “The cost savings are in the efficiencies. It’s not one piece of technology like a heat pump or a solar panel, it’s an entirely organic, interdependent system. These are homes that maintain the 
decorative touches that homeowners love, such as timber beams. Many people think a high-performance home uses very little energy, and while that’s true, the most tangible benefit is in providing mountain-high air quality, even temperature control, and warm, diffuse natural interior light without any harshness in cold winters and hot summers. The system is designed so that tradespeople can come in and easily act upon the technical drawings and specifications. Service cavities make it easy for electricians to come in and staple wires to the inside of the wall. We source triple-pane, argon gas windows from Poland that have twice the insulative value that the best windows in North America can provide. You literally can hold your hand up to the glass on the coldest day of the year and it will feel warm to the touch.”
Since the 1950s, “flat roofs” have long been a distinguishing design feature of modern homes. These Mountain Modern homes will are designed with gently sloping roofs that are designed to prevent “ice damming” which occurs when warm air escaping from the roof melts and freezes into a layer of ice. Come springtime, melting water from the roof pools behind this ice dam can compromise the home’s entire structure. Each home has enough load-bearing capacity to hold an entire winter’s worth of snowfall accumulation.
Johnson concludes: “Clean lines translate into building well-insulated, air-tight homes. We do not want to make vanilla boxes, either. We emphasize using climate-resilient materials, which means that you may use synthetic compounds in highly-exposed areas like sundecks. Electric fireplaces and engineered wood floors are more energy-efficient and cost-effective than natural materials. Most of the people who own second homes up here don’t want to be spending their time maintaining their investment.”
Details:
The Cedars, Phase III will be selling and commence construction this summer, with a planned completion date of Fall, 2025. Sign up on Kicking Horse Mountain’s website under Real Estate/Cedars and you will receive the Buyers Guide with the most up-to-date information on sale prices and sales dates.
- Published in Real Estate, Summer, Winter
A Kick Ass Day
Steep & deep: the first two words that come to mind when I think of our day at Kicking Horse. We weren’t expecting a pow day while visiting Golden in mid-March, but when we woke up to bluebird skies and 25 cm of fresh snow, we had to check out the local Rocky Mountain Resort.
Our quick stop at Ethos Café for morning coffees, almond croissants and avocado toast wasn’t quite quick enough and we got “trained” — stuck behind a passing train — for about 20 minutes. Apparently this is one of Golden’s endearing inconveniences. When the tracks were finally cleared, we continued up the hill to lay some fresh ones of our own.
Before long, we found ourselves flying up the mountain in the Golden Eagle Express, watching skiers and boarders slash and spray their way across the slope. The gondola let us off at 2,346 metres (7,700 feet) and I was slightly overwhelmed by the impressive peaks surrounding us and the seemingly limitless options for getting back down.
Riding over to the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ chair, we had our first taste of that famous champagne powder. Light, fast and fluffy as a cloud, we practically floated down to the lift. There was no lineup — a common theme for the day — and I began to wonder if all that glitters is gold in Golden.
The official ‘Stairway to Heaven’ opened and we couldn’t resist seeing where it led. When we reached the summit, we followed tracks along the edge of Feuz Bowl until we were ready to strap in. I attempted to pick a friendly line off of ‘Whitewall’ but a vertical drop-in was my only option (hence the name). We each took a leap of faith and didn’t stop until we’d reached the base.
A few top to bottom laps later, and our legs started to feel like they’d taken the stairmaster to heaven. Eagle’s Eye Restaurant was the perfect spot to rest up and enjoy some panoramic views. Once we’d recharged, we spent the afternoon riding Bowl Over to Terminator, where there was still plenty of untracked terrain.
The four o’clock call signaled the end of the day and although we wanted to keep going, I don’t know how much more my body could’ve handled. I was so covered in snow by this point I had a liftie ask me: “Faceplant or faceshot?”. Both, I told him. I managed to make it to the parking lot without collapsing but I can’t say the same about my partner.
No day up the mountain is complete without après, so we headed to Riverhouse Tavern for tacos and pints on the patio. With the warm, spring sun shining down on us, we re-lived the highlights over some much needed sustenance. Kicking Horse may have kicked our asses, but as I sat there basking in that post powder day glow, I couldn’t wait to do it all over again.
Words & Photos by Ruby Woodruff
https://www.instagram.com/rubywood/
- Published in Winter
Exploring Daycare & Adventure Lessons at Kicking Horse
As a young family living just outside Calgary, we crave convenient experiences that complement our outdoor lifestyle. Kicking Horse’s big mountain slopes offer some of my favourite style of terrain to ride, but managing with a little one can be tricky. So, when we planned a day trip to Golden, arranging daycare and an adventure lesson for our little dude, Sylas, was a no-brainer to ensure that we had the ultimate mountain day date.
From the initial phone call to our arrival at the resort, every moment along the way exceeded our expectations. Since this was our first experience with booking Sylas into a mountain resort daycare, I had lots of questions! The winter sports school navigated me through the process with finesse and grace, building trust and enriching the entire experience.
Thanks to the recent upgrades on Highway 1, the commute from Calgary was a smooth ride. If you’ve never experienced this drive, it is a must! From the iconic Cascade mountain backdrop as you drive past Banff to the remarkable engineering feats showcased in the bridges and roadways, this drive alone is worth the adventure. With upbeat tunes from the Disney Cars soundtrack filling our vehicle, our day date was off to a great start!
Reaching the resort on a snowy Sunday, we geared up in the parking and loaded up the essentials in the wagon for a smooth 3 minute walk to the daycare centre. Conveniently located inside the Mountaineer Lodge and next to the Learning & Adventure Centre, it was easy to find.
Welcomed warmly by the attentive mountain school staff, we confirmed the details for Sylas’s snowboard lesson before settling him into the daycare.
First impressions inside the daycare immediately assured us of Sylas’s safety and comfort. With his name welcoming him on his locker and an array of toys and engaging activities awaiting him, we filled out the paperwork, snapped a quick pic for security, and hugged him good-bye knowing he was in good hands.
Opting for the lunch package relieved us of the worry of timing and rushing back for Sylas’s lunch hour. Josephine, Sylas’s lovely daycare host, brought him over for lunch at Whitetooth Grill. She later shared with me that he couldn’t get enough of the hot chocolate and fruit, and ate his entire cheese quesadilla. It was such a relief knowing he was not only well-fed but also enjoying himself during our mountain adventure.
We returned for Sylas’s afternoon adventure lesson but made a conscious decision to observe from a distance. Recognizing the importance of allowing kids to thrive independently under the guidance of skilled instructors like Kurtis, our best bet was to discreetly observe the lesson without interfering.
Calmly, Kurtis began the lesson by kneeling down to Sylas’s level and communicating directly with him. Miraculously, he somehow got Sylas’s goggles on, a task that often proves to be our biggest challenge!
As they ventured out to the beginner area hand-in-hand, it quickly became evident that Kurtis was fostering an environment where growth and learning would flourish.
With every run, Sylas remained fully engaged, actively participating in the lesson under Kurtis’s patient guidance. This level of involvement from Sylas was truly the best possible outcome, reflecting the effectiveness of Kurtis’s teaching approach.
The lesson concluded with high-fives and smiles, leaving everyone stoked with Sylas’s progress.
As our day came to an end, we reunited with a content and exhausted Sylas. After swiftly returning to our vehicle and loading up, we hit the road, with our baby snowboarder peacefully dozing for most of the journey home.
Looking back, the invaluable experience offered by Kicking Horse Mountain Resort’s daycare and adventure hour lesson went beyond simply enjoying a day of snowboarding. It was about nurturing independence, fostering growth, and creating long-lasting memories for our child.
- Published in Winter
Triple Dip: Why You Want to Make It to Kicking Horse This Winter
They call it the jet stream—a narrow band of wind high up in the atmosphere that blows from west to east. It’s what brings us most of our weather in North America. During years when the Pacific Ocean is warm, the jet stream veers south and B.C. gets less storms. On years when the Pacific Ocean is cold, however, the jet stream juts north, soaking up Arctic air before dumping loads of snow on the Pacific Northwest and Interior B.C. We call those La Niña years, and to a skier or snowboarder, it’s the best thing ever. Part of that is because they deliver the driest most consistent powder on earth, but it’s also because La Niña winters usually only come around once or twice a decade.
We’ve been lucky enough to have La Niña stick around for the last two winters in B.C., and oh my has it made this horse kick. It snowed 66 days during the 2021/22 operating season, which is four months long at Kicking Horse. Do the math on that, and it was storming more than half the time—piling up to eight metres total. That’s over 26 feet, surpassing even the 24 feet from the season before!
Photo from the 2021.22 Season
And guess what, it’s still here. Climatologists are predicting an unprecedented third winter of La Niña this winter: a never-before-seen “triple dip.” That means if you’ve been trying to pick a perfect season to visit Kicking Horse, this is it. Not only is it going to puke coldsmoke all winter, but the pandemic is finally over. Covid restrictions have all but vanished in B.C. (though we need to be vigilant), and this will be the first “normal” season in three years. High-fives in the lift line? Check. No more masks? Check. No more distancing in gondola cabins? Check. That all means getting up the mountain faster, and getting more of the fluffy white stuff in your face on the way down.
Plus, if you’re visiting from the U.S., you’ll be getting an especially hardy discount courtesy of the exchange rate. The U.S. dollar has been outpacing the Canuck coin by a solid 25 to 30 percent for the last six months, and there’s no signs of that changing. Kicking Horse also just updated its grooming fleet with a new, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly cat to help boost your experience on corduroy—because, let’s be fair, it won’t snow every day… just most.
Photos by Tim Grey & Aiden Trudel
- Published in Winter
Spring – Summer Boo Update
Before spring turned into summer, Boo awoke from his den to a chilly start on March 20th. This spring had a generous amount of rainfall which gave him a break from the insects while nourishing all of the vegetation and other life within his habitat. Boo spent much of his time foraging within his enclosure, eating up horsetails, roots, sedges, dandelions, and grasses.
On the other end, our team members were hard at surveying vegetation to see what food was growing inside the habitat. Some of the species within his enclosure include Mountain Ash, Western red-cedar, Wild raspberry, Thimbleberry, and Common horsetail. Summer is the season for bear food! Soon there will be a large verity of berries produced at the elevation of the Bear Refuge, but not quite yet. The staff has slowly started introducing berries into Boo’s diet because these plants are beginning to be productive at the bottom of the valley.
Golden has started to see some hotter days for the summer. Unlike humans, bears cannot thermo-regulate, so, Boo will avoid the sun by resting in his ponds and under trees to combat the heat. Our staff will also make him “Bear Popsicles” to help him cool down. This is usually composed of fruit or meat frozen in a broth and then dropped into one of his pools or shaded areas. Now, if Boo is not foraging, he is napping in daybeds, relaxing in his pools, or playing enthusiastically with hiding enrichment.
Boo is 20 years old as of this winter, officially a senior bear. Grizzly bears have an average life expectancy of 20 – 25 years in the wild, depending on where they live. Even in his older age, Boo is still spry and playful, and we expect him to be at the refuge for a long time. To celebrate his life and Grizzly Bear research and rehabilitation in BC, we will celebrate his 20th year on July 9th and 10th. Kicking Horse Resort will host fun educational workshops, activities, and presentations. Please see our website’s Events & Activities section to learn more about this celebration.
-Grizzly Bear Refuge Staff
New season, new systems
New season, new systems!
How to smooth out your first day on the slopes.
Well, here we are!
We’ve made it to another ski season during a pandemic, and while some regulations will stay the same as last season, we are also dealing with a few new ones. Here are some guidelines to help make your first day out in the mountains as smooth as possible for you and your family.
Request your Season Pass or Direct to Lift Card in advance
If you have purchased a season pass, you should have received an email requesting your upload your QR code/proof of immunization online. Please upload your information and request your pass be sent to you as soon as possible. Ensuring your pass gets into our printing queue as soon as possible allows you the best chance of receiving your pass ahead of your first visit. If you have not received your email requesting proof of immunization, please feel free to reach out to our guest services team to request one by emailing information@skircr.com. If you have requested your pass but have not received it before your first day, you will need to visit the resort Guest Services building to receive a day ticket and show proof of immunization. If you are having problems with our system accepting your Proof of Immunization please refer to our FAQ’s to find out why.
Mind our Know Before you Go updates
While many of our guidelines have stayed the same, a key update this season is the requirement to be fully vaccinated to access our resort lifts and facilities. Please refer to the information above on how to provide this ahead of your visit.
Bring your QR Code on your first few visits
To ensure we have record of your information, we encourage you to have your QR Code and government-issued photo id with you on your first few trips. If you purchase day tickets, you will need to show proof of immunization when picking up your lift tickets each time you visit.
Limit your baggage and prepare for a few lineups
We will not be allowing bags to be stored unattended in our daylodge or common areas. Please ensure you’re leaving any unnecessary baggage in your car or purchase a locker. While requiring proof of immunization should help alleviate some lineups at our lifts and facilities, please note that some people may still choose to stay distanced from others; we ask you to respect the wishes of those around you.
Be kind
As always, we ask you to be kind to our fellow guests and also our staff. Please realize our front-line staff are working hard to ensure you enjoy your experience and share your passion for the mountains. Let’s all work together to make our mountain experience an enjoyable one.
Photo by Tim Grey
- Published in Winter
Thank You for a Great Winter!
Hello Everyone!
We have come to the end of our winter operations, and all of us at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort wish to extend our gratitude for being a part of the success of this unique and challenging season.
We thank you for your compliance, patience and understanding as we navigated through this pandemic winter. You were all the “reason we had a season”. It took a tremendous and collaborative effort to open our lifts for the 2020-2021 season, and it was a privilege to be open and a privilege to be able to ski and ride this winter.
Thank you for following our ‘COVID-19: Know Before You Go’ policies & procedures, which helped our ski season succeed.
This winter was one of quality! There was no shortage of epic storms delivering many Kicking Horse Champagne Powder days in one of the best winters Kicking Horse has had.
I want to extend a sincere thank you to our staff and volunteers for rising to numerous challenges throughout this winter and for acting responsibly both at and away from work. We could not have achieved the success of this season without you!
We look forward to welcoming you back next winter, or perhaps to our summer operations, which are just around the corner.
Thank you, Mike Rubenstein
- Published in Winter
Mid Winter Check Up on Boo
While skiing by the Grizzly Bear Refuge this week you may have noticed some staff members around Boo’s enclosure.
This year, Boo has had the unique opportunity to hibernate in his main enclosure as opposed to his usual winter holding area. This is a first for Boo, giving him the experience to spend the winter in a den he has created on his own.
Over the past few days our team members have been working hard on extending the Bear Refuge Habitat fence by four more wires. This is to ensure that come spring time Boo and everyone around the Refuge are happy and safe with the added snowpack!
Boo’s natural den is dug into the roots of an old Spruce stump and is about ten feet into the earth. At the den entrance is a large tunnel about 3 feet in width and 4 feet long. This entry way slants slightly to the left and has a mound of dirt at the end of it creating a windbreak. Past this windbreak you find a large, round area about seven feet in width which is used as the main “sleeping quarters”.
On warmer days, Boo may stretch out to his tunnel and create a break in the snow that has covered the den entrance. On very cold days like we have had recently, Boo will be tucked deep into the back of his den, as it is heavily insulated with the snowpack and deep earth. In the fall, Boo will prepare his den by collecting bedding such as grasses, leaves, and fireweed from the nearby areas. He will roll the bedding up into large tufts, and then proceed to roll it backwards into his den entrance, setting it up in his bedding area. This will add additional warmth and comfort throughout the winter season.
The amazing part of this process is that Boo has never been taught how to hibernate, create a den, or even collect his bedding material. This behavior is based solely on instinct.
You can visit Boo this summer! Stay tuned for upcoming information about the day to day life of Boo the Bear and the team who care for him and get information about visiting our Grizzly Bear Interpretive Centre on our website.
Words by Catherine Cowan, Grizzly Bear Ranger
