Starting this Saturday are our “Rambler’s Hikes”! Join us this summer as an educational introduction to our captivating environment, great for the whole family to take part in! There are four opportunities to try out the hikes, with the first this Saturday featuring Mountain Safety & Weather; guided by the resort’s Mountain Safety Crew, this thematic hike will walk you through our micro-climate and how to conquer the mountains on the safe side.
Other dates & hikes;
Staying Safe in Bear Country – August 1
Your expert guide from Boo’s Grizzly Bear Refuge will educate you on vulnerable bear habitat, how we can reduce human impact and how to stay safe while sharing the beautiful mountains.
Under Our Feet: Geology of the Trench – August 15
How and when did this valley get shaped? Local specialist Gideon Smith will share his extensive knowledge of the region for the most interesting hike of the summer.
Take Nothing But Photos – August 29
A local professional photographer will host a master class at 7’700ft. Learn how to capture the essence of your natural environment with timeless photographs. Take a piece home without leaving a trace!
Please note: a valid lift ticket is required to load up the gondola – visit our Hikes page for lift ticket prices.
Hikes depart at 1:pm – meet at the Winter Trail Map (across from the Gondola Top) to participate!
- Published in Winter
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 5
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 5
by Lisa Roddick
It’s Crunch Time. This week has been a whole lot of drilling holes in the rock, cleaning them out and gluing in hardware. It takes a long time to get in and out of the locations that we are working at, so about 8 – 9 hours a day at this point are spent hanging on ropes. Good thing that when we need a rest, the views are incredible and the weather has been great, except that day it hailed. One KHMR Via Ferrata Guide has been paired with one Prisme employee, they drill and we glue.
Sometimes when the driller is gluing a tricky spot where rock fall is a concern and we must wait for them the finish. While we wait we become Gophers; Climbing up and down to deliver drill bits, glue packs and hardware. It feels like the work will never end, but none the less we are progressing well and starting to think about the final touches in order to get ready for the grand opening!
The more places on the Via Ferrata routes that I get to explore, the more excited I become. I am climbing through places that I have never been to before and only stared at from the gondola during ski season. The terrain is bigger and more challenging than it appears at first glance. I think the Via Ferrata is going to be a real adventure and good physical and mental challenge for those who endeavor to take it on. If you dare to be one of the first to explore Terminator Peak on KHMR’s new Via Ferrata, bring your courage, a positive attitude and lots of water!
GRAND OPENING JULY 1 !
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It’s your last chance to take advantage of our Earlybird Season Pass & Ski School sale. Sale ends on Saturday, June 27th! Order online now.
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VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 4
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 4
By Lisa Roddick
The Via Ferrata at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is really coming along! We started our week off this week with anchor testing for the suspension bridge. It was a very finicky process and took all day long. After testing the anchors we were ready to string 3 cables across Glory, this was also a slow process but we all learned a lot and were introduced to some new tools.
Next we had to build the bridge, laying one board at a time and walking out onto it in order to place the next board. This process required a lot of creativity and a few boards before we got our system down. The final step is to level and balance the bridge, again, a tricky thing to do. We will get pretty dialed at this bridge thing seeing as it has to come down each winter and then go back up for the summer and Via Ferrata adventures!
The bridge was not the only thing we achieved this week, but it was a big part of it. We also, cleaned debris off of rock shelves to make fewer hazards for walking over them when on route.
We also started learning how to work behind a driller and clean the rock dust of the hole they drill in order to fill it with glue and insert the Life Line and climbing aids along the routes. This week is where we were really able to see the most progress. The days fly by when every moment is a new experience.
Each day is filled with learning experiences, new challenges and high physical demand which is keeping us on our toes, fully engaged and just burning through the chocolate covered almonds!
- Published in Winter
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 3
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 3
By Lisa Roddick
Things are moving along at the top of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The hot weather we’ve been having has melted a lot of snow in the past week, most of it in fact. The rock scaling on Terminator Peak is mostly finished, all of the hardware to start drilling and installing the Via Ferrata has been slung into place by a helicopter and Starr Trail Solutions is making quick work of an incredible trail that will help tired climbers descend T1 (and then probably make their way to the Eagle’s Eye for a celebratory cocktail).
This week the Via Ferrata crew has been hauling rocks to create entrances and platforms along the routes. We have been digging snow out of the places we need quicker access to. We put together parts of the suspension bridge and loads for the heli-drops and getting on rope to create the trail that will finish the Discovery Route.
We are having a great time up here, working in a spectacular office and we’re all pretty excited about the progress this week. The nice weather and lack of bugs has been a great contributor to our happiness! Week 4 should have us on ropes drilling and gluing our way through the routes, stay tuned for next week’s update and photos.
- Published in Winter
VIA FERRATA MAKING OF – WEEK 1 & 2
Via Ferrata Adventure – Week 1 and 2
By Lisa Roddick
Prisme, a Quebec based company was set to arrive on Tuesday, May 26. On this day, due to traffic accidents blocking their route, all but one of the Prisme crew missed their flights. One individual was driving from Squamish and was here Wednesday morning to get some gear together and hike to Terminator Peak for his first look at it.
Jorge was impressed with what he saw, grateful for the iews he will have from his office for the next month and excited about this project! The rest of the crew was set to arrive on Wednesday afternoon, but encountered another setback when the brand new rental truck that they had hired broke down near Banff. They would have to wait for a replacement and would not arrive until the next day.
Bright and early Thursday morning, May 28 the Prisme team arrived, smiling and optimistic despite the epic mission it took them to get to Kicking Horse. That same day they started hauling gear to the top of Terminator Peak and installing anchors so they could start rock scaling. After 5 days of rock scaling, which was easier than they had anticipated they forecast that they will be done by Monday, June 8 and ready to start installing the Iron Road. In the mean time, the Via Ferrata guides are training, preparing behind the scenes and digging snowing off the route where needed while anxiously awaiting their part of the installation of Golden’s newest and highest attraction!
- Published in Press Release, Winter
Prepare yourself for the best opening in Kicking Horse Bike Park’s history. This isn’t vacuous marketing hype, but the real McCoy. On a normal year, the opening bell only rings as high up as Blaster, about two-thirds of the way up the hill. This year however, the ringing will be heard from the very top of the mountain. Every trail on the map will be open on Day 1 (disclaimer: you may have to cross out a couple runs on the map, like Rock Garden and others to be discussed below, to make the above statement true). We’ve never seen so little snow in the alpine at this time of year. We’re pretty sure there will be hell to pay for it somewhere down the line, but for the opening (preview) weekend of the park, it couldn’t be better news!
Gone are the soul-crushing days of the past when we spent the entire spring digging organic crap out of the original poorly-constructed berms and jumps, feeling like we were in that Hitchcock film in which no matter how far forward we tried to get, the hallway just kept extending further ahead of us. But, like the movie, the horror finally ended. Now we spend most of the pre-season twirling moustaches and creating new features and reroutes.
SUPERBERM – Superberm, for logistical purposes, has been broken down into five sections: SB0 to SB4 in TC parlance. SB0 is the last built, but is at the top, which might explain the odd numbering system. It got one new jump, but needs more. SB1 needs very little help these days, and won’t see any. SB3 is damn close to being dialled after getting two big re-workings. SB4 had a major reroute and some jump enhancements this spring. One more reworked berm is needed at the bottom. SB2 is the embarrassing misfit we try to ignore but will have to dress nicely eventually.
MAGIC CARPET RIDE – A crew of ringers, Starr Trail Solutions, have foolishly taken on the task of finishing the re-routing of this mid-mountain disaster (the old one I mean, not the new one!). They are throwing everything they have into it and hope to finish before the preview weekend, but believe me when I tell you, it ain’t easy terrain. If it doesn’t open, unfortunately that means you would also have to cross off TIME TRAVEL from your trail map as they will share the same exit.
SWAMP DONKEY – A massive reworking of this new jump trail is ongoing to improve jump linking and drainage. Flow and flow, if you will. There is an outside chance it might be open this weekend, but don’t bet on it. But with so much else open, who will even notice?
All this is yours this weekend, then for the whole summer into September starting next weekend. Early bird season passes are still available at kickinghorseresort.com. I think you’ll find this season will be worth the price. It’s only going to get better!
- Published in Winter
On June 28th, don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to rediscover our summer playground, with FREE sightseeing for our local community. Be amazed by our breathtaking mountain views and stop by Eagle’s Eye Restaurant for an exquisite lunch at 7,700 feet. A $9.95 Grizzly Bear Interpretive tour upgrade will be available at the Guest Services Desk, children (6-12 years) are FREE!
*PROOF OF RESIDENCY REQUIRED (upon presentation of a valid BC driver’s license or BC photo ID with a Golden or Area A address)
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Wow! We’re pleased to have won the TripAdvisor® 2015 Certificate of Excellence award for both Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Eagle’s Eye Restaurant. To leave your review visit our TripAdvisor page.
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- Published in Winter