Canada is home to many ski resorts with a wide range of terrain, including several of the largest ski resorts in North America. But when it comes to extreme terrain, very little compares to Kicking Horse.
Kicking Horse has some proper challenging terrain, with steep chutes, cliffs, couloirs, and lots of hike-to zones filling the mountain. Several of these hike-to zones include runs that require straight-lining or mandatory airs. Combining all of that, PeakRankings points to the British Columbia ski resort as one of Canada’s most extreme.
@kickinghorsemtn boasts some of the most intense expert terrain in the world, with chutes, cliffs, and couloirs that are accessible directly off the lifts. And for those looking for an even greater challenge, the resort is home to copious hike-to terrain, with lines off these hikes that are even more gnarly than the ones off the lifts, often requiring mandatory straightlining or hidden cliff drops. And one of the craziest parts about Kicking Horse is that it not only offers a 4,300-foot vertical drop, but straight-up requires guests to embark on it on a large portion of the resort’s terrain due to the lift layout and a general lack of redundancies. Finally, Kicking Horse’s modest visitation and consistently-cold temperatures keeps snow fresh for days or even weeks, especially when there’s any hiking involved. However, Kicking Horse’s layout makes it a poor choice for those who want anything but the toughest ski vacation. First off, beginner and intermediate terrain is extremely limited, and with lift service heavily dependent on a singular top-to-bottom gondola, the overwhelming majority of runs are incredibly long and will take a toll on the typical guest. There are a handful of other lifts to runs that are more moderate in length, but they’re incredibly slow and only directly serve a handful of runs each. Even if you’re a confident black-diamond skier at another resort, it’s not out of the ordinary to take only a handful of laps and then call it a day. #peakrankings#werankpeaks#skiing#ski#snow#winter#mountains#travel#skiingislife#nature#powder#alpineskiing#alpine#mountain#freeride#adventure#skitouring#powderskiing#skilife#winteriscoming#freeski#skiingisfun#skiingday#kickinghorse#skicanada
Kicking Horse has a vertical drop of 4,400 feet, making for one of the tallest ski resorts in the country. Snow stays fresh on the mountain for a while, especially in hike-access areas. That said, the mountain isn’t the best suited for beginners and intermediates. There’s not a lot of easy terrain and most runs are pretty long. Even the stronger advanced skiers might wind up exhausted after just a handful of runs.
Nolan Deck is a writer for Unofficial Networks, covering skiing and outdoor adventure. After growing up and skiing in Maine, he moved to the Denver area for college where he continues to live and work...
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