Travel : Road Tripping BC’s Powder Highway- Part One, Kicking Horse
Mountainwatch | Reggae Elliss
A road trip along BC’s Powder Highway has been on my bucket list for a long time, a route in the Kootenay Rockies that takes in some of the best resorts, cat ski and heli ski operations in British Columbia. Located in southeast BC, this is home to Kicking Horse, Fernie, Whitewater, Revelstoke and Red Mountain, five of the best resorts in North America for terrain and quality snow.
The interior location of these resorts means they receive quality snow and usually a lot of it and it’s all about the terrain and, when it’s on, the powder. The beauty of a Powder Highway adventure is that your itinerary can include all resorts or just a few. On this trip my wife Amanda and I were heading to Kicking Horse, Revelstoke and Fernie.
While the Powder Highway is all about skiing, the drive takes you through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world, something that became obvious as we left the flatlands outside Calgary and headed into the mountains and the Banff National Park.
Our first destination was Kicking Horse, just outside the small town of Golden, an easy 2.5-hour drive from Calgary airport. Our daughter Arkie has spent the past three winters there with a couple of friends from Thredbo and raves about the mountain, so we thought we’d visit her and see for ourselves. It was also a good opportunity to do a short family road trip to include two of the other jewels in the Powder Highway crown.
Kicking Horse has well-deserved reputation for its advanced and expert terrain with open bowls, steep tree skiing and technical chutes spread across the mountain. It’s also the only North American location on the Freeride World Tour.
The resort is 2.5hrs (270kms) west of Calgary and 14km from Golden. There are plenty of accommodation options in Golden and a regular shuttle services the mountain all day. There is also a good range of accommodation on the mountain with condos, luxury homes apartments and B&Bs. Our comfortable and well-appointed B&B, the Copperhorse Lodge, was a convenient five-minute walk to the gondola.
We arrived in late February, a week or so after a storm. It has been an inconsistent winter in Kicking Horse and it was looking low tide on the lower mountain. “It’s a different story up the top,” Arkie said as we got on the gondola. “There’s plenty of snow up there.”
That wasn’t surprising as the top elevation is 2500 metres and Kicking Horse’s Golden Express Gondola is one of the highest and longest in North America. Kicking Horse is located in the middle of the Selkirk and Purcell ranges and the views when you disembark the gondola are amazing, dramatic mountain peaks in each direction.
The inbounds terrain is spectacular, and Arkie was about to give us a tour of her favourites. She has a penchant for steeps, but I’ve asked her to go easy on us. Amanda hadn’t skied since last August and I was fresh off the plane from Japan having skied a heap of powder in mellow Japan terrain.
“Don’t worry dad, you’ll be right,” she said with a laugh.
She did take it easy on our first run, dropping into the milder terrain on Crystal Bowl, the snow was cold and dry with a bit of wind-blown on top. That lead to a groomed cat track called “It’s a 10” that winds through the middle of the mountain with steep glades and chutes off the side before we hit a choice of groomers on the lower mountain. These were pretty mellow and well groomed, perfect to get the legs dialed in before venturing into more adventurous terrain.
Next lap Arkie lead us across CPR ridge which runs underneath the upper gondola. The south side has some great tree skiing while CPR north has chutes, open faces and more technical lines. The trees on the southside are fun, steep and open with a heap of different lines that drop off the ridge.
The first day gave us a real idea of what Kicking Horse is about, the four upper bowls and the ridgelines under the gondola and Stairway to Heaven chair accessing huge variety of terrain.
We received some snow on the first night we were there, a 10cm freshening up and that was followed by another 25-30cms the next night. It was still snowing lightly but was wet, borderline rain, as we walked to the gondola that morning.
However, it was a different world on the upper mountain, cold with a light wind, a few snow flurries and the snow underfoot was awesome. It was one of those special mornings. I’d just spent five weeks in Japan and skied more powder than I have in years but dropping into 30cm of fresh snow on steep big mountain terrain is next level.
As we wait in the lift line after skiing another 1300m of vertical it’s obvious Kicking Horse is a core mountain and it attracts core skiers and snowboarders. Every skier has wide, freeride skis and are wearing technical outerwear. It’s all shells, Arc’teryx, Burton AK and the North Face, not a Moncler logo or a white jacket and belt with black fur in sight. Refreshing to be in a line free of pretentious fashion ‘flakes’ and ‘yo bro, did you see my run’ type machismo – just chill people who love to ski, and can.
Golden is a classic small mountain town, its history tied to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR – hence the name of the ski runs, not referring to keeping someone’s heart going, although the runs do that too!) and the logging industry which still has a significant role in the towns’ economy. Tourism is also growing, and summers can be busy, the mountains and the town’s proximity to six national parks attracting a lot people.
The community is made up of multi-generational families and relative newcomers lured by the mountains and the outdoors. 20-year-old Odin Sinclair was born and raised in Golden, his mother a teacher at Golden school and his dad is a manager at the timber mill. Odin said he was fortunate to grow up in Golden: “It has that small-town vibe and it was special growing up here,” Odin said. “You know everyone you went to school with and chances are your friends with most of them.”
Odin, like most of his friends, started skiing when he was three years-old, and they all rip, as you’d expect from born and bred locals on a mountain like Kicking Horse. They ski together a lot and call themselves Golden Boys Ski, the classic local rat-pack.
“I always ski with the same people and as the years go on that group has been getting bigger and bigger,” Odin said. “The terrain at Kicking Horse has really influenced our skiing. It’s about freeride – powder, steep lines and cliff drops. The best thing about Golden and Kicking Horse is definitely the powder and views. It never gets old.”
Stay tuned for part two of 0ur BC Road Trip, heading for Kicking Horse to Revelstoke.
*Note: Having the right vehicle is important for a winter trip like this and we rented a mid-sized SUV with all-wheel-drive with winter tyres from Budget and the car rental area at Calgary Airport is conveniently located across the road from arrivals. Winter tyres or chains are mandatory for most routes in British Columbia from October 1st to April 30
For more info check the Mountainwatch Guide to Kicking Horse
Kicking Horse snow cams, forecasts
Head to Mountainwatch Travel for info on Kicking Horse 2025-2026 season packages
