 Poster: A snowHead
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In planning a 3 week ski trip in Canada, based in Alberta and BC, my OH I knew that we wanted to go to Kicking Horse. We’d skied there once before, 3 years ago and loved it.
Doing a bit of poking around on the Kicking Horse site one evening after a few drinks, we came across their Big Mountain Camp: https://kickinghorseresort.com/purchase/telus-winter-snow-school/big-mountain
The date fit perfectly for our trip, and we (not being entirely sober) thought it sounded like an amazing idea.
All being well, I would have been in Canada for a week before the Camp, got my ski legs in and be ready(ish) for a beasting on the somewhat daunting terrain at Kicking Horse.
What actually happened: I got Covid less than a week before I was due to fly, had to cancel and rearrange flights, and managed two days’ skiing before we had to go to Kicking Horse. I was feeling ski unfit, as well as still feeling some of the effects of covid which had generally just wiped me out a bit.
So, from the less than optimal preparation and feeling a little anxious about what we’d let ourselves in for (for my part at least), we presented ourselves at the arranged time at the meeting point at the base of KH. There were 6 in the group, and 2 instructors. We were taken on a warm up run, before going up the Stairway to Heaven chair and dropping into the Feuz bowl - a double black with nice snow, but a steep entrance. I skied it less than fluently, and it was clear I would likely hold back the rest of the group (4 Canadians who regularly ski KH, and my other half who had had a couple of weeks head start on me). To my surprise, the group was then split - me with one instructor, the rest with the other.
I then effectively had a private lesson until lunchtime (!). My instructor, Sandra, is a very experienced guide & instructor, and very quickly identified my weak points (steeps, linking turns on steeps, sketchy entrances) and put me through drills on piste to work on technique, then took me to places in the resort to push me out of my comfort zone and practice the technique in the tougher stuff.
After lunch I was joined by one of the guys from the other group who wanted a bit more instruction, and we continued with the pattern of technique on groomed pistes, then consolidate on tougher terrain. So a day of instruction with a max ratio of two to one!
The other group had done more guiding than instruction, and been to some of the more challenging terrain in KH, with a little instruction but mostly guiding. We both ended the day happy and tired, with some well earned apres!
The second day we kept to the same groups. The guided group went off to do one of the hikes (which sounded frankly horrid, but apparently had some nice skiing at the end of the hike) and a few other areas of KH that they wanted to ski. My group carried on with skills and consolidation.
Lunch on the second day is included at the Eagle’s Eye restaurant at the top of the resort. A really nice touch for it to be part of the package - it was a great lunch with amazing views and is probably a good $50 worth of lunch.
I ended the second day feeling much more confident in the things I’d wanted to work on, my technique on and off groomed pistes has (I feel…) improved quite significantly and the quality of instruction was really good.
We both thought the Camp was really good value - it was $319CAD a person for two days, including lunch on the second day. It doesn’t include lift tickets, which we had to buy daily but that’s pretty standard for any guiding or instruction in Canada.
All in all, I’d thoroughly recommend the Camp to anyone who’s planning a trip out this way and wants to improve their big mountain skills. I’d definitely consider doing it again and was really impressed with the level of tuition.
And on a big plus point, at no point did Kicking Horse kick my butt (though my legs may disagree on that point). Oh, it’s also got some of the most stunning views of any resort I’ve been to. So if you get bored of / broken by the skiing, you can drink in the views instead 
Ms T.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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that does sound like excellent value and sounds like you improved a lot.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nice views indeed
Bad moon waning the week before
Didn't get any shots of the cool inversion in the valley behind as it was too damn cold to take mitts off
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