Escape From the Express at Kicking Horse

T2: Peak of T2, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. January 13, 2010.

Tessa Treadway: Tessa Treadway, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, January 13, 2010.Tessa Treadway: Tessa Treadway, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. January 13, 2010.

Tessa Treadway: Tessa, getting some pow turns at Kicking Horse, Jan 13, 2010.

Weeks of sad and bony conditions in Wyoming and Colorado had finally come to a head-time to blow our lolly-pop stand.  I uncovered my bag of Canadian money from the last stint, recruited a friend and hit the road. Rogers Pass was the destination, and as we put our skins on in dumping snow under snow banks bigger than my house, it was clear a long, long day in the car was a small, small price to pay for the thigh deep untracked hero snow we skied that day.

Until we checked the forecast in the evening: the pineapple express was visiting BC too, bringing warming temps, rain, heavy snow, and high avy danger for the next couple days.

So we headed down to Golden BC and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, where they bomb the snow for you, the rain stays way down low, friend's couches await, and ripping hometown skier Tessa Treadway gave us a sweet tour of the chutes, spines, and hucks and fluffy pow that cover every inch of the upper mountain.

We started the day lapping CPR ridge over to Feuz Bowl, where skinny steep little drop-ins opened up to dry powder fans, and as usual there was almost no one out but us to track it up.  Frozen chunder and ice on the lowest slopes was almost crushing, but we were pretty happy having escaped the rain to the top fate of most other BC ski hills. 

The author skis pow in a cloud

Sunny SuperBowl HikeKatie Mahoney approving of CPR ridge

We hit the upper mountain all day, finishing up with cream
cheese powder in Super Bowl in the last light of the ski day.  With a week left before anyone expects
us back at work and snow in the forecast, it’s looking like no rest for the
weary. 

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