Ever since the five day work week was legislated, the working man has schemed ways to maximize the weekend. On occasion, if lucky and strategic with a precious few vacation days, the poor slob may achieve the holy grail of the daily grind, the long weekend. I not only pulled off the mythical 4 day weekend, I may have managed something of folk song proportions, riding all 4 days, in two countries, and on two of the more elusive and gnarly mountains in North America. This is part one, Kicking Horse.
View all the photos in full glory in these two photosets - Banff and Kicking Horse

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The Approach

I had been warned at length by my colleague Chris of the absolute stunning beauty that is Banff National Park. Despite these cautionary tales, my jaw still sat firmly on the floor of the rented Expedition Max as Beezer and I wound our way to our hostel in Lake Louise. Rugged and ragged mountains of snow and stone rose abruptly from the landscape looking more like the Alps (Southern and European) than their Rocky brethren to the south.

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The petroleum pig short bus piloted us up to Lake Louise with time for a few ignorant American point and shoot shots of the iconic scenery. An older lady that was moving very quickly on the path around the lake, much quicker than I, commented on how tough of a man I was for not wearing gloves. It may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. On Beezer's recommendation, we ventured back up the hill in the morning to score some slightly less ignorant American shots of the lake. Breathtaking, much like the grease laden breakfast sandwich I devoured shortly after these photos were taken.

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The Riding

Ever since Kicking Horse (KHMR) was expanded and reopened in 2000, I have itched to scope its legendary terrain. KHMR is no joke, boasting the fourth highest vertical drop in North America (4,133 feet) and a ridiculous 85 chutes inside the red line.

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As documented in her "Chutes and Ladders" ride report, Beezer had ripped about KHMR the weekend prior. I was lucky enough to benefit from this knowledge and we started to work our way through the terrain. The snow hadn't received a refresh since her report and was a bit worse for the wear. We had to put our chowder ferreting skills to use to locate the final bits of pow.

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After a few light traverses, hikes, and cruiser runs, it was time to tackle the peak and get the business end of KHMR's sizable vertical. This meant taxing our sea level lungs and burning our cubicle legs with a vertical trot. However, the view and the powder at the top were well worth the agony of high elevation hiking.

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We were under strict orders from Chris to enjoy the summit bar, and we did.

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Following the tasty morsels and tastier beverages, we plodded into another summit hike. Beezer was raving about the powder stash that she had found earlier. Naturally I questioned her ability to out ferret me, but decided it was best to scope her line for the sake of science. As it turns out, she is quite adept at the arts of the chowder ferret and we enjoyed a fine slice of snowy goodness to close the day. I even managed a marginally spectacular endo that may or may not have resulted in a broke binding (warning senseless foreshadowing). Kicking Horse was everything I had heard, imagined, and more. It is the type of place the beckons you to be a local, with a seemingly endless array of options and challenges. I can't wait to tackle her under more ripe conditions.

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The Return

With all the gnar shredded, we headed back to Banff. I joined Chris and Beezer for a beverage at the Banff Springs before heading for the airport and on to part two of the long weekend.

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