Western Canada's second ski hill to open this season: Nakiska, Alberta
Throughout
November Canadian and international athletes will be put through their paces on
Mapmaker and Whoop-Up, training at Nakiska for early season World Cup races and
Sochi qualifiers. New for the resort this year is Alberta’s first ever World
Cup Ski Cross event which will feature the best athletes in the world in exciting
head-to-head competition. Get out there and watch them!
Another
claim to fame: Nakiska was the base for actors Leonardo Di Caprio, Ken
Watanabe, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy while filming
for the movie Inception. They stayed in the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis right next to the resort and many of
them were seen incognito on the slopes. You never know who you’ll be sharing a
chair with there!
Alpine
Canada’s Director of Events, Pete Bosinger will be spending a lot of time at
Nakiska this season. Former Olympian and head coach of the Canadian men’s team,
Bosinger has been a regular at Nakiska since competing there in the 1988
Olympics. “Nakiska has long been a part of my
ski racing career as an athlete, coach and event planner,” he says. His
coaching career brought him back initially and this season he will be directing
the Ski Cross World Cup (Dec 6-7) and the North American Alpine Championships
in March.
As well as great race tracks, Nakiska’s
ski terrain ranges from manicured, fall-line groomers to well-spaced glades to
long bumps runs under the top chair. “The Gold Chair offers top class race and
training slopes,” says Bosinger. “And on a powder day it also has some of the
longest runs you will find in the Rockies.” On weekdays, this powder can last
long into the afternoon in the upper bowls. One of the resorts’ hidden secrets is that many gung-ho
powder skiers eschew it for the bigger resorts, leaving more untracked snow for
Nakiska know-alls.
Expanding every year, Nakiska now
boasts 41 runs over 1021 acres, with 12 trails in the 70-acre Monster Glades
area. “The
Monster Glades provide some of the best tree skiing in the Alberta Rockies,”
says marketing manager, Matt Mosteller. From summit to
base the vertical is 2,412 ft, a real thigh-burner for down-in-one cruisers.
A great
place to learn skiing, Nakiska sports a 350-ft Magic Carpet with colourful
obstacle courses and lively music. The nearby daycare offers ski and play
programs which are both child- and parent-friendly. How reassuring to know your
kids are having a fabulous time learning, playing and socializing while you ski
the mountain – it’s called parallel play! And it’s not just kids who are
learning at Nakiska. The Discover Skiing or Riding deals include lesson, lift
ticket and rentals, an affordable introduction to the sport for ages 13 and up.
The program is suitable if you’re a total beginner, want to cross over from
skiing to boarding or vice versa, or just want to refresh your technique after years of
absence from the sport.
Nakiska really caters to family
bonding, offering a huge range of facilities and programs to attract all
age-groups to its no-nonsense layout. The main lodge is right by the drop-off
point, near the carpark, and has facilities for packed lunch eaters,
self-service, and groups, as well as a topnotch restaurant upstairs. Tickets
and rentals are easily accessible just opposite, with daycare positioned right
by the beginners slope. Everyone fills the lodge with bags and backpacks so
they have everything conceivable at hand for their ski day.
The design of the hill is comprehensive,
with chairs entitled Bronze, Silver, Olympic and Gold, roughly denoting the
level of difficulty as well as increasing altitude. With one of the most
effective snowmaking systems in Canada, Nakiska supplements its 250 cm of
natural annual snowfall with perfectly groomed manmade corduroy over 95 percent
of the runs. It has a gated rail park, too, dubbed Najibska, available with a
$5 access pass.
There are also cruisy cross-country trails
crisscrossing the 4,000 square kilometres of Kananaskis Country, the Provincial
Park and wildlife area surrounding Nakiska. There’s plenty of accommodation in
Kananaskis Village right by the resort, including the Delta Lodge where the G8 world leaders stayed a few years
back.
For those who want to try out new techniques on
the latest skis, there are Rossignol Demo Days – the next one coming up on Nov
30. This program, run by Ian Hunter, helps skiers find the best ski for their
style, ability, slope and snow preferences.
At the end of a long ski day at
Nakiska, visitors, locals athletes and coaches all refuel at the Finish Line
Lounge, upstairs in the main lodge. One of my family’s favourite ways to top off an
energetic day is to drop by the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis skating pond. With hot chocolate served al
fresco at weekends and holidays, it adds a European-influenced après-ski charm
to finish off the day.
As
well as free community ski day, there are lots of ski pass deals at Nakiska
throughout the season including the Husky Snowstars Funpass which gives free skiing all season for kids
in Grade 2. Kids in Grades 4/5 can get free coupons for 56 Canadian ski hills
with the Snowpass.
Check the Nakiska website out for this year’s kids’, youth and adult deals.
The word Nakiska means “to meet” in
Cree so I hope to meet you there sometime this season!
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