Words & photos by Karen Ung
Ski season has started and it’s not too late to get a Nakiska Season’s Pass! Why Nakiska? The best hill is the one you go to! Since my first visit in ’99, 
I’ve made lots of turns at Nakiska, and return each year to the promise of great skiing less than an hour’s drive from home. There is terrain for all levels, with fun features such as the NaJibSka Rail Park and Monster Glades, an amazing snow school, and a long season thanks to state of the art snowmaking equipment. Last year, we made the most of our season’s pass (15 visits!), and were surprised at how quickly our kids progressed from bunny hill to blue runs! If you love to ski and want to go often, a Season’s Pass or RCR Rockies Card is the best value for your money.
- Ski Close: Since Nakiska is less than an hour from Calgary, you not only save time and money driving, but on lodging and dining also!
- Ski any time, all season long, for a great rate: Your Season’s Pass pays for itself in only 11 visits (way less if you get the early bird special)! Not sure you will go that many times? Consider the RCR Rockies Card*. For little more than a single lift ticket, you get three free days and discounts at partner ski resorts. *Only available until December 26th
- Flexibility: Whether you like to sleep in or have children that nap, a season’s pass allows you to ski when you want. There’s no need to wait until 12:30 pm for half-day lift tickets! Since our girls are late risers, we head out mid-morning after a big breakfast and ski until the lifts shut down. It’s just the right amount of time for little legs (and by not overdoing it, they’re keen to go back)!
- Terrain for All Levels: Nakiska boasts a large learning area, beginner-friendly green runs, the NaJibSka Rail Park, Monster Glades, and everything in between. While the runs off the Gold Chair are my favorite, now that I have children, I appreciate the beginner terrain. There is an easy way down, so even beginners can take long runs down from the top of the Silver Chair. My daughter quickly advanced to blue runs by the age of 5!
- Super Fast Gold Chair Express: I love the Gold Chair Express so I can wait less and ski more. Tip: Play in the Monster Glades after a big dump of snow!
- Kids 5 & Under Ski Free: For real! Nakiska is the only mountain that offers free skiing to children 5 and under, so if your children are the right age, you only need to purchase adult season’s passes!
- Resort Size: With 71 runs, Nakiska is just the right size. The hill is easy to navigate, with all runs on the same side of the mountain, and there are plenty of fun runs for everyone. Pop in to the mid-mountain lodge or main lodge for a bite. Fun fact: 28% of Nakiska’s runs are advanced!
- No Getting Stuck In The Flats: Nakiska doesn’t have long, flat stretches to get stuck in, so you can ski or ride more!
- Family Friendly: Families will love Nakiska’s onsite daycare, Snow School, great learning area for first timers, and beginner friendly runs from the Bronze Chair. The Bronze Chair is not too fast, so first-timers can safely get the hang of getting on and off.
- Partner Discounts: Your Nakiska Season’s Pass includes discounts at partner resorts, hotels, and businesses. See all member benefits here.
Bonus: Skiing at Nakiska is fun!
See you on the slopes! At Nakiska!
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Partnering with Sport Chek and Alpine Canada – we’re once again proud to participate in the National Ski Day presented by CIBC. The annual event was started as an incentive to introduce people and promote to sport of skiing/riding to people who many not have yet had the opportunity to try it. Through a $15 lift ticket, people who may not otherwise have the chance get to ski at a great rate – for the whole day, this season, on January 9th, 2016.
To sign up for a $15 lift ticket or for more information visit the Alpine Canada website.
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Imagine this; you wake up from your slumber early, really early. And you’re not getting back to sleep. What do you do? What do most of us do? Grab our smart phones. Now, when you grab your phone you’ll have the ability to get the most up to date information for snow conditions, weather reports, trail maps, resort info and more from one handy app for Nakiska Ski Area (and our other RCR resorts).
Your next problem – it’s going to be a powder day!! Time to call in sick and head out to the mountains!
For more information on our App read our Press Release.
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Some liken it to the night before Christmas. There’s that sense of anticipation in the air – will it be better than last year? What are you wishing for? What surprises are in store? Who will you share it with?
But it’s not really Christmas, it’s the weeks before the onset of ski season, when there’s snow in the mountains, but it hasn’t quite reached the city, and where we start planning the upcoming winter trips and adventures in our Rocky Mountain backyard.
Thursday, October 29 marked the first Canadian “Mappy Hour”, at the Village Brewery in Calgary and hosted by “Powder” Matt Mosteller and SnowSeekers.
Mappy Hour started in New York, and it’s a monthly urban gathering for outdoor enthusiasts. And there’s no shortage of those in Calgary – close to 100 people showed up for the inaugural event, which featured a talk and presentation by local athlete and backcountry skier Ian Holmes.
Holmes got the crowd excited for winter with a slideshow of his favourite backcountry spots in the Alberta and BC Rockies – many of which are located within a couple of hours of Calgary. Naming off known and obscure places, the crowd joined in with plenty of questions about backcountry safety, getting ready for the season, and where to go.
The room was filled with a huge variety of enthusiasts, from out-of-town visitors, to backcountry novices, through to expert skiers, the common thread was the passion for our mountains and the experiences we can share together this winter.
When the snowflakes started to fall in the city a few days later, while many were cursing the frosted windshields and cold winds, I have no doubt the Mappy Hour folks smiled, knowing the countdown to snow season was in full force.
Many thanks to Village Brewery for hosting the first-ever Canadian Mappy Hour.
After a packed reception to Canada’s first ever MappyHour, Powder Matt, Paula Worthington, the folks from OutdoorFest, SnowSeekers and others welcome new friends and neighbours back to the Village Brewery on Monday November 16 at 7pm. Set some tire to rubber this season and get planning for your winter adventures over $4 craft beers.
Author/Writer Tom Babin speaks about what he’s discovered in his quest to love winter biking. Winter biking has become Babin’s happy place and from his book, “Frostbike”, he describes the sport as “the unique kind of bliss that can only come by pedalling through softly falling snow on a quiet winter night”.
Babin’s take on winter biking kind of sounds really similar to the zen we score when we move through fresh snow on the slopes. Mappy Hour YCC November 16 will be anouther great night to fuel our soul full of adventure inspiration.
For more details check out the Mappy Hour website and to book your spot, RSVP for FREE here.
Interested in checking out Mappy Hour? Share this page with your crew and bring them along!
Words: Paula Worthington
Photos: Cali Sammel
October Mappy Hour on October 29th at Village Brewery
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We got to try Nakiska’s brand new Tube Park while we were at the resort before Christmas. First impression, I honestly thought it looked like a miniature toboggan hill. It didn’t look like much and it wasn’t very big. I’d never tried tubing at a resort before so I guess I had built it up in my mind to be something much larger. I quickly changed my opinion after the first ride down though. It was the most fun I’ve had on a sled or tube – EVER. And it didn’t hurt!
I’m not generally a big fan of sledding because honestly, this body is just too old to handle all the bumps and jarring anymore. Tubing at Nakiska on the other hand was completely gentle, smooth, groomed, and adult-friendly! I’d go back again any day!
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Nakiska Ski Area is well known for a few things, including its super long ski season and often being the earliest resort in Canada to open as well as it’s immaculately groomed, wide, Olympic sized runs and also its snowmaking abilities.
Nakiska is a public ski resort today, however, it owes its entire existence to Calgary winning the bid to host the XV Olympic Games in 1988. Being constructed to host to world’s best alpine athletes, a state of the art world class snowmaking system was built into the resort. Often opening for skiing and snowboarding right at the beginning of November (sometimes even at the end of October) the credit is owed in part to Mother Nature, of course, and also largely to the snowmaking capabilities.
Nakiska Snowmaking Fact – depending on the time of year the system can produce between 1 and 2 feet of snow over an acre in an hour. In terms of football fields, (the North American variety and including the end zones), Nakiska’s system can cover one of them in between an hour and a half and 45 minutes!
Each season, Nakiska makes upgrades and improvements to the snowmaking system to ensure it’s the most cutting edge it can be. This season, the focus was on environmentally friendly improvement. Some of the work done over this summer and fall including installing a new cooling system to save water and reuse it back into snowmaking and building a new mid mountain pump house with a continuous pipe from the base to bring the water saved and turn it into snow.
Nakiska Snowmaking Fact – our water license gives Nakiska the capacity to make 6 feet of snow to cover the entire mountain!
Visit Nakiska this season to enjoy it’s Olympic caliber terrain & great snow – don’t forget to check out the Monster Glades where there is no grooming required and often powder stashes to be found for days after a natural snowfall!
Read more about how our snowmaking system upgrades in our Getting Ready for Winter news post and read more about our Commitment to the Environment and new Trees are for Glades project on treesareforglades.com.
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Location, location, location. A mantra for real estate agents and brokers everywhere, but also a great (unofficial) slogan for Nakiska Ski Area as location is perhaps one of Nakiska’s greatest assets.
Nakiska Ski Area is located in Kananaskis Country, Alberta – being a unique ski resort it’s not located in a stereotypical Canadian Ski town, in fact it’s not even located nearby one, it is however still in one of the best locations a ski hill could be in. Nakiska is the closest mountain to the dynamic city of Calgary and also within close driving distance to Canmore, Alberta’s outdoor adventure centre, as well as Banff and Lake Louise – both destinations sought out by travelers from around the entire world.
You might be wondering some things about Nakiska. For example – Why is Nakiska located where it is? Why was it built? What the heck is up with the name anyways?
Now, to tackle these questions one at a time. Nearly all of these questions can be answered by looking in Nakiska’s somewhat brief, yet rich history.
Nakiska was built from the ground up for the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games’ Alpine Events, being the closest ‘real’ 
mountain location to Calgary it was the most convenient and sensible option. (1988 Olympic games’ fun fact – it broke a record at it’s time for having 57 nations competing)! Since it was built to host the world’s best alpine athletes, it is home to Olympic sized groomed runs and also a state of the art snowmaking system, still continually upgrade for increased improvement every year. With such a great snowmaking system built in from the very beginning Nakiska’s time it ensures great snow coverage throughout the season and is often the first ski resort in Canada to open and close to the last to close.
Okay, what is up with that name? Alberta is the home to the Cree First Nations tribe. Nakiska: (Na-kiss-ka) is a Cree word which means ‘to meet’, chosen to respect the people of the region and to designate the ski 
resort in its birth year as the host of the 1988 Olympic Games. Do you wonder where some of the name of Nakiska runs came from? Check it out on the About Nakiska section on our website.
These days, Nakiska is Calgary’s Closest Mountain and a family favourite, especially with the recent addition of a Tube Park to the base area of the resort. Being driving distance to Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise only add to its vacation appeal and contribute to its great location.
If it’s your first time to Nakiska this winter, read about one family’s experience and get some helpful tips on “Family friendly guide to skiing/snowboarding at Nakiska, Calgary’s Closest Mountain”.
Words by Cali Sammel
Photos by Nakiska, Abbydell Photography and Cali Sammel
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Words & Photos by Tanya Koob
I remember our first family downhill ski trip in great clarity because I had been extremely apprehensive of the whole sport as a “family experience.” My husband and I had done a lot of resort skiing back in the “good old days” before kids but had been nervous to try it with a child in tow. We were both envisioning the worst when we thought of taking a small child to a busy ski resort for a day, of having to find parking and get all of our gear to the day lodge, and of having to find space in a crowded lodge for our family to eat and rest. Add other fears such as having to get out of the house early in the morning to reach the hill in time to find parking, dealing with a cranky child who’s missed his afternoon nap, and having to deal with a tot who may or may not appreciate the long car ride out to the hill (and back) – and you can see why I was just a teensy bit apprehensive of the whole experience.
All I can say in a quick response to the above fears is thank god for Nakiska! One half day at Nakiska and all of my fears were relieved. We had a fabulous first day downhill skiing as a family and my son would now consider it to be his favourite winter sport.
Tips for a Relaxed Morning at the Hill
We tried to pack for our ski day the night before to save time in the morning. When we got up, we just had to have a quick breakfast and jump in the car. Other things we did to save time were booking our son’s ski lesson in advance rather than just showing up at the hill to register him, and buying him his own gear rather than renting at the hill. If planning to rent, allow for at least an extra half hour at the hill before you will be able to start skiing. (Something to keep in mind if you have lessons booked first thing in the morning.)
We arrived at the hill with plenty of time to find a good parking spot, to find our way to the day lodge, pick up our lift tickets, and to make our way to the meeting spot for lessons. We quickly discovered that registering our son in a lesson for first thing in the morning was the smartest thing we could have done as beginners to family downhill skiing. We only had to worry about getting one person dressed and set to go rather than getting all three of us ready at the same time.
As soon as our son was in his lesson, I distinctly remember grabbing a coffee and thinking about how relaxed the whole process had been. Because of 
the lesson, my husband got to ski on his own all morning and was able to do a bunch of his favourite runs rather than spending the morning on the bunny hill. Meanwhile, I spent a relaxed morning with my coffee near the day lodge and kept close tabs on the lesson process.
Lunch without the Crowds
We headed in for an early lunch after the lesson and discovered another secret to success: Eat early to avoid crowds! We had left a duffle bag with our personal belongings and lunch under a table in the day lodge and had no problem finding it when we went inside. We easily found space to eat, and had an enjoyable time in the non-crowded dining area.
Family Bonding at the Hill
We’ve gotten into a habit where we try to take advantage of children’s lessons in the morning whenever possible and then we spend the afternoon skiing together as a family. We can now bomb down the blue runs together with our 6 year old who’s become quite the proficient skier but on our first
day at Nakiska, we enjoyed the bunny hill together and took a few spins down in the tube park. The Tube Park was a great add-on to our ski day and allowed some rest time from skiing. We had a snack in the lodge mid-afternoon and then left the hill early to avoid congested roads on the drive home.
Final Tips
- Bring a sled to haul gear into the lodge with or load your gear (and youngest tots) into a Chariot stroller
- Go as a group and alternate child care duties with friends or go with another couple and take turns with the men doing bunny hill/day lodge duty while the women ski, and vice versa.
- Bring a grandparent or family member along who is content to hang out in the lodge with babies or young tots not old enough to ski yet
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You didn’t read that wrong! This season, purchase the $199 Nakiska Adult Season Pass during our Earlybird sale and ride Nakiska all season long with no blackout dates!
Other money saving offers at Nakiska include;
Family Season Pass
Purchase a Nakiska family season pass during our Earlybird sale for just $499. With a family of 4 that takes just 2 visits to pay off, worth it!
The Grade 2 Funpass
Get those little ones on the slopes early! All children in Grade 2 (or 7 years old), can get a Grade 2 Funpass, valid at Nakiska Ski Area, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort and Kimberley Alpine Resort for just $20! Valid all season long and (you guessed it), no blackout dates! Buy online or drop by anytime throughout the season to pick one up.
Tube Park Pass
The Wanidu Tube Park is the newest adventure at Nakiska Ski Area. This season, you can tube all season with a Tube Park pass, just $199 for a family (even less with a family season pass purchase, add it on before checking out of the new webstore for further savings)!
80+ Pass
Anyone who is 80 or older and still skiing deserves benefits! Pick up your season pass for just $59, use it all season without blackout dates. Purchase online or by calling 1-800-258-7669.
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