New York, NY (September 21, 2015) – New York City-based OutdoorFest is expanding their popular Mappy Hour program internationally to Calgary this October. The monthly community building event, known as “the happy hour for outdoor enthusiasts,” successfully launched in New York City in early 2014 and Washington D.C. in January 2015. Past event hosts have included REI, Hostelling International, and Fjallraven North America, with featured sponsorships from Yelp, Sixpoint Brewery, and Mountain Hardwear. OutdoorFest has identified Calgary as a key urban area with a large population of outdoor enthusiasts looking to connect with a community of adventurers.
“Calgary has such an incredible backyard that many come to visit from afar” says Matt Mosteller, social media influencer and head of Mappy Hour Calgary. He hopes that through Mappy Hour locals can “catch that wanderlust… stay close by and get outdoors!”
Just in time for the winter season, the theme for this first Mappy Hour in Calgary is backcountry skiing and the fitness needed to get outdoors. Calgary’s outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to join the launch event on October 29th 2015 at the Village Brewery. Mappy Hour promises to be a night to meet fellow skiers, backpackers, kayakers, climbers and adventure buddies and plan adventure packed trips with a like-minded outdoor community.
Details of the event include:
Who: Anyone who loves to hike, kayak, ski, surf, climb, and generally explore the great outdoors
What: A happy hour with a twist to bring together the local outdoor community
Theme: Backcountry skiing & fitness
When: October 29, 7:00PM to 9:00PM
Where: 5000 12a St SE, Calgary
Cost: Free, just bring some guidebooks, maps, or interesting stories to share
For more information and to RSVP please see the Facebook Event.
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For more information, please contact:
Powder Matt
[email protected]
Twitter – @PowderMatt
Powder Matt’s Blog
Powder Matt on Pinterest
Powder Matt on Google +
Mappy Hour by OutdoorFest
www.outdoorfest.com/mappyhour
Facebook.com/mappyhour
@mappyhour
- Published in Press Releases
Our tentative weekend opening date for the 2015/2016 season will be Saturday November 7th, with full opening tentatively on December 4th. With a few snowstorms already having hit Kananaskis, hopefully it’s a foreshadow of a great winter!
See who else is going on opening day – join our Facebook event. See our online events calendar for the opening schedule.
Is it your first season skiing/riding at Nakiska Ski Area? Check out our First Timer’s Guide and read about some Family Friendly Tip & Tricks for making your day a breeze on the slopes.
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Alpine Canada recently sat down with Jan Hudec for a candid interview discussing his biggest fear, favourite music, his long standing nickname, what he enjoys in the off season and much more. Jan is an accomplished skier, with a long career earning many accomplishments including being the first Canadian in 20 years to win an alpine Olympic medal in 2014 in the Super G in Sochi and being the first ever Canadian to win the Lake Louise World Cup Downhill in 2009.
Read the interview with Jan on the Alpine Canada blog and read more about Jan on his official website. Follow Jan on Facebook & Twitter.
- Published in News
Coming to Calgary on October 21st is Mountain Film on Tour! Started in Telluride – Fernie, Kimberley, Kicking Horse, Nakiska, Kokanee and X92.9 have partnered with The Gateway at SAIT to bring Calgarians the opportunity to be inspired, educated and entertained with films exploring cultures, our environment and adventure. Doors Open at 6pm, Films start at 7pm!
“We are stoked to not only share our passion for skiing and snowboarding but hopefully to inspire adventure in others. Just like our guests inspire us with their amazing experiences in the mountain at Fernie, Kicking Horse, Kimberley and Nakiska.” says Matt Mosteller, VP of Marketing and Resort Experience at Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.
Buy your tickets from Ticketmaster now!
Join the Facebook event to see who else is going and to see the film playlist. Enter to win tickets from the X92.9 blog, draw is October 14th.
PLEASE NOTE: Event is 18+ valid ID is required.
- Published in News
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
- Published in News
We’re making some exciting ‘behind the scene’ upgrades over the summer to our snowmaking system including rerouting & cooling!
Step one of our new snowmaking pump house is to reroute the existing pipe. Pictures show us putting the new pipe together, ready for trench and back filling. Once done the new pump house will allow us to make snow in one continuous trail from the top of the gold chair to the day lodge.
The photo on the right is of our new closed loop cooling system for the snowmaking compressors, prior to this the compressors were cooled using water, eliminating this saves 800 gallons per minute. That water is now available to go up the hill for snow production and is no longer dumped back into the river.
Did you know?
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), we can cover one of them in between an hour and a half and 45 minutes!
Read more about our Commitment to the Environment.
- Published in News
While some people might not be very excited by the Farmer’s Almanac prediction of having a ‘harsh and cold’ winter, here at Nakiska Ski Area we’re looking forward to it! The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been published since 1792 and using over 200 years of weather data, makes predictions for the upcoming seasons each year when it’s released on the second Tuesday in September, with this winter being forecasted as colder & snowier.
Jack Burnett, editor of the Farmer’s Almanac appeared on CTV’s Canada AM recently and said we are in for “the T-Rex of winters”. To check out the full predictions visit this CTV article.
Here’s to hoping that prediction holds true, help motivate Mother Nature and start doing your snowdance. Post your snowdance pics & videos using #skiclose and start the anticipation of winter now!
- Published in News
It’s your last chance to take advantage of our Earlybird Season Pass & Ski School sale. Sale ends on Saturday, June 27th! Order Online now!
- Published in News
For Immediate Release: May 25th, 2015
PRICE ROLLOVER! SAVE BIG WITH THE EARLY BIRD SKI SEASON PASS SALE
It’s back! The best deal in skiing and riding in the Canadian Rockies has returned this season – the Nakiska $199 adult season pass (just $499 for a family), plus get an opportunity to try the other Resorts of the Canadian Rockies with the NEW BC Resort Add on, add on two tickets at either Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort, or Kimberley Alpine Resort for just $59.95 (a value of up to $179.90)!
The savings don’t stop there, Fernie Alpine Resort, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Kimberley Alpine Resort and RCR Rockies passes are all on sale with the same prices held over from last season’s early bird sale, as well as the extremely popular, RCR ski gear lease program, this industry leading initiative was introduced for the first time last season will also return– designed for growing kids who need new outdoor gear every season!
Purchase your season pass from the RCR Webstore and save now!
About Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc.
Proudly Canadian, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc. (RCR) is the largest private ski resort owner/operator in North America, owning six ski resorts across Canada, including Nakiska Ski Area in Alberta; Fernie Alpine Resort, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Kimberley Alpine Resort in British Columbia. RCR also owns and manages a number of hotels and golf courses, including Trickle Creek in Kimberley, and Wintergreen Golf and Country Club in Bragg Creek. RCR aims to provide each and every guest The Ultimate Experience.
For more information, please contact:
Matt Mosteller
Senior VP Marketing & Resort Experience, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
[email protected]
Twitter – @PowderMatt
Powder Matt’s Blog
Powder Matt on Pinterest
Powder Matt on Google +
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- Published in Press Releases
Posted June 2015
The deal that took the entire industry by surprise last season has returned for the 2015/2016 ski season! With a season pass at Nakiska just $199 during the Earlybird Season pass sale again guests as well as media have noticed.
“AWESOME NEWS!!!! Am amazing opportunity for family fitness!”
– Kathy P.
“Thank you! We had so much fun here last year and will be getting passes again!”
– Jennifer L.
“Definitely buying this again and getting one for my daughter. I got out about 10 times last season because of this pass. It was the most I’ve ever skied in a year.”
– Drew S.
“Thank you sooooo much!!!”
– Irene B
Media Coverage;
“Area ski hill compete as Nakiska slashes season pass price by more than $600…again”
Read on Calgaryherald.com
“Alberta ski hills Nakiska and Norquay slash season pass prices”
Read on CBC.ca
“Canada Super Deal”
Read on snowhq.com
- Published in News