13 April 2005

When you first see Nakiska on the drive in you see it is a very stereotypical view of what a ski area should be - a pointy mountain with a treeless summit. The Ski runs starting at just above tree line fanning out in all directions down steep slope, flattening and widening towards the base.

Olympic legacy
Only 45 minutes from Calgary, it is a legacy of the 1988 Olympics. It's a blue ski day and perfectly groomed runs; this place should be busy but there were only 25 vehicles in the car park. The base area is a very well organized purpose built affair. Whilst not being the prettiest base area it isn't what you'd call ugly.

The first surprise when skiing here, except the complete lack of people, was loading onto the second chair. Instead of a gate, lights or more normal method of just watching the chair in front they have a blue light and a bell rigged up to tell you when to get on the lift.

Selective lift opening
The second chair takes you to the treeline. On the way up we had been eyeing up the slopes above and the Platter lift. Unfortunately when we got to the top we discovered that the only time the lift runs if for Men's Downhill races and you're not even allowed to hike the slopes, although we did see lots of bighorn sheep mocking us from above. The view from up here is quite impressive, the difference to lots of other places is you can see out into the flatlands beyond.

Our first run was a bit of a surprise. Gladed tree runs full of bumps, not what I expected after seeing all the perfect pistes. After a few piste laps we started looking for something different - on the far edge of the resort there was a run with cut up snow that hadn't been groomed. When traversing over to the run I was surprised to discover that it is no longer a designated run, despite being the start of the women's downhill course complete with snow cannon fittings!. From the top of this run we could see further up into Kananaskis country.

Bush bashing
The snow wasn't that deep but with just grass and light brush underneath it was ok. On the next chair ride up we noticed a gully full of snow even further over, and next lap we skied into it. Overlooking the base area directly but just out of the ski area it was untouched. The wind deposited snow as good fun but we paid a price for our enjoyment - 20 minutes of bush-bashing to get back to the piste..

Nakiska is a fun ski area, which considering how close it is to Banff and Calgary it hardly gets used. As well as perfect pistes it has quite a large park. While not known for its powder, I'm told it's the place to be on a powder day as no one knows what to do with it :).

Words and Pictures from Tom Greenall - Natives Senior Resort Reporter

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