Brigid takes us along on her outdoor adventure to Kicking Horse Resort at Golden, BC. Summer offers endless opportunities on the mountain.

Guest post by Brigid Scott

Want a fun challenge that will take your breath away and make you feel like you're a badass? Head to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and sign up for the Via Ferrata and Mountain Biking packages!

Heading up the gondola to the summit of Kicking Horse Mountain was a great start to our July long weekend. We met our guide Richard at the summit and he hooked us up with all the gear we would need to safely ascend the route. After learning the ropes on the practice wall, we hiked the short trail to the base of the ascension route and clipped our carabiners in. The carabiner follows you along as a constant safety contact with the wall of the mountain. At each junction, you just slide it through the metal plate in order to continue on through to the next section. We crossed a single plank suspension bridge, then headed around and up the cliffs of the mountain, taking a short break on a large rock shelf before carrying on to some spicier sections of vertical and onto a wire bridge. Approaching the single length of cable, I had to take a breath; it looked a bit intimidating! But after another deep breath, slid my safety carabiner onto the section, grabbed onto the wire on top and stepped out onto the single cable and started moving across. Whew! (check out my Instagram Channel for a sweet video of the wire crossing).

A few more vertical sections that tested my upper body strength and then we popped out on top of the summit ridge! Whoo hoo! One last walk of the ridge and we were able to unclip and enjoy the summit. The weather improved for our time up top and we actually got some welcome sunshine. After enjoying the spoils, we headed down the trail and back to the climbing centre to drop our equipment off. The climbing took about 2 hours. We were pooped from the excitement, so we headed down and checked into our suite on the hill with Kicking Horse Lodging. We finished off our evening with a lovely soak in the hot tub and returned to our room to relax with some wine in front of the fire place.

The next day, after a yummy breakfast and coffees at Double Black (across from the main gondola), we checked into the Performance Rental Centre for our downhill mountain biking lessons and rentals. Sander was an awesome teacher and he hooked us up with all the safety gear we needed to negotiate the mountain safely. We both got shiny red bikes and headed to the mid-mountain gondola to load the bikes and ride it up. Even though the clouds were low and it was trying to rain/hail on us, we were so stoked. I was also very nervous, but Sander took us on a green trail to help me get a feel of the mountain.

He taught us about FLOW: fingers (only use one on the brake), level pedals, outside of the turns, weight balanced according to gravity and he gave us pointers for improvement. Our second run down we headed onto a blue run, which I was nervous about, but ended up being my favourite due to all the fun roly-polies (probably not the technical term). Since our lunch reservation was approaching, we paused our biking fun and headed up the main gondola to Eagle's Eye Restaurant, "Canada's Most Elevated Dining Experience".

A lovely host seated us, and our cheerful waitress took our orders. Lunch was delicious and the cheesecake that we splurged on was divine. After a nice hot coffee, we headed back down for another run, this time on our own! It was super fun to rip down the trails and I couldn't believe how much of a work out it was! Elated but exhausted, we headed back to our sweet suite at the Palliser Lodge for another soak in the hot tub and relaxing around the fireplace. Looking out through the balcony windows and watching the rain was super peaceful after a busy, but awesome two days.

The Rocky Mountain Scrambler

Guest blogger

Brigid Scott lives in Jasper, Alberta with her husband Mark. They both love being teachers and take advantage of their proximity to the mountains to the fullest.

Brigid says taking photos of her beautiful surroundings has become a passion and she has taken advantage of all the beauty that surrounds her by getting out as often as possible to document the magnificence of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.