Nakiska Ski Area a ski cross paradise
Kananaskis resort offers options for skiers of all skill levels
Somewhere in Calgary, the next Brady Leman might have spent Tuesday night watching their ski cross hero ski to a gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Maybe their journey to one day follow in Leman’s footsteps — or ski tracks — and landing on the Olympic podium began in earnest when the Calgarian crossed the finish line in first place.
Chances are, the next step is going to come at the Nakiska Ski Area.
While Calgarians are spoiled with options when it comes to world-class mountains to ski and snowboard, you’d be hard-pressed to find another resort with a ski cross and boardercross course that’s on par with what Nakiska can offer.
In many ways, the Kananaskis resort is the home of ski cross in Western Canada — or the whole country, really — and that meant folks at the resort took a little extra pride in seeing Leman cross the finish line for gold in South Korea.
Leman’s last World Cup race before the Olympics did come at Nakiska back in January, after all.
“We’ve created various levels of training for ski cross, and that obviously led to us being very proud of being the only stop on the World Cup of ski cross in North America,” said Matt Mosteller, senior vicepresident of marketing and resort experience at Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which owns Nakiska. “It was the last stop before the Olympics, so that was very important for preparations.
“We still have a course open to the public, so everyone can feel like they’re connected and be a part of the sport. Just with the wind in their face and picking up that speed under their feet, it can be enjoyed by all Albertans.”
Just with the wind in their face and picking up that speed under their feet, it can be enjoyed by all Albertans.
After the World Cup in midJanuary, the course that was used to test the world’s best remained open for nearly two weeks. The Canadian team used the facility to train for the Olympics, and while the course is no longer setup, skiers and snowboarders can still have a go at a smaller, less challenging ski cross run.
Of course, “less challenging” is relative. There’s nothing easy about ski cross.
“When you’re watching on TV, you hear the sound, and it’s ice, but you’re inches away from the person beside you and in front of you and behind you, going 60 miles an hour,” Mosteller said. “It’s an incredible sport and an incredible display of athletic ability, and Brady obviously exudes excellence.”
While the Nakiska course itself is worth riding down just to get a sense of how incredible what the Olympians are doing actually is, it’s safer to avoid doing any all-out racing on the course without getting some training.
Fortunately, Nakiska has options for people looking to improve their skills and maybe even enter in a race or two down the line.
There are a number of clubs that run ski cross programs across the province, and Nakiska also offers on-site lessons for the sport — and not just for kids.
“There are so many programs for kids to get involved in, whether it’s freestyle or racing or ski cross or all-mountain, and whether they’re first-timers or club,” Mosteller said. “Whatever someone wanted their kids involved in after watching the Olympics, certainly Nakiska is going to offer those programs.”