Nakiska downhill skiing Downhill skiing on 13-Apr-2026

Participants: David, Nancy, Leslie, Kevin

Since this was the last week that Nakiska was open for the season, Kevin, Dave, Nancy and I decided to try a few last turns. Although we weren't sure of the snow conditions, we all had season passes and were not concerned about the possibility of needing to leave early. When we arrived, the parking lot was more or less empty, and there were only a handful of people on the slopes. We started by going up the Silver Chair. From this chair, several easy, intermediate, and difficult runs can be accessed including Eyeopener, Might Peace and North Axe. We decided to give Eyeopener a try and were pleasantly surprised by the wonderful conditions. The snow had been freshly groomed, and we were able to ski on "corduroy."

We were using terms such as "10 out of 10" and "perfect grooming" to describe the conditions.

I thought that the conditions were one of the best of the entire season, and I was able to ski the slopes effortlessly, easily linking turns..

After making several runs from the Silver Chair, we decided to go up to the Gold Chair. As it was a sunny day, the views from the top were amazing.

We made several runs from the Gold, including Upper and Lower Mapmaker, as well as Whoop-up. As the morning progressed, we found that conditions on the upper part of the mountain remained very good, but the lower slopes were starting to get soft and sticky. Since it was nearing lunch time, we decided to ski back down to the lodge. On the way down, we found that conditions on the lower slopes had deteriorated because of the warm weather, making the snow quite slushy. After lunch, we decided to call it a day, because no-one wanted to risk a knee or other injury on the last day of the ski season. Although we only skied half a day, the runs during the first part of the morning were superb, and the runs from the Gold Chair on were also very good. Many thanks to Kevin, Dave and Nancy for joining me on the last outing of the ski season. Thanks also to Kevin for providing the two photos of Dave and Nancy making turns. Participants: Kevin M, David M, Nancy E, and Leslie J (c/s).