Nakiska

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Ski resort in Alberta, Canada

title: "Nakiska" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["venues-of-the-1988-winter-olympics", "olympic-alpine-skiing-venues", "olympic-freestyle-skiing-venues", "ski-areas-and-resorts-in-alberta", "kananaskis-improvement-district"] description: "Ski resort in Alberta, Canada" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakiska" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ski resort in Alberta, Canada ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ski area"]

Field	Value
name	Nakiska Ski Resort
logo	Nakiska Logo.svg
picture	Kananaskis-Nakiska Ski.JPG
caption	Slopes of Nakiska on Mount Allan in March 2007
location	Mount Allan, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
nearest_city	Calgary: 83 km
coordinates
pushpin_map	Alberta#Canada
pushpin_relief	1
map_caption	Location in Canada
vertical	735 m
top_elevation	2260 m
base_elevation	1525 m
skiable_area	1021 acre
number_trails	64
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg	13px]] 16% - Easiest
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg	13px]] 70% - More Difficult
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg	13px]] 10% - Most Difficult
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-double black diamond.svg	13px]] 4% - Expert
longest_run	3.3 km
snowfall	250 cm
snowmaking	Extensive, 75%
nightskiing	No
liftsystem	4 Chairlifts

3 High Speed Quads
1 Double 1 Magic Carpet | | lift_capacity | 8,830 / hr | | external_link | skinakiska.com | ::

3 High Speed Quads
1 Double 1 Magic Carpet |lift_capacity = 8,830 / hr |external_link = skinakiska.com Nakiska is a ski resort in western Canada, in the Kananaskis Country region of the province of Alberta. It is located 83 km from Calgary, west on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) and south on Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail). "Nakiska" is a Cree word meaning "to meet" or "meeting place."

Set on the east face of the southern end of Mount Allan, Nakiska has 64 trails with four chairlifts (3 high-speed quads and 1 double), 1 Reg Magic Carpet and 1 Monster Carpet) set up over an area of 3 km2. The longest run has 3.3 km, from a top lift-served elevation of 2258 m to the base at 1479 m.

Nakiska is owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which also owns the Fernie, Kimberley, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Mont Sainte Anne, and Stoneham ski resorts.

History

The site was selected in 1983 and opened for skiing in the fall of 1986, in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Pre-Olympic races on the North American Cup circuit (Nor-Am) were held in December 1986 and World Cup downhill and super G races were held in March 1987.

At the 1988 Winter Olympics, Nakiska hosted the ten alpine events, as well as freestyle moguls skiing, then a demonstration event. A temporary surface lift to the gusty top of the mountain was used for the men's downhill event. This poma can be seen from the top of the "Gold Chair" and is sometimes used for avalanche control. The starting gate of the men's Olympic downhill was at 2412 m, 154 m above the present lift-served summit. That race was postponed a day due to 98 mph winds at the summit.

In 2008, Nakiska was named the official training centre of Alpine Canada (ACA). Each year Nakiska welcomes alpine teams from around the world for early season ski training. During the summer of 2008 the ski area embarked on a series of renovations. Snowmaking enhancements increased capacity by 33%. The 100-metre Monster Magic Carpet was added and the creation of a dedicated Training Run was completed on Mapmaker.

In 2009, in preparation for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, more enhancements occurred. A new high-speed quad lift was installed (Gold Chair Express), replacing the original fixed-grip (Gold) triple chairlift. The ride time is 4.7 minutes, less than half of the previous chair's 9.7 minutes.

In 2009 new ski trails were also created with the addition of the new Monster Glades (trails in the trees). Ski Nakiska News and Info - Monster Glades addition

The Olympic flame still burns at the entrance to the resort. Of note is that the men's downhill shown on the board inside the restaurant is not the actual run used. With test skiers saying the proposed run was too easy, the men's downhill course was changed with only 3 days to go, leaving no time to change the course board which had already been painted and mounted on the wall inside the restaurant.

On November 13, 2017, the French Alpine ski racer David Poisson died in a crash during training.

Climate

A weather station located west of the ski area records temperature and wind speed. The station is above the tree line at an elevation of 2543 m. It has reported wind gusts as high as 219 km/h

|source 1 = Environment Canada

References

Ireland, Joanne. (December 11, 1986). "Mt. Allan weathers criticism". Edmonton Journal.
(December 25, 1987). "Skiers rave about mountain". Spokane Chronicle.
Ski Nakiska. "Statistics".
[http://www.skircr.com/ Resort of the Canadian Rockies]
(September 22, 1986). "Mount Allan set for pre-Olympic ski challenges". Calgary Herald.
(December 8, 1983). "Ski body supports Mount Allan site". Montreal Gazette.
(November 20, 1986). "Nakiska is for all". Edmonton Journal.
Slade, Daryl. (December 4, 1986). "Nakiska ready for onslaught of enthusiasts". Calgary Herald.
Ireland, Joanne. (December 11, 1986). "Mixed reviews for Nakiska". Edmonton Journal.
Slade, Daryl. (December 4, 1986). "Skiers to put Mount Allan to the test". Calgary Herald.
Woods, Paul. (December 12, 1986). "Mount Allan faces official FIS test". Ottawa Citizen.
McConachie, Doug. (March 9, 1987). "Graham finishes second, still has shot at ski title". Star-Phoenix.
McConachie, Doug. (March 16, 1987). "Boyd new Canadian downhill king". Star-Phoenix.
[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1988/orw1988pt1.pdf 1988 Winter Olympics official report.] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-01-14 Part 1. pp. 128-43.)
Lochner, Bob. (February 16, 1988). "Zurbriggen snatches downhill gold". Eugene Register-Guard.
(February 16, 1988). "Zurbriggen not worrying about gold". Toledo Blade.
Inc., Midwest Communications. "Alpine skiing-Frenchman Poisson dies in training accident".
"Daily Data Report for September 2011".
"Daily Data Report for Nakiska Ridgetop". Environment Canada.

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