Explore Kimberley Day – October 5, 2024
The Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise (KORE) Outdoor Summit will be held October 3-4, 2024 at the Kimberley Alpine Resort’s Conference Centre in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia and there will be an optional “Explore Kimberley” day on the 5th for those who would like to explore and recreate.
Below is more information about all the different activities available for KORE Summit attendees throughout the day.
10am-12pm: Group Trail Run (FREE)
Join Purcell Outdoors and local runners for a group run exploring Kimberley’s stunning trails. We’ll have two options for trail running on Saturday. We’ll start as a group from the Nordic Center Lodge, running 10kms with a good warmup on ‘Amps go Marching’, and the fun and flowy ‘Ohm My’ to a short hike up ‘Yiikes’ for a fantastic view of the Trench. We can see Mt Fisher and the Steeples range in the Rockies, north towards Teepee Mountain and Mt Baker above Cranbrook. From this viewpoint, we’ll drop back down to ‘Nuts and Volts’ and back to the Nordic Center.
If anyone wants a longer run, we can refill our water bottles at the lodge and run down Electric Avenue into Kimberley Nature Park to some really fun trails. When our legs have had enough, we will make our way back via ‘Hertz so Good,’ a sweet climbing trail with a perfect grade that allows us to chat the entire two kms. A cruise through the Nordic Centre will bring us to the finish.
Early am to 6pm: Guided Kimberley Fly Fishing
Kimberley Fly Fishing is a locally owned and operated fly-fishing guiding service that offers some of the best fishing for wild cutthroat and bull trout in British Columbia. We mostly guide the local St. Mary’s river for both species as well as the Kootenay and Bull rivers. We also operate the fly shop in Kimberley offering customers gear and apparel.
Kimberley Fly Fishing is happy to offer KORE summit members 10% off any guided fly fishing tour and 15% off any retail in the fly shop.
St. Mary’s River Drift – $865
St. Mary’s Walk ‘n’ Wade – $825
Kootenay River Drift – $865
Kootenay River Jet Boat – $1,050
Please contact Nathan Kelly via email at kimberleyflyfishing@gmail.com or by cell at (250) 420-7886 or book online at kimberleyflyfishing.com.
8am-6pm: Golfing
Purcell Golf: All participants of the KORE Summit receive a special rate of $50.00 that includes range, 18 holes and golf cart. To book, call the club at 250-427-4161 and quote KORE for the special rate. For more info, visit: purcell.golf
Trickle Creek Golf: A special conference rate is being offered to KORE Summit attendees from October 2-5. For $69 + tax a golfer can enjoy 18 holes, a shared cart and access to the driving range. To take advantage of this rate, guests must call the TCGR Pro shop directly at 250-427-3389 and mention you are a guest of the 2024 KORE Summit Conference. All reservations are based on availability only. For more info about the club, visit: tricklecreek.com
10am-12pm: Ride Theory Mountain Bike Lessons
Ridetheory is teaming up with KORE to for tailored mountain bike instruction in the beautiful trails around the Kimberley Nordic Centre. We’ll start the day with an equipment and safety check before practicing some flat ground bike drills. We’ll then head out on the trails and have plenty of time to apply your fresh skills to various types of terrain and corners. Use the registration links below and apply promo code KORE10 for a 10% discount.
10am-2pm: Hiking Musser’s Plateau (FREE)
This hike can be done round-trip in about three hours, or a bit more for a casual outng. To access it, park at the Kimberley Nordic Centre parking lot and find the obvious trail heading up hill. Follow this for about ten minutes, keeping to the right and you will hit Boundary ski run. Walk up the left side of the run and watch for a distinct trail leading to the right after about 2 kms. This trail will climb sharply at the start, but soon mellows out to wander through forest until it reaches an overlook above Dipper Lake. The terrain on this side is more open and sunnier and the trail climbs some more before it hits an old logging road. Once on the road, follow it north (the direc)on you were travelling) for a few hundred meters, watching for signs of the continuation of the tail, such as blazes, flagging, and the trail itself. Once you are on the trail again, follow it for more vertical distance (you’ve climbed about 500 meters by now) and you will end up at Kootenay House at the top of the Kimberley Alpine Resort. Descend down the old T-bar line, or any of the runs or roads. And yes, this route can be done in reverse as well.
10am-10pm: Spirit Rock Climbing Centre
Located in the downtown Kimberley plaztl, Spirit Rock Climbing Centre will be open 10am-10pm and KORE participants will receive 50% off day passes and rentals for all. Bring your KORE Summit badge to get the discount.
10am-6pm: Outdoor Rock Climbing (FREE)
Join local climbers for a day of outdoor cragging, telling lies and general frivolity. There is a good selection of sport climbs, as well as a more limited choice of trad lines, within a 20-50 minute drive of downtown Kimberely. This will be a common adventure outing (no guides, instruction or formal leadership provided) for people who have basic leading and belaying skills. KORE will provide people familiar with the various crags to allow easier and quicker route selection/access. Those individuals will also have an extra rope or two. You’re encouraged to team up with others for both transport and gear. There will be a selection of routes from 5.7 to 5.11+ to choose from, most of which require leading so if you’re a top rope climber tag a friend to put the rope up above your head.
What you’ll need:
• Your own transport (2WD with standard clearance is fine). We’ll try and work out carpooling so we can take fewer vehicles once we know who’s involved.
• A rack of draws (12 will cover most routes) and a rope (70m) in addition to your personal harness, shoes etc. Bring a trad rack if you’re keen to plug gear.
• Water, food, sun protection for the day
• A small first aid kit if you usually bring one
How to Connect:
Check in with the KORE Kiosk desk in the foyer of the Kimberley Conference during the conference days to get connected with the Kimberley climbing community.
10am -4pm: Larch Hike with Lyle Grisedale (FREE)
Kimberley is the epicentre for beautiful, golden larch trees, one of the only conifers that loses its needles in the winter. October is an especially good time to see these trees change colour before their needles drop in November. The Kimberley Nature Park is the largest urban park in the province encompassing over 800 hectares on the western edge of the city and it boasts numerous hiking trails through large stands of larch. Our hiking group, led by ACMG Guide Lyle Grisedale, will depart from the Nordic Centre and travel west along several nordic/hiking trails, into the park, where we will explore and travel several trails. Along the way we will descend Creek Trail, home to an amazing old growth Cedar forest where we can see some of the largest trees in the park. We will then travel along several trails that will bring us back to the Nordic trails and our starting point. Total distance travelled will be about nine kilometres through a variety of forested terrains including the golden Larch.
Lyle Grisedale lives in Kimberley, BC and is an Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Guide who spends his summers leading hikers in the Selkirk, Purcell, and Rocky mountain ranges, He is an enthusiastic birder, an avid photographer, and a naturalist who spends as much time as possible exploring the mountains, wetlands and grasslands of the East Kootenay area of BC.
1pm-5pm: Kootenay Rafting Adventure
Kootenay Rafting Company is offering a St. Mary’s Express experience for KORE Summit attendees. No matter what type of adventurer you are, this four-hour return trip down the St. Mary’s River offers something for everyone. It’s a partial float trip, partial whitewater experience that flows through Class 1, 2 and 3 rapids. Book your trip by visiting kootenayrafting.ca.
