Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (KHMR) went out with a bang this weekend, wrapping up a wildly successful ski season in true mountain style. To mark the grand finale, Kicking Horse hosted its 2026 Sunsplash Funkfest, featuring a Dummy Downhill on Saturday, April 11, and the always-chaotic Slush Cup on Sunday, April 12.
KHMR has delivered plenty of eye-catching events this season. Some of the standouts included Wrangle the Chute, the Junior Freeride World Tour, and the Marc-André Memorial Banked Slalom. While these events showcase the incredible skill of the resort’s skiers and snowboarders, closing weekend is a different story. It is less about elite athleticism and more about wondering what you just watched, and it is welcoming to participants and spectators of all abilities.
The Dummy Downhill is a simple concept with a reliably hilarious payoff. Send a dummy down the hill and see what survives. This year’s lineup did not disappoint. Highlights included a “Where’s Waldo” dummy hiding in a forest of trees, a dummy sliding on its head, and a grocery-shopping dummy valiantly attempting to manage a cart full of supplies. Spoiler alert: it did not make it to checkout.
By Sunday, it was time for the Slush Cup, where contestants were not the only ones getting soaked as rain fell on the crowd. The objective is straightforward. Make it across a 75-foot slush pond at the base of the hill. The execution, however, is far less predictable.
Participants showed up in their funkiest outfits and most questionable costume choices, ready to attempt the pond skim. The field ranged from expert skiers to tiny kids with big ambitions, and it is never quite clear who will make it across. Case in point: one of the most successful runs came from someone dressed as the Lorax, complete with a giant belly, who somehow glided across like a fuzzy orange legend.
This weekend’s events serve as a perfect reminder that skiing, while impressive and occasionally gravity-defying, is ultimately about having fun. Watching a sea of skiers and snowboarders devour burgers, sip beers, and cheer on brave souls willing to hurl themselves downhill only to end in a spectacular crash or an icy splash is oddly heartwarming. It is a celebration of the fearless, slightly unhinged energy that the ski hill brings to town.
Cheers to a killer season at Kicking Horse – we will see everyone back out there this December!
