~Banff~

[Cri]

I am going to be heading out to Banff in February and I was hoping for some info from some of you that have been there.

I know there are 3 mountains..well I think anyhow. Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and something else.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me which mountain has the best skiing, runs, things to do in the village, nightlife etc...
I am trying to pick one to stay at, but I don't know which would be the best!!

cri

 

[Funzo]

The other Mountain is "Norquay" (spelling?) It is the closest to the Village of Banff. When I was there I never actually skied Norquay so I can't tell you much about it! I liked Sunshine the most, but Lake Louise is good too. If you get a powder day, which it seems there are alot of this year, hit Sunshine, and more importantly Goat's Eye, We spent 5 hours there and had fresh tracks every run!

Unfortunately I was only 17 when I was there so I didn't do much apres ski, butI'm sure it won't be hard t find stuff, the village isn't that big!

 

[defazman]

A good friend of mine is working at The Fairmont Banff Springs
Willow Stream Spa right now. He loves it.

 

[Adam]

I don't really ski, and I didn't go out, but Lake Louise and Morraine Lake were two of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Lake Louise:

(It's not a postcard, I actually took this picture)

 

[depraved]

"Best runs" are in the eye of the beholder. Sunshine has some mad steeps controlled by an avalanche gate that requires a beacon to pass thru. Lots of different terrain, but not as diverse as Louise imo. Plenty of moderate & fast cruising runs at Lousie.

How hardcore a skier are you? Great off-piste skiing at Louise, but bring your avalanche gear & know how to use it.

There is a decent enough club in Banff w/ decent enough djs from Calgary. I don't remember the name of the place, but it's located downstairs in the main area of Banff. Affordably priced pitchers of mixed drinks.

If you like ribs, try Earl's (if they're still there). If you like sushi, look for the place beside the pizza joint (again in the main drag). Great food = Coyote Café; highly recommended.

Brewster Mountain Lodge is really noisy, so if you don't like noisy while you're trying to sleep, look elsewhere.

PM me if you want more info; I'm booked for 3 days in Banff in mid Feb b4 heading to Kicking Horse (Golden BC) for 2 weeks.

 

[Sugar D]

http://www.banffnorquay.com/

http://www.skibanff.com/ (Sunshine Village)

http://www.skilouise.com/

all are good but personally I like Sunshine Village the best.

 

[Kalemic]

I like Louise best, a wide variety of stuff. Goats eye is good at Sunshine but the rest of sunshine is pretty flat and boring, and can get really wind blown. Both are absolutely beautiful.

 

[Cri]

So it seems like a couple of you feel that SUnshine Village is the best..duly noted. I will take a look at those websites, thank you.

I am not a hardcore off-run skier I will ski every open run and glade..but I don't do the avalanche stuff If I lived out there I might eventually give it a go..but for the moment while I live in good ol ON with their craptastic mountains..I don't get enuf practice!

I want to find a ski-in hotel to stay in..but I am assuming that all the mountains would be within a half hour drive??

uh oh..a vote for flat runs at sunshine .. yuck...i hate having to drag my ass across flat parts at the bottom..

 

[depraved]

It's about 30-40 minute drive from the town of Banff to Louise or Sunshine. Unless you stay at the 4star hostel in Louise, in which case it's about 5 mins to Louise. If want après-ski nightlife, stay in the town of Banff. I personally like Louise over Sunshine for diversity & number of runs. Sunshine is definitely windier but has some siiiick steeps (~60 degrees) that Louse doesn't. You'll probably have more fun at Louise.

 

[Cheap Ego]

yeah.. unless you're getting the multipass, I'd say just get the sunshine village passes.

don't get me wrong, I'd love to have LL in ontario, but it doesn't compare for two reasons:

- It's much farther from Banff. Although there's nice scenery and all, it's just a pain having to drive home for 45 minutes after a day of riding(unless it's from blue...and it's two hours). Besides, if you forget something, it's a bit of a drag to backtrack

- IMO it's generally more advanced terrain and they don't get nearly as much powder - when I was there it was not unlike ontario conditions.

 

[Cri]

POwder is good..I love fresh powder...such a workout too

SO, you're saying that LL and Sunshine won't get the same amount of powder..

 

[SneakyPete]

Can I come?

 

[Cheap Ego]

At least when I was there, they couldn't even compare.. LL had Icy hills (not all, but some), while Sunshine had plenty of "I've fallen and I can't get out" type powder..

Oh! and check out the Rose and Crown in Banff.. they have stupid-awesome veggieburgers!

 

[aki]

the ski-out at sunshine can be a bitch. i suppose if you leave a little earlier you avoid the insane mass of people leaving, but if you're from Ontario and you're like me, you want to get in every last second of good riding while you're there.

so you end up leaving with the crowd and trying to work your way down the mountain on a trail only about 15 feet wide in places, attempting to not plow into the other people, and avoiding being knocked off the side of the mountain by the crazy people that race down the trail.

i was there with a beginner snowboarder who was terrified about the ski-out. she wouldnt go back to sunshine with me because of it

 

[eLeKTRon]

Lake Louise is the best by far for scenery, great runs, facilities and terrain variety - IF they have snow!! Sunshine ALWAYS has snow.

IIWU, try Jasper (cheaper and Marmot is not at all crowded). Also, FERNIE is my personal fav.

 

[dj Red Turtle]

Originally posted by Adam
I don't really ski, and I didn't go out, but Lake Louise and Morraine Lake were two of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Lake Louise:

(It's not a postcard, I actually took this picture)

This picture gives me chills (in a good way). I miss Banff.

 

[j bunny 2000]

I was just in Louise and Banff. Lake Louise was amazing. The View from the top of the runs was jaw dropping. Sunshine is supposedly very good with better snow than lousie. LL supposedly has more runs than Sunshine but when I was there they hadn't had a big dump of snow in awhile so the runs were a bit tracked out and icy. Apparently this is a common occurence. If you are in to back country, apparently there is some good terain at Louise for this. Norfolk in Banff apparently is not that good, but compared to what we have in ontario it might be worth checking out if you don't want to travel far.

Banff is really fun. There is way more to do there in terms of night life than LL. Go to the hot springs and go ice skating. There are some decent bars and pubs, but i was to drunk to remember many of their names. If u want to buy cool ski/snowboard gear there are too many stores to name (YEAH Rude GIRLS!!)

Have fun!! I would go back in a second.

Jessica Buny

 

[squirrely]

sunshine is one of my very favourite places in the whole wide world. just make sure you save some energy to ride/ski out at the end. it's some good twisty fun.

 

[bitchass]

i love sunshine village! the snow has always been better then for me and the gondola ride in the morning isn't bad at all now that they've made it a super highspeed one! for those wondering about the ski-out - you don't have to take it, and if you're tired at the end of the day its better not to cuz thats when you're more likely to get hurt.

i ski and the only complaint i get from boarders is that sunshine has the occassional flatspots - but they also have nothing but high speed quad chairlifts and the best snow its really only about 20 minutes from banff so you can stay at a hotel in town and catch a bus or drive there each day and party in banff at night. banff is crazy party town and you won't have problems finding a good time.

 

[lopez]

sunshine has the best conditions by far, goats eye is has it all and the ski out is really fun. i had a seasons pass in 99 and it was the best $400 i have ever spent. the gunja-ola ride up in the morning is sweet, it takes about 20-25 min. (plenty of time to burn a fat stick and take in the amazing scenery) The best thing about sunshine is the Powder, i remember at least a dozen days of waist deep virgin runs in the early morning.
lake lousie is great as well, nothing compares to the scenery up there, and it's huge to boot so many cool runs and bowls, worth a good two days for sure. however the snow isn't nearly and good as sunshine (fresh powder everyday is hard to beat). the conditions as mentioned, are very similar to ontario conditions (thin and icey in places).
Norquay is the smallest of the three but the steepest and fastest, conditions were always icey. i only went a couple of times because i never wanted to miss the powder at sunshine. if you're into night skiing, norquay is your place, has a really cool half pipe and snowpark that's always fun after some beers and blunts.
get a room in town (banff) that's were all the action is, and you can find some reasonable prices as well. there are plenty of small motels along the strip.
getting to the hills is really easy, there are buses going to all three all day the cost nothing (10-15$) and they pick you up right at your hotel.
have fun, and be careful. banff is 5000 ft above sea level and coming from ontario you'll really feel it in your legs and lungs, keep that in mind when you want to sqeeze one more run in. i saw plenty of injuries at the end of the day from tourist trying to get too much in.