 Poster: A snowHead
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We're planning to ski Canada/USA next year for the first time. Because of work commitments, we can only travel during January or early/mid Feb.
We really like the look of Banff/Lake Louise as it appears to have such stunning scenery and a larger area when the three resorts are combined, but have heard it can be a drag regarding ski buses and that there are not always great snow conditions at Lake Louise.
Can anybody comment on snow quality/depths for January in this area, and also if there are any particularly good places to stay (or avoid!)?
Thanks everybody!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ooh - also, does anybody know how busy it gets there around this time - can crowded piste/queues be a problem?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Generally I'd say, really really quiet in the week and busyish at the weekend when Calgary comes out to play.
The time you are talking about could be quite cold and ski conditions could vary. This year its not great, I skied there last weekend, but normally by this time its much better.
Would you be looking to stay in Banff or Lake Louise? What are you looking for/do you like doing?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I went to Lake Louise a couple of years ago in the first week of January. It was **** freezing! -26 on on a good day. But, beautiful. The snow was awesome, and in the LL resort, they provide ski guides to show you round the mountain, which is great. One of the guides we had was an old Canadian racer from the 60s, or something, these guys have a huge pedigree and I would recommend that you spend as much time with them as possible, some stories they tell! There was little snow in Banff, so we just went there for the day to have a look around (great restaurants where you can eat bison, and buffalo). A day trip was to go to another resort nearby (where it wasn't listed, so powder mecca), I can't remember what it's called - Sunshine? but I didn't bother going in the end as it was so nice to explore LL. We went dog sledding one day, and did a couple of ice canyon walks, as one of us didn't like skiing, so if you fancy a day off, there's loads to do. From memory, it got dark at about 4.30 is, so better to start early and finish early. The Fairmont hotels in Banff and LL are gorgeous too, and there's a huge amount of history from the old trans Canadian rail road that used to pass by Banff and LL.
Check the Alberta tourist web page before you go. The second week in January when I went cost £600, apparently the tourist board were subsidising the trips to get more people to go, as all the locals find it too cold at that time of year, so in actual fact, it turned out cheaper than going to France. I think I went with Neilson, flying with Canadian Affair, and they had plenty of things to do on their itinerary. LL itself is a fairly small resort, but the mountain is lovely and there's plenty of variety in terms of terrain, plus some good tree runs around the side of the pistes if you fancy a bit of backcountry.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lake Louise is pretty quiet so if you are a group who want to get out and about in the evening you might do better to stay in Banff but at Lake Louise the mountains are more easily accessible. The whole area is uttery beautiful but can be very very cold in January.
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Went to Banff late January a few years ago. Was worried about travelling by bus but they were well organised and stopped outside our hotel for lake louise. It was only a short stroll to central pick up for sunshine but did get a cab a few mornings ans was only a few $ to bus pick up point. Preferred sunshine to lake Louise. Queues were non existent. Temperatures were cold but not too cold when we were there. Only felt it on chairlifts. I'd recommend staying in Banff.
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I've ridden both Finland and Lake Louise in January. Of the two I'd say Finland felt colder, with regular "warm up" stops to check out the hand dryers in the lodge a necessity. On the other hand at my regular Finnish resort the temperature (which was posted) was never below about minus 24, where as at Lake Louise I've been there when the lifts were closed because it was below minus 30 (units, I'm told are irrelevant at that point).
Don't worry about it, it'll be fine, it's a resort, it works, it's very rare that it's super cold.
The snow tends to be dry, but they get less than further left. There are actually three hills covered by the one pass, of which Lake Louise is my favourite. It is a hill with a small village, with as it happens the best restaurant/ hotel in the area, if you like that sort of thing. Lake Louise isn't a "party" place; if you want that go somewhere else.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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One thing to be awaire of is to make full use of the Tri-Area lift pass you need to base yourself in Banf NOT Lake Louise. There is only 2 buses to the Banf resorts from LL one on Monday and one on Friday. I have a despute with our tour operator who sold us LL as a sutable Tri-Area resort.
We were there the last week in Jan and the temp went from -1 to -25 but we did have sun everyday.
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Have skied there twice but always stayed in Banff. Easy to get buses to LL from outside your hotel. Looked at a last minute trip a couple of years ago late January. Price was very good but the temperature at the time was -48. I can manage down to -20 but that was too cold!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We skied at lake Louise /Banff quite a few yrs ago it was -42 the day we arrrived. We had a car we parked in Banff to get breakfast we did not take that long, but when we drove away the tyres had flat spots....... it was about 5 miles before we had round tyres. Other that that great place loved it warmed up after a couple of days. The range in temps was over 50 degrees minus 42 to plus 8 in less than 1 week!! ........
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thank you so much to everybody, all really helpful.
Can Philwig tell me the name of the hotel/restaurant in Lake Louise that you like so much?
Any other recommendations for good hotels either in LL or Banff would be very welcome too...!
Oh, and is it very expensive to eat out? We've seen a couple hotels that offer breakfast, but most are room only. I guess evening meals out could be limited in LL?
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Alcohol is very expensive in Canada (punitive taxes I believe) and food can be as expensive or relatively inexpensive as you choose. At the moment the exchange rate is favourable having moved from around $1.50 to the £1 to $1.75 which will make a huge difference to a weeks in resort holiday costs. Hotels are all pretty much bed only or bed and breakfast. Its not cheap but then most of Europe isnt either. There are lot of mid range hotels in Banff which are more than adequate with comfortable beds, pools and jacuzzis. The most expensive hotels include Banff Springs and Rimrock Resort. Then theres Chateau Lake Louise and Post Hotel which are the expensive ones in Lake Louise. I dont know of any mid range hotels in LL although I am sure there are some. Eating out is good in Banff with lots of choice from Pizza up to fine dining.
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You know it makes sense.
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January is not the best month to come to Lake Louise. Its probably on average the coldest month and it tends not to snow that much in Jan; so if you are after powder, maybe try later or make it a two centre with either fernie, Kickng Horse or Revelstoke.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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the Grizzly House restaurant was one I went to, it did this fab 'cook your own' type thing with lots of different meat - bison, buffalo and stuff. I'd recommend it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sunshine and LL are both great. The difference you will notice is that the runs are generally ungroomed ( not pisted) as the snow when it dumps is all powder and very dry. This will be "your equivalent to Off Piste in Europe" but it is all "Inbounds" 😃 I never saw a Piste Basher the whole time I was there last March... Happy Days, as I think sometimes in Europe they tend to over piste slopes, trashing any Powder or Moguls in preference for the "Corduroy" that we now tend to see, Ok perhaps on some beginners runs but now getting very tiresome seeing Corduroy everywhere you go in Europe these days. This is only a recent fad mind, it never used to be like that..... 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My parents go to Banff every January and have done so for over 10 years now. My father tells me it tends to get busy on weekends but if you get out early you miss the crowds then get as far away from the base as possible. As for temp I can only remember my father complaining once but you are skiing after all...... I only went the first time and we stayed in LL which was a bit boring hence they've stayed in Banff ever since. I liked LL and sunshine equally but the snow was better at sunshine.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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LL gets tracked out quicker, SSV snow lasts longer due more runs 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We've done Banff in Feb a few times. Last year wasn't so cold but a few times before it's been VERY cold. I don't find the buses a major drag as I have a teeny snooze en route. Try and book a hotel where the bus stops if you want to make your life as easy as poss. I've stayed at The Rimrock (very lovely but out of town), Ptarmigan (great basic hotel, close to town) and the High Country Inn (slightly odd for some reason but rooms fine)
Even when we skiied and the locals said the snow was atrocious, it was still better than most years that I've skiied in France
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Stayed in Banf a few years ago - spectacular and the tri area ski pass is a good idea. Tremblant is steep and prone to be icy (but that can be fun and it is very much a 'locals' resort). Sunshine is great and when we were there was great powder (but remember in Canada and the US there are very strict rules about in-bounds skiing) also not sure I would use Sunshine after the issue with the owner sacking a bunch of guides because they took his son and cronies ski passes off them becuase they were skiing out of bounds. Lake Luise is also great. We stayed in Banf and used the buses daily, bit of a PITA but very efficient and easy.
Eating and drinking is costly - The Spaghetti Factory was popular with us (I was there with my son, then aged 12) as a good place to fill up a young body (his, not mine). Also went to the Stump and Magpie (may have the name wrong) where the food was *huge* and pleasing to a 12 year old. It was *very* cold and one day in LL the chair lifts were closed because of the cold and wind (gondola was working though). We observed that it was quite tough to do a long-haul flight for just a week skiing. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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how long does the season usually last?
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| snowqueen11 wrote: |
| the Grizzly House restaurant was one I went to, it did this fab 'cook your own' type thing with lots of different meat - bison, buffalo and stuff. I'd recommend it. |
Top Tip 1: Have the hot rock fondue if you go to the Grizzly House
Top Tip 2: Don't wear anything you'll plan on wearing again that trip, your clothes will reek of cooking meat and boiling cheese for a week, this includes your coat/hat
Also go to the Saltlik.
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Banff/Lake Louise gives you some of the most stunning scenery in Canada. January in Banff/Lake Louise can give you some of the lowest temperatures.
I would definitely endorse the view that staying in Banff is the best option, because LL is a very small place. Basically just a bunch of hotels and a few (not very interesting) shops. The Post Hotel in LL is probably the best restaurant in the area, but isn't cheap: great for a special evening out, though. - Their wine list is famous and makes great reading (because for most people reading it is all they can afford).
The Lake Louise Inn is a decent mid-range hotel at LL, but if you want a more varied series of evenings out, then it's better to stay in Banff. Personally, I've never minded the ski bus transfers, because the scenery along the road from Banff to LL is so spectacular, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Another point to remember about skiing in January is that the days are relatively short, so the lifts will close early, and if it's super-cold, they might not be able to start up too early, either (I can remember one day at LL where we had to wait until about midday for temperatures to rise sufficiently for the lift to start running safely.)
The slopes won't get crowded, even at weekends, in January: Calgarians have more sense than to venture out when it's -30 (but they have the luxury of being able to go any time during the season).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Do it!
I'd stay in Banff though. And visit Melissa's and the Saltlik Steak restaurant. 
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Ditto on Saltlik.We had a great baseball steak at The Keg downtown too last year. Wildflour Bakery is also great if you have had your fill of meat and want some veggie goodness. And have a day at the Hot Springs if you fancy a day off 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For a romantic (and definitely not cheap) stay, I'd recommend the Post Hotel in Lake Louise, it's gorgeous. Deer Lodge is another great character hotel at LL. I'd avoid the Fairmont at all costs - it's a large corporate hotel... just a Travelodge in fancy pants.
Personally though, to ski LL and Sunshine Village, you should stay in the town of Banff. Note that Banff is NOT a ski area, it's the service town for the 3 ski areas of Lake Louise (brilliant), Sunshine Village (brillianter) and Norquay (meh) (and pronounced Nor-kway).
Loads of eating and drinking options in Banff, car hire options, ski bus options etc. Staying in Lake Louise is a bit like staying on the mountain - once you're there, that's it.
Would agree that it can be brutally cold in January. You must come prepared, e.g. face masks, really good gloves and good thermals etc. My wife insisted on boot heaters, and some days I wished I'd had them too.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I love skiing at Banff/Lake Louise. We've always been early March when it seems a little warmer and lots of fresh snow. Basically the locals, when they complain about poor snow, don't know how lucky they are. There are three ski areas in the pass. Norquay is the closest to Banff, very small but still worth a visit, especially if the weather's not great (its all tree slopes). About 20min away is Sunshine Village, which has the best snow, and great skiing, although isn't as big as LL, which is about 45min from Banff. LL doesn't get as much snow or fresh powder as Sunshine but its always seemed fine to me (moderate intermediate). Its a bigger and more interesting mountain to ski than Sunshine, more of an alpine feel of ravelling around rather than the shortish runs of Sunshine. Never had a problem with queues or crowded pistes at any of them. I think weekends are the busiest with locals, especially at LL. When we were there for 10 days we took a day off skiing on the midweek Sunday and just did sightseeing etc - its well worth a longer stay even if not skiing every day.
Its worth noting that Lake Louise is actually three places, the lake itself (with the huge Chateau hotel), the small village of Lake Louise, and then the ski slope itself. So wherever you stay involves a ride to the slopes. The buses from Banff are very organised and efficient, no problems using them. One year we went independently and hired a car, we used the buses to Norquay and Sunshine and drove to LL (a beautiful drive, especially if you take the back road).
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