 Poster: A snowHead
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So, I booked flights to Vancouver again.
Same dates but Economy this time so "only" £450 (although I still thought Premium Economy for only £250 more, of which it effectively includes £100 more of checked luggage sounded much better value)
Just looked up flights again and outbound flight in PE has gone up £550 overnight. I guess I definitely should have booked that then!
Will see if this booking makes it past the 24 hour cancellation window 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine 1st two weeks of April??
Anyone been this late in the season and what should we expect. Just may need to postpone from 25th January
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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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| Snowsartre wrote: |
| @lynnecha, I was not aware of 4, test before leaving (is that a Canadian requirement?) as UK no longer requires this. |
The post was in December, prior to the rule change 
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We've been the beginning and Mid March - temps quite warm, although some fresh snow too - however Lake Louise is south facing, so if warm/ sunny it'll be soft, with plenty of snow melt. This translates to icy slopes at times first thing.
Friends always went Easter, so have been in April, not dedicated skiers really, so enjoyed the relaxing days, ice to slush and long lunches - possibly walking around town in t shirts, maybe even shorts 
January can be brutal with winds and v. cold temps even down to -30 or -40 - you pays your money and takes your chances.
either way I'm sure you'll have agreat time, as Banff is a beautiful area.
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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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Cheers Bones.
Was in Banff January 2020 before all the anguish started and it was great as it was our first time. Ski'd Whistler 2014 that's the only time in the Rockies and TBH after our time in Banff and surrounding area we stated we could ski here for the rest of ours days.
Just never Ski'd in April over there.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| lynnecha wrote: |
| Snowsartre wrote: |
| @lynnecha, I was not aware of 4, test before leaving (is that a Canadian requirement?) as UK no longer requires this. |
The post was in December, prior to the rule change |
We were in Banff beginning of April 2011 and the snow was absolutely amazing. We had more powder days than I can remember and I have been there at least 10 times but never in April. Obviously, Global warming has changed things a bit since then but I think you will be fine. Both Sunshine and Lake Louise are reallly high and snow sure as much as can be really.
You may get softer snow, rather than early season cold smoke blower pow, but they tend to get a lot of snowfall in April.
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Slightly tangential, but as I am the OP, I think permissible.
Given the missed season and a bit, I am pricing taking the family to Whistler at February half-term,2023. I am staggered by the ski hire prices (lift tickets too but am getting used to that!). Flights and accommodation surprisingly good value, but the ski hire and passes are pushing costs well into 5 figures which is exercising my parsimonious monkey!
Does anyone have any recommendations for more affordable equipment hire and/ or lift tickets - family of five kids will be 18, 14 and 11 then?
(The alternative is two bells and whistles trips to Europe which is also very appealing  )
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@lynnecha, Phew! Thanks.
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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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| RoamingBull wrote: |
Skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine 1st two weeks of April??
Anyone been this late in the season and what should we expect. Just may need to postpone from 25th January |
We've been as late as the last week of April and flew back 8th May - we usually go once or twice every year (pre pandemic). Every year is different. It feels like March is a snowy month - just our experience, but warms up very quickly as you get into April. Even if it does, icy mornings, slushy afternoons - just ski from 10 to 3 and don't have lunch. It's wonderful whenever. Sunshine will keep its snow better than LL - but we would jump at the opportunity to ski early April. Just go with no expectations and adjust to the conditions. We've been there when people are skiing in bikini tops and shorts - still had a wonderful time. (we've also been there in minus 30, which was a bit challenging logistically......)
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Just got caught out with lift pass..friends did not tell us to book months ago..instead of paying for a season pass in early December I have now had to buy two passes to cover me fir 11 days skiing..$1850 as opposed to $1152 which was flexible..but heyho
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| yorkshirelad wrote: |
| Just got caught out with lift pass..friends did not tell us to book months ago..instead of paying for a season pass in early December I have now had to buy two passes to cover me fir 11 days skiing..$1850 as opposed to $1152 which was flexible..but heyho |
purchased our season passes at £378 pp in October
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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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| colian wrote: |
| yorkshirelad wrote: |
| Just got caught out with lift pass..friends did not tell us to book months ago..instead of paying for a season pass in early December I have now had to buy two passes to cover me fir 11 days skiing..$1850 as opposed to $1152 which was flexible..but heyho |
purchased our season passes at £378 pp in October |
Is there any restriction on who can buy a season pass? ie non-doms fine?
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| Snowsartre wrote: |
| colian wrote: |
| yorkshirelad wrote: |
| Just got caught out with lift pass..friends did not tell us to book months ago..instead of paying for a season pass in early December I have now had to buy two passes to cover me fir 11 days skiing..$1850 as opposed to $1152 which was flexible..but heyho |
purchased our season passes at £378 pp in October |
Is there any restriction on who can buy a season pass? ie non-doms fine? |
Anyone can buy a season pass, but only while they're on sale. The stop selling some point in December - VR want to get their money off you early doors
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You know it makes sense.
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@Saintsman, That's incredible value (in comparison) I have been quoted the below for a 7 Days lift pass:-
Adult £832.57
Youth (13-eighteen) £708.57
Child (7-12) £419.24
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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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Yeah, it is "epic" value. My full EPIC pass (I'm there for 6 weeks, so easily the best option) came in a touch under £600 p/p. That also gives a whole bunch of other discounts - 20% off on mountain food, 20% discount on lessons, rentals etc.
The whole Vail model is about getting you to buy the full season early, then hope they can get you to other resorts they run in the season so they can maximise their other sales.
WB used to offer some much better value 7-14 day passes, but Vail put a stop to that pretty quickly - the only real hangover from the pre-Vail days is local residents tickets but someone like Stuarth probably knows more about that
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Poster: A snowHead
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| RoamingBull wrote: |
Skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine 1st two weeks of April??
Anyone been this late in the season and what should we expect. Just may need to postpone from 25th January |
Not sure what kind of lift passes you already have and if they are refundable. But by that time of year the spring passes are out that work out around $500 for unlimited skiing at 1 resort (so $1000 for both). Might be worth considering.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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10 and five day local passes still available to bc residents only , but if skiing more than 10 days epic passes are a no brainier ,whistler only epic pass is best option for people not likely to ski other resorts as loads of discounts and also if whistler closes chance to get full / partial refund which is not the case if on full epic pass
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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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| RoamingBull wrote: |
Skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine 1st two weeks of April??
Anyone been this late in the season and what should we expect. Just may need to postpone from 25th January |
I haven’t been that late as only been once, I went 24th Feb to 9th Mar 2020 and that was still pretty cold. -17 C on the Great Divide lift a few of the days. I’m going a bit later this time (well, if I do go). Apparently the most snow falls in the month of March.
I think although April will be warmer I don’t think it gets as warm as the Alps can be in April which personally I avoid as I’m not keen on skiing in warm weather.
I guess like anywhere though things can change from year to year. Not sure what to expect early to mid March myself as I’d only been the once? Don’t know if it was colder/snowier than usual or what last time but it was bloody great!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dabber wrote: |
| 10 and five day local passes still available to bc residents only , but if skiing more than 10 days epic passes are a no brainier ,whistler only epic pass is best option for people not likely to ski other resorts as loads of discounts and also if whistler closes chance to get full / partial refund which is not the case if on full epic pass |
They stopped selling epic passes for this season a while ago.
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My sister went in Whistler and bought an Epic Pass (when she meant to get an Edge one)
She's not planning on going back this season, but I'm now hoping to go. What are the chances of us getting it transferred from her name to mine? Slim to none I'm assuming?!
Last edited by After all it is free  on Mon 31-01-22 22:41; edited 1 time in total
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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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Absolutely zero
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jebroni3_16, Not a chance as Saintsman, says.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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@Bones, @VolklAttivaS5,
I know plenty who moan about the cold, but they are not the ones skiing when its minus 25.
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| gryphea wrote: |
@Bones, @VolklAttivaS5,
I know plenty who moan about the cold, but they are not the ones skiing when its minus 25. |
I've skied in -25 and it wasn't much fun. Wear enough layers and you won't be cold. The problem is any exposed skin gets frost nip pretty quick and I personally find if I cover my face with some kind of balaclava my mask gets steamed up. Friend I was with got cold toes. So it was pretty much 1 lap - some of that with hand covering face, then lodge for 15mins to warm up and repeat. Plus as said earlier in this thread at those temperatures they close the chairs so depending what resort your at their may not be much choice of where to ski.
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You know it makes sense.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| gryphea wrote: |
@Bones, @VolklAttivaS5,
I know plenty who moan about the cold, but they are not the ones skiing when its minus 25. |
I've skied in -25 and it wasn't much fun. Wear enough layers and you won't be cold. The problem is any exposed skin gets frost nip pretty quick and I personally find if I cover my face with some kind of balaclava my mask gets steamed up. Friend I was with got cold toes. So it was pretty much 1 lap - some of that with hand covering face, then lodge for 15mins to warm up and repeat. Plus as said earlier in this thread at those temperatures they close the chairs so depending what resort your at their may not be much choice of where to ski. |
+1 to not much fun!
I was skiing in -25 conditions last week (-39 with windchill - brrr!!!). Mostly I was standing around watching a freeride comp for 3 days to make it feel even colder. Apart from that my day went along the lines of go up, ski down to a coffee shop, stay there until going to the comp.
I had my giant thick down jacket on, I find keeping my body really warm, helps keep my feet warm too.
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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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@stuarth, I’m glad it’s not just me then! Last time I was thinking the snow was just fantastic but I wouldn’t want to be there in the darker colder months of Dec or Jan, late Feb was enough for me. I didn’t have to go inside anywhere for a warm up I could keep going so I guess I’d got to my ideal limit, like you say when it gets to -20, -25 and lower it’s getting into uncomfortable territory. I remember being in Tignes once and it was unusually cold for there, -21 at the base and it doesn’t take long before it feels like you should really be indoors.
In Sunshine I had some of those USB hand warmers, ‘Hot Rox’ and I set one of them going inside my down puffa jacket chest pocket inside my shell 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I think I’m probably going to book a new flight using the Thurs out Sun back or Mon out Wed back method and go because I can’t not, it looks too good not to go this year
I’d booked the Caribou Lodge originally but that’s showing as expensive for different dates to my original ones, the Rundlestone Lodge is next door though so that will be alright won’t it?
They are all very similar aren’t they because the same company owns pretty much all the main hotels in Banff?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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VolklAttivaS5, Very nice they shouldnt be too much between them - friends always used the Caribou too.Dont blame you for going - we would too however now unable to go this season 
There may be a Wed to Sat flight too - we did this last time, with KLM via Schipol - which is easy for us. Local airport 15 mins away and short hop to Schipol. Arrival in Calgary is around 13.30 so quick drive to Canmore saw us there around 3pm. KLM has always been much better flights than AC for us.
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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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@Bones, yes depending on the dates chosen I’ve got the options of Rundlestone for 16 nights or Irwin’s for 17 nights. Both have onsite laundry, Irwin’s is closer to town.
I will check out the KLM possibility thanks.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@VolklAttivaS5, take a look at the options via skiBig3 as they discount the lift pass when bought with accommodation and you can also book any equipment and calgary bus transfers. I booked for Canalta lodge which is almost at the end of Banff Avenue its about a 15 min walk into town and i think you need to walk about 200 to the Caribou to get the shuttle buses. Ive stayed at Inns of Banff before with my kids when they were young and it wasn't a problem being at the end of town its kind of good to walk off the stiffness after a day on the hill, plus my son has way longer legs than me now he's 23!.
Breakfast is included and they have coin laundry and workbench in ski locker for waxing. I booked a 2 queen room and afterwards i contacted them direct and upgraded to have balcony (to help my head during initial isolation period). They included the caribou and most hotels in that group. The Red Carpet and Irwins were rocking in about $110 per night.
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Getting a bit frustrated here, my NHS PCR result has still not arrived, I've been assured the result will dated on the date and time I took the test but I'm more nervous of an invalid result, I'm sure it will be positive as I have been on all lateral flow tests I've taken since testing positive last week.
The only thing I can think of is that the service has been inundated with PCR test samples since New Year.
The good news is, I've got next to no symptoms now.
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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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Weather in April; I use jet lag to be on the mountain at LL at 8.30am then leave on the 3.30(?) bus as the snow is soggy. Sunshine is a bit better.
Hotels; I was content with Irwin’s for some years but last time was at Red Carpet I think and it was definitely a cleaner interior, Irwin’s was looking tired. Both are well placed for a walk into town IMHO, especially when cold or with children.
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I've been to the Caribou's Keg Steakhouse a few times but never stayed at the hotel itself.
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FAQ
