 Poster: A snowHead
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We are travelling to Banff in Feb08, have flights from Manchester booked, car hire and hotel booked, there is 5 of us travelling, we opted for car hire rather than paying for bus transfers, it was actually a bit cheaper to hire the car, (understand we'll have fuel and the national park pass to pay for however we reckoned it was worth it to have the flexibility of a car)
Just wondered what other peoples experience was regarding getting to and from Banff and the 3 mountains, we were just going to use the hire car and park up at the mountains, figuring that this would give us more flexibility rather than relying on the shuttle buses.
What are peoples experiences regarding parking at the resorts, is there plenty? is there a charge for the parking?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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bluestar-ale, parking free, get there before nine or face a bit of a longer walk! its very straight forward once on the road to banff from calgary airport although getting through calgary could prove difficult! i'd get reliable directions (there were roadworks last time which cut off the conventional route). Just get on to Deerfoot Trail (simple from the airport) and head towards the city centre and you cannot miss the trans canada high way-you want to head west. It's pretty straight forward getting from Banff to the resorts-Norquay requires very little explanation, Sunshine is a little bit further ((just follow the buses/signs)-head out of Banff west bound on the trans canada highway)) and Lake Louise you cannot miss.
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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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We stayed at the Banff International when we went, and found the bus service to be excellent. They picked us up from right outside the hotel, weren't crowded and they are regular, and drop you right by the lifts. I'm sure driving won't be a problem though, it seemed to be a very straightforward route as said above.
Norquay is only about 10-15 mins away, Sunshine Village about 25 mins and Lake Louise about 45 (IIRC). I loved all three, but thought Sunshine had the best variety of skiing. The scenery at Lake Louise is just breathtaking. I have pics if you're interested but wouldn't want to spoil it for you!
If you have time before you go home, go for a trip up Sulphur Mountain - you won't regret it.
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bluestar-ale, Sunshine and LL both have skier drop offs near the lifts, so you can drop off your party (+your skis), park and stroll to the lifts (at Sunshine, they have a tractor 'bus' thing if you're really lazy). You can carry your ski boots and put them on up the mountain, as there are lockers up there, if you want to.
If you drive from Banff to LL, try Highway 1A instead of 1; the 1A turnoff from 1 is either just before or just after the Sunshine turnoff. 1A is all single track (some of 1 is dual) but much quieter, no trucks, prettier and you'll see the odd coyote and so on.
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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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bluestar-ale, driving from the Airport was quite straightforward, and so was driving to the slopes. Bus service is meant to be excellent though. We did save a bit of money by not buying the tri-area pass which included the bus, but not sure what prices are like now (we had teens with us, and they didn't do a youth rate for tri-area)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Helen Beaumont, unless the diversions are still kicking about..... then it complicates matters a bit. But generally i would agree...
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Thanks for the responses - I was going to download the USA / Canada map's for my satnav so hopefully getting around should not be a problem.
Just checked the prices for lift passes, in general it looks to be cheaper to buy individual passes for each day rather than the Tri Area pass, sunshine is the most expensive at $78.40 per day for the pass, we are travelling for a week so are skiing for 6 days, if we ski all 6 at sunshine the tri area is cheaper however Norquay is $49 for one day and Lake Louise is $72 per day, if we ski a day each at LL and Norquay and the remaining 4 at sunshine the cost is $434.60, £27.40 less than the tri area pass, I know it's not a vast saving but does make a difference.
apart from the shuttle busses are there any other benefits for buying the Tri area over individual day passes.
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You buy one pass and don't wait in queues in the mornings to buy these single day passes! (in all fairness the "queues" probably dont excist due to the efficiency of the canadians in general... but if you buy them you could always leave the car if you thought you didnt need it and jump on the bus, where are you staying?
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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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Rossfra8 we didn't queue every day for our passes. We probably only saved a lot because we would have had to buy adult passes for the kids if we'd got tri-area. I did quite a bit of research and I think bought some multi-day passes (3 days from 4 or something for LL, and another for Sunshine. Conditions at Norquay weren't good so we didn't bother. Four or five years ago now so the memory is getting a bit hazy.
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Helen Beaumont, i suspected you wouldn't have to queue for passes-wasn't sure as generally we've gone for the tri-area-this year I will have a tri area season pass  . But it depends if you are really up for driving every day-buses are so efficient I found.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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bluestar-ale, remember to add tax to these prices.
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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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Theres no provincial sales tax in Alberta so its only the federal rate of 6% you have to apply!
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Just a suggestion, but I would do 1 day - short one at Norquay, 2 at Louise and 3 at Sunshine, or 3 each at Louise and Sunshine and forget Norquay.
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much  on Mon 31-12-07 0:25; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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minx, similar, but 4 at Sunshine and 2 at LL
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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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^^ Yes, I'd second that..
Don't miss out Norquay, there's a couple of lovely undulating black diamond runs there (they're basically red runs).
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Poster: A snowHead
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Rossfra8, with two kids to get out of the door each day, it was far less stressful to get in the car and go.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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minx, Picadilly, holidayloverxx - Had looked at that sort of plan for the week, from looking at the trail map's Sunshine and LL look to be the most extensive, was going to do Norquay on the first day as it's the closest and thought it might help gain our ski leg's!!!
on the subject of the colour of runs, how much do they differ from Europe, I have skied in Bulgaria, Andorra and France (Les Arcs) in previous years, I was in Les arcs last year and was happy getting down the red run's and managed my first black with no problems, should the black's in Canada be approached as red's and the double blacks as a European black run??
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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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bluestar-ale, Canada and the US rate grade their pistes a little differently to Europe, here's a basic guide so you don't get caught out!
Green = Blue
Blue = Red
There are 3 kinds of black runs, regular black, black diamond and double black diamond.
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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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bluestar-ale, wot RichardB said. I stand to be corrected, but Norquay is the most challenging area so may not be the best to get ski legs. i would head straight for sunshine.
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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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Norquay is brilliant when your a confident intermediate and when the snow is really good!
Personally I prefer Lake Louise as I find Sunshine Village (whilst fantastic!) is a little more exposed, wind chill factor is much more extreme up there! 
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