 Poster: A snowHead
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Had a fantastic time, Jan 2nd to 12th.
It was cold - really cold ( for me). -5 was the high for the 10 days, the coldest being -16 so actually not too bad for Jan. Cold in the town at night, pack extra thermals for under your jeans.
The buses are running as clockwork as usual, with friendly drivers and not as much of a chore as you would imagine them to be. Stayed at the Rundlestone Lodge, which was simple, quiet and comfortable and at the far end of town, next to the Caribou. A 15 - 18 min walk or 8 - 10 min powerwalk ( depending on how cold it was or how hungry we were) to get to downtown and the bars and restaurants. Quite enjoyed the walk back to start the digestion working on the huge portions. Favorite restaurant was Saltliks - they do the best Rib-eye I've ever tasted. Also really enjoyed Earl's and the Elk and Oarsman does great "pub" food.
The skiing.
Sunshine was fabulous - great conditions towards the end of our time there, lots of fluffy stuff, with flurries most days and cold temps keeping everything in perfect condition. Some great runs off the Wa-Wa chair, especially tin can alley. If you head off right down green 103 from the standish chair and stay high to the left you can find some lovely deep stuff for the next few day's at least. Goats eye was skiing very fast at the top - hard packed and icy, but lovely and cruisy at the bottom.
Lake Louise needs some more depth especially over at the larch area, a lot of rocks coming through. We had a great couple of days here and conditions did improve, it's hard packed and fast in places and if that's how you like it stick to the frontside for now.
Norquay. Skiied this for the first time this trip and we were pleasantly suprised. Good daylodge at the base, easy to navigate the area and some seriously fast runs in good condition - hard packed with a soft layer!! Head over to the Mystic Express chair and just blast up and down for an hour or so - great adrenalin rush and perfect for practising your carving technique. Fabulously quiet.
Day trip to Kicking Horse. WOW. What a place, we weren't blessed with several foot of powder but what a great day trip. Some serious steeps and great tree runs, with areas to dive off into powder all over the mountain and stunning scenery. I seriously took myself out of my comfort zone here but both my confidence and my skiing benefited enormously. Well worth the trip if you like to ski fast and long runs.
The Wave Magics. This was their first outing will post in Equipment aswell but I was seriously pleased with my purchase. Responsive, fast and stable at speed. Easy to cruise and easy to crank them up. Great feedback from them especially when carving - you knew when you got it just right 
All in all a fantastic trip and anyone going out in the next few weeks - or already out there will have a great time. Any questions - feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 16-02-08 22:57; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for the report. Snow seems a bit down on this time last year. I am off to Banff on 23rd Feb so some time yet for a few big dumps. Seems to be 2-3cm most days at Sunshine over the last few weeks.
Is there much intermediate blue stuff at Kicking Horse or is it all extreme steeps?
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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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stevev, There's plenty of "blue" runs at Kicking Horse but they can be steep and fast and challenging. If you are a confident intermediate and like to hear the odd whistle of speed in your ears you'll love it. www.KickingHorseResort.com
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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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Bones, sorry, not been to Panorama, but it's on the list. Let us know what you think.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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minx, hi excellent review.
Did you do much shopping whilst there, and how did you find the prices, both food and shopping I suppose.
We had thought of heading to Norquay the 1st couple of mornings to get our ski legs back, I take it we would be better heading to Sunshine?
cheers.
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Bones, I went to Panorama last year, I really liked it (though was there for alittle toooo long) - apart from the weekends it was very empty indeed, quite easily ski whole runs and even areas without seeing a single soul, great if you want to get your confidence up without worrying about others rushing by etc. Lifts were on the short side, by that I mean, there isn't many. They claim 9 but that includes the baby pulls, realistically there's 4 you'll actually use very often. To be fair, theres a fair bit of terrain seeing how few lifts there are, and the runs feed straight to them obviously.
We didnt get much snow at all, but it was very cold so the snow lasted well, and because it was so quiet didn't get too churned up even come 4 O clock.
I recommend it, though only for the skiing - village has no life really at all, the food was generally pretty poor as well, if you don't mind cooking, then its no big deal..
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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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Bones, we did an organised trip - we booked it with Inghams, but it can be booked at the Banff tours desk in the Cascade Mall. Same company. The coach ride was an hour and 40 mins there - clear road but took 2 hours 10 coming back and it includes liftpass for the day $89. It would be an easy drive if the weather is good but if it's snowing I'd trust the driving to an experienced rockies driver. And you get to admire the amazing scenery.
cforcat, to be honest I think the prices have gone up in recent years and meals and drinks are on a par with the uk. Average 2 course meal and a couple of beers was 35-40 dollars per person, £18-20. Saltliks for an amazing steak and accompaniments plus dessert and a nice bottle of vino set us back $130 for the two of us £65 approx. Same with the shopping - we didn't do much but looking around it's not that much cheaper than buying here. I read an artical in the local paper that stated the cost of skiing in Banff had gone up 25% in the last 2 years for uk visitors.
Sunshine would definately be the better warm up resort, Norquay is for when you've got them working.
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Hi minx, excellent review, I'm heading out there for the first time in late Feb, given me a good idea of what to expect, hopefully snow will be tip-top by then, hoping to try Kicking Horse and Panorama too, we've booked a car for a few days in the middle.
Did you visit any more restaurants than the ones you mentioned, can you offer any more recommendations? What about the on-mountain food? I was going to ask about ski-hire but sounds like you took your own.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Restuarants we liked
The Keg for Steaks (next to the Ski Hub)
Itaian (don't know the name, above Mc donalds)
Tony Romas, best for Ribs (inside Mount Royal
Maple Leaf (bit posher and dearer, but good food)
Aardvarks (Mexican take-away, acrosthe block from Mount Royal)
Bumpers ( everyone said this was great, but we were very dissapointed. It was a long walk form Mount Royal, almost hypothermic by the time we got there)
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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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We were dissappointed with Bumpers - only one we were dissappointed with.
Ate great meals at ......
Elk and Oarsman, Rose and Crown x2, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Earl's x 2, Saltliks x 2, forgetting one - jetlag, trying to stay awake so I get a full nights sleep tonight.
On the hill- at Sunshine it's all up the mountain at the village - several choices, The daylodge 3 floors- 3 areas, in the hotel and trappers. There is now a hut next to the Goats eye lift for drinks and snacks. At the base of the Gondola is a lodge with Mexican style food.
At Louise it's at the base again with a large daylodge with different areas and there is an on mountain restaurant round at the base of larch and an outdoor bar and bbq to the left of the Glacier Express. At Kicking horse there is a lodge at the top and the bottom and a teepee half way down for a drink and a warm. At Norquay it's just the day lodge at tthe base. All serve fairly standard but tasty food - typically, soups, sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, fries etc. Our top tip for breakfast especially for the first few days when the jetlag wakes you up at ridiculously early o'clock is go with it. Get up and ready - on the first bus and have a full breakfast/ breakfast bun etc at the hill. The top floor at the daylodge at Sunshine is a carvery buffet lunch and apparently the lunches at Sunshine hotel are nice.
Edited to add the one I forgot - Tommy's, we just wanted a quick and easy pub meal, 5 of us ate here and not one of us was impressed.
The favorite was Saltliks, the best value for good grub was The Old Spaghetti Factory which is on the top floor of the Cascade Plaza.
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Minx - what like are the pirces on the hill.
trying to plan and not leave ourselves short for our trip.
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You know it makes sense.
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minx, there were reports months ago that the bus service would stop picking up at hotels this season. I take it from your report that this hasn't happened.
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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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cforcat, not cheap - 2 x burgers, 2 x coffees $24 / £12 approx. Sunshine was the dearest for breakfasts. Allow plenty per day, as I said it was not as cheap/ value for money as we remembered it from 4 years ago. Similar to the uk, so plan your budget as if you were at home on hols!!
richmond, the buses are running as they always have this season but I think it will change next season.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| minx wrote: |
| richmond, the buses are running as they always have this season but I think it will change next season. |
That's a shame. Although I never used the buses, it seems a retrograde step, especially for a resort with no skiing within walking distance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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cforcat, We went 3 years ago and the early intermediates did not like Norquay as every thing was the same steepness. But I would say if you can carve red runs it's a great warm up for your legs as the runs are not that steep and then move on to sunshine or louise. From what I can remember you will ski it in a morning if you can carve the reds in Europe.
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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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For anyone hiring a car a few locals recommended Revelstoke for off-piste, steep and deep. Apparantly until recently only a local hill but has this season been opened up. May be worth checking it's website out or getting some more info before deciding to visit but it was mentioned to us several times as an "awsome" place to ski.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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There are a couple of quite challenging blacks at Norquay, IIRC off the fat left chair as you look at the slopes and the map. Nothing very long, though.
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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 short and steep form what I remember. Scary for newbies.
NEVER go there on a weekend, the local kids ski club invade the place. The lodge was packed with youngsters (might just be saturdays)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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FAQ
. Also hoping to ge to Panarama as well, dont suppose you have any info from there too 
So should be good a few years time 
