 Poster: A snowHead
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looking at these two resorts to party on down in next xmas and new year... (if i can afford it!)
i hear banff is quite far away from the slopes themselves, but much closer to the UK....
what's the verdict for xmas and new year, particularly climate wise as i like skiing under sunny skies!
obviously great bars, cute boys etc are all mandatory!
Price may rule these options out as it's looking into £1400 at the moment.
any tips for saving money in canada?
sarah
xx
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whistler is much more expensive than Banff, but there is more choice when you get there (of ski terrain and bars/clubs although Banff has plenty of places too).
In Banff, they run free bus services to all of the ski hills so you just jump on and have a little sleep on the way.
Banff is pretty chilly (~-20C some days in January) whereas Whistler tends to be warmer (although it does have the odd chilly day).
There's more chance of finding powder in Whistler, although if you're not into that and you're a beginner, then Banff would be fine.
You'd probably want to go for at least 10 days to either place, owing to the jet lag so I'd try and budget for that too.
Good luck deciding! 
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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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queen_sheba, i was in banff from late november 07 right up to the week before xmas. you're right, it is far away from the slopes. sunshine village is 20+ mins bus ride and then a further 20mins on the gondola; lake louise is 45mins by bus but then you'll be right at the foot of the slopes. believe it or not the whole time i was there, i never made it to norquay but it's only 15mins away. although, having said that norquay didn't open until well into december.
great little town, loads of bars and restaurants. can't comment on what it was like for xmas as i left the week before, but it didn't really feel all that xmassy when i was leaving. then again it didn't feel much like xmas when i got home either.
cute guys: can't really comment as it's not my thing  . but loads of sub 30 years old guys kicking around and mostly snowboarder/surfer types. i'm sure there'll be at least one that would tickle. the girls were definitely amazing tho.
climate-wise: cold, cold, cold. the warmest banff town was during my four-week stay was 3C. that was one day only; the rest of the time it was in the minuses. i think the lowest was -26C. only a few bluebird days too. mostly overcast and one horrific flat light day  .
money-saving tips: get yourself a nationwide account and credit card. pump your £1400 into this account. don't worry about changing money before you leave. visit a cash machine when you arrive and hey presto - you have canadian dollars at the exchange rate at the time you carry out the transaction and no bank charges. i was able to get exchange rates between $2.04 - $2.08 to the pound while i was there. the same goes for the credit card - no charges. will save you a fortune if you are planning an extended stay.
go earlier in the season and book a group lesson at sunshine (ask for Simon Jones or Julian [pronounced hoo-lian - he's from madrid ]) because it's early season demand is low. my biggest group was 5 people (and that was only once), the rest of the time it was just the instructor and myself (private lessons for the price of a group lesson - awesome).
stay in a hostel: if you don't mind sharing. i stayed in the ywca and it was grand. the self-catering facilities weren't the best tho. i chatted to some other guys that had stayed in the ywca but had moved to the samesun and they much preferred the samesun. the samesun also have free pancakes for breakfast. better yet, find someone to go out there with you and share a twin room with shared facilities; all the benefits of a private room (mostly) at the cost of a dorm.
eat and drink at earl's. if Grant is working on the bar forget about beers/wines go straight for the spirits, he knows how to pour 'em  . the food is great too and imo good value - Doug is an amazing chef. remember to tip handsomely (if they let you that is), they deserve it. back home i regularly eat in a restaurant that is recognised as one of the top 200 in the UK (top 10 in my area) and is also michelin-starred and earl's food is right up there with it. i had eaten at the flashy maple leaf but thought it was overpriced and not all it was cracked up to be. the saltlik is also a cool bar and the food is excellent there too.
melissa's missteak also does $1.75 hi-balls (that's shorts & mixers to you and me) on tuesday and thursday nights from 9pm.
buy your liftpasses in town. i was told that most places don't check for residency so you should be able to get a much better deal in town. if you're not going to hire a car then it might be worth your while to get a tri-area lift pass and that way your bus ride is free otherwise it will cost $15 per day.
get all the gear you need in the UK in the sales at the end of this season. goggles, merino undies, etc. when you're in resort, none of these things are cheap.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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thanks very much - that's cracking!
though not to sure on the level of girlie competition tho. anywhere where there are cute boys there are cute girls...and i'm not 
always good for a ogle though.
x
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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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Excellent tips, thewahwah, hope to use them when I go next Friday. 
I'm intrigued, what do you mean by this?:
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buy your liftpasses in town. i was told that most places don't check for residency so you should be able to get a much better deal in town.
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Are the tri-area and day lift-passes available to locals at a discount to the advertised prices? Which establishments sell these? Is it the Sunshine/Marmot discount card? Please tell what you know about this.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ok, someone has to vote for Whistler, so i will, although I live here and am extremely biased. You will have a good time at either.
I have been to banff, and find it is no cheaper for accommodation and food - so expense is basically the same. Banff, requires a lot of travel time every day, in whistler, you generally have a short walk of short ( 5mins free bus ride to lifts)
Banff is can be really cold, whereas whistler is not, although being cold doesnt make for better snow, if you are a powder junky. that being said, the last 3 seasons here in whistler we have had epic seasons, with plenty of great snow (plenty of snow,and plenty of great powder to boot)
the only thing that really catches my attn is you say xmas and new years, and like sunny weather. Banff is probably better there. whistler generally has moody weather that time of year (cloudy and powder) and the village is really busy, makes for awesome nightlife, but busy on the hill. Banff i presume is quieter, and more likely ( although no way guaranteed ) clearer skies.
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luigi, it may not apply if you're only going to be there for a week or 10 days but i was going for four weeks and could only seem to get my hands on two 2-week passes when trying to purchase from the UK (at the princely sum of £675). when i got to banff and spoke to some of the locals they said that i should've gone to safeway (yes, the supermarket) and i could've got a season pass (normally only available to residents) for about half that amount. i was told that they don't check for proof of residency at all so you shouldn't have any problems (non-canadian accents are not unusual in banff either ). if you're only going for a week then the marmot card is really good value. again this is available at safeways or the skihub and pretty much any of the ski stores in town.
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Made several visits to both of these areas over the last few years, I don't think either would leave you disappointed.
This is based on 2 visits each.
Banff
visited 2005/6
Choice of 3 very different ski areas. theres a shuttle bus between them although I read somewhere they were going to start charging for it? The bus has a few resort staff on it to ensure the queues are managed.
Norquay
- I will confess we've never actually been on the local mountain (snow conditions not ideal) so cant comment.
Lake Louise
- feels more like a european resort, big groomed pistes.
- some of the lifts wouldnt look out of place in a museum.
- loads of snow making so no problem in lean years
- Has some big freeride areas although in the years we went the snow didnt make them such an appealling prospect.
- Dont recall queuing being a problem
- Theres an enormous and scary looking park. Some monster kickers.
- food was standard north american fare but recall it being good, one of the restaurants runs a lively BBQ.
Sunshine
- being familiar with scottish resorts you may feel more at home here. Snow fences, no snow making and a good atmosphere. Not always possible to ski back to the car park!
- Seems to be fairly snow sure hence lack of snow making (although the snow fences are obviously there for the same reasons as here)
- great modern gondola to get you to the ski area although the other lifts seem a bit "tired"
- Again, I dont remember there being bad queues.
- Good variety of runs, not as many big wide groomed pistes but lots of freeride. Theres also the infamous "Delerium Dive". Its split over 3 mountains but you can get round it all in a day.
- They actually do have snow making but only on the trail back out to the carpark.(it can get a bit busy at the end of the day)
- Lots of mogul fields, not sure this is a plus point?
- I think all the eateries are at the base station. The pub (trappers) is popular but served up decent fare.
We've stayed in both Lake Louise and Banff.
Lake Louise is tiny and quiet with not much to do. Our hotel(deer lodge I think) had a shuttle bus to the slopes. Fairmont chateau bar was surprisingly good value though. Theres no ATM!
Banff being much bigger has some great restaurants and choice of shops. The korean place had multiple visits as did the sushi restaurant. I think we stayed in the cheapest place we could find which as still of a high standard (cant remember its name but it was a bit like a motel)
Weatherwise we were always there when it was virtually wall to wall sunshine. A few small powder days here and there. Never experienced the cold weather the area is well known for.
The transfer from calgary to banff has to be one of the most impressive I've done. The scenery is stunning and you may even get a bit of background on what you are looking at from the coach driver.
Tour companies push a day trip to kicking horse but we've never taken them up on that.
Whistler/Blackcomb
Visited 2004/8
Ski area
- Big variety of runs but only a couple of the steep ones are pisted, the rest left to build up into moguls.
- Fantastic freeride areas , even after the snow was tracked out the glacier was still fantastic fun. You can amuse yourself for hours.
- Modern lift system (a few slower chairs) although queues can be a problem until you learn how to avoid. Chair from the base station is often very quiet whilst the gondola can be heaving.
- Weather can get misty, the low altitude of the village means it can rain there. Can be windy up top.
- Great powder days
- Not much restaurant choice up the hill but good choice within them (stir fries and noodle dishes are good) and do get busy at peak times. Plenty of choice at the base station, theres a little bakery that does great crepes.
- Snow parks looked good although I ventured into them more for the untracked powder in them 1st thing than attempting to injure myself. Had a blast down the boarder cross track.
Restaurant choice is very good with all tastes catered for. Our favourite was a sushi place (cant remember its name). Brewpub has good beer and big meals although had really crap service one night,
Last week was Whistler Pride week so you'd have had no problem finding cute boys!
Stayed near in the centre in the holiday inn which seems to be several hotels joined into one as its a bit of a maze inside. Big comfy room.
If I had to choose then it'd be whistler for the big and varied area, snow quality (ok so was there on a good year) and generally more to do.
Hope that helps, to be honest you wouldn't be disappointed at either resort.
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