 Poster: A snowHead
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We're off to Banff in, let me see, oh 5 weeks & 1 day - funny how I just happen to know that....first time to North America & just too excited  !! Our week in La Plagne in Jan went just too quickly & most of it was whiteouts! If anyone has any tips on where to go for drinks/eats/others that would be great - we're thinking of hiring a car as well so any day trip info would be good
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi Cathy, Banff is a great place, however if you are used to a ski-in/ski-out resort then you may be a little surprised at the distance between the ski areas.
I went to Banff in 2001 and had a fab time, there are loads of places to eat and drink on Banff Ave and try and make time to get up to the hot springs at the top of Mountain Ave. Some bars and restaurants that i enjoyed were
The Magpie & Stump on Caribou st. (Mexican)
Rose & Crown on Banff Ave (English Style Pub)
St James Gate (Irish Bar with lots and lots of ales)
With regard to the skiing i would suggest that you get the tri-area lift pass (www.skibig3.com) and make the most of the bus service that is included within the price.
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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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Norquay is quite small, youcould ski the entire resort in aone day: definitely worth a visit on a powder day though, we were lucky enough to get 12" overnight and had more or less the entire mountain to ourselves
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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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Banff is on my "must do" list for the future. What's the flight and transfer times?
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I'm sure someone's that's been will be able to tell you better but I think the flight is about 10 hours (flying Monarch - yuk!)
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Where do you fly to? Is it Calgary or Vancouver?
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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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Calgary is the one - I can't remember the transfer time but I think it's about 1 or 2 hours
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Yes, 10 hours to calgary then a couple of hours west down the main highway. Charter flights are awful: when we did the trip last year we were delayed on take off for four hours while the swapped the plane. The replacement was too small to make it in one hop so we had to refuel at goose bay which added a further 3 hours. and the TVs didn;t work. it was hell, given that we had a 4 hour transfer to Fernie and began said transfer by heading half an hour in entirelty the wrong direction 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yep that's right about 9 1/2 hrs to Calgary and then 2hrs up into the mountains. If you have your own car it will probably take slightly less. My flight back from Calgary with Monarch was delayed 12hrs!!! They had to fly a replacement plane over from Portugal, and like nbt it was not suitable for non-stop so we had to re-fuel in Bangor that added another 3 hrs. But after all that the holiday was still worth it, so that must say something!
If you do have your own car and are looking to buy some gear when you get out there it would be worth stopping off in Calgary because you can make some great savings compared to "mountain 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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I'm not looking forward to that flight I've heard so many horror stories about Monarch flying to Canada/USA - I even rang up Monarch to see if we could reserve some seats (with extra leg room) - £60 each for the privilege! So we're planning to get to the airport early to see if that helps us get to the front of the queue....
Good point about buying gear in Calgary, altho I think we're going to hire a car once we get to Banff rather than driving from the airport - I think you have things like entrance fee to the National Park to pay otherwise, although I don't know how much that is
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You can fly to calgary with Air Canada on a scheduled flight from heathrow (most tour ops give you the option for a bit more) - we did and it turned up 10 whole hours before the monarch flight that was actually supposed to be there before it - moral of the story - never go on a charter flight - I'd rather not go at all!!
Stuart
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi Stuart - we did consider that but the extra cost of the flight and airport parking at Heathrow, plus the fact that Gatwick is really convenient for us, made us at the time go for Monarch. Thinking: oh it's only 10 hours and the money we save can pay for car hire....sounded good at the time....
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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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Not to mention the leg room you get on Air Canada, you have to have very short legs to enjoy a flight with Monarch.
This is from a man with long legs 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Don't worry too much about the flight, it doesn't sound like you've got any choice now!!!
That aside you'll enjoy Banff. The bus service works well and depending on where you're staying the pick up will be close if not from you're hotel. The 3 ski areas have something for everyone. There is great instruction to be had through "Club Ski." As you're there for two weeks its an opportunity to hire a car and visit Kicking Horse, Panorama or Nakiska.
Unless you're a vegetarian go to Bumpers (if you are a veggie give it up for a couple of weeks) and skip lunch on that day.
If you're looking to buy any equipment wait until you're in Canada, it's very cheap.
Enjoy yourself.
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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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Also because of the time difference (-8 hours) you may well be waking up at the crack of dawn (or before!) - make the most of it, get the early bus to lake louise and (if they still do it - it's been a while since I went) get breakfast in the main lodge at the base of the mountain - really cheap and excellent to watch the sun coming up over the mountains before getting the first lift up (if it's not too chilly!)
Stuart
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I'm going on a charter flight to Calgary next year, Fernie is my destination, I fly from Manchester with MyTravel Airways, are they any better?
This talk about the lack of leg room is worrying as I'm 6'3".
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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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[quote="stuarth"]...get the early bus to lake louise and (if they still do it - it's been a while since I went) get breakfast in the main lodge at the base of the mountain - really cheap and excellent to watch the sun coming up over the mountains before getting the first lift up (if it's not too chilly!)/quote]
They still did the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast in the base lodge as recently as last month when I was there  It's $11 (or thereabouts, including tax and the obligatory tip) [£4.41 at today's rate] and well worth it.
Incidentally the Pound is really strong against the Canadian dollar at the moment - it was around $2.20 to the £ at the beginning of January, today it's $2.49! Good time to buy gear abroad.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hey how come my quotations don't work? 
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Sorry to Say Richard that myu experiences wer on a MyTravel (or scaretours as they're known in honour of their former name) flight. Havig said that my mate's girlfriend went four weeks later and was bang on time going and 1 hour early coming back due to a nice tailwind. You win some you lose some.
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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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Moosepig: Oh please not the screaming kid in front! But thanks for your thoughts - given me hope there CAN be reasonable Monarch flights.
..and Stuart: I guess I will have to make the effort to get up early at least 1 day to get to Lake Louise for breakfast & first lift up, sounds good. I always wake up early anyway when I'm off skiing - with the 8 hour time diff will mean I'll be waking up before I go to sleep...
Ken: Thanks, will look out for Bumpers - what type of food? For instruction we were planning to take the 3 day lesson/guiding taking you to the 3 different ski areas, seemed like a good way of getting acquainted with the areas - is that Club Ski?
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We booked a late deal to Banff last March, they didn't have any normal seats left on the Monarch flight, so we had to pay for the upgrade. It was worth it. Wider seats - longer leg room - free drinks - much quicker service - indiviadual TV's... definatley not business class (as if I'd know  ) but worth every penny of the upgrade - so it didn't matter that we sat at Calgary for 4 hours on the plane (because they'd lost the flightplan) on the return journey....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you go to Kicking Horse, have lunch at the top of the gondola - "Eagle Eye Restuarant" I think. Great views, good food, good wine, excellent service and excellent value. Our lunch came to £14 per head which considering how much we drank was very good. If you don't fancy driving, there is a daily coach from Banff (via Lake Lousie where we were) that costs $80.25 each including the lift pass.
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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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Michelle how much were the upgrade? and do you ask for it at the check in desk?
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um - can't remember the cost we paid, but we went with Inghams. They are advertising it as £159 extra return in this years brochure. We paid at the time of booking.
In addition, you get 30k baggage allowance and a dedicated check in desk.... heaven!
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You know it makes sense.
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Cathy, yes that is Club Ski. Bumpers is famous for it's Alberta beef. Steaks about 2ft thick!!
Also try the Grizzly House.
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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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Try the Caboose (at the railway station) - amazing seafood - Alaskan King Crab if they have it is awesome.
I remember ordering lobster in one restaurant in Banff. The waiter returned to the table looking a bit sheepish; "The chef apologises, and says that the lobsters are a little small today. Would it be alright if we give you 2?"
That's the only time I've ever eaten 2 lobsters for my dinner
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Poster: A snowHead
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Wow - thanks everyone - must remember to print this out & take with me - really fancy visiting some other resorts if we can so recommendations for Kicking Horse sound good. And I bet that 'small' lobster was UK normal size...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Trappers at Sunshine Villege for good lunch and atmosphere.
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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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Thanks Helen - I'm feeling that atmosphere already...
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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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Hey, this is my first post, and I can echo a lot of the good things already said about Banff. I'm an old Canada hand, having worked there back in the late 70's. Canadians are great people and Banf is a good little town. In fact I'll be there myself at the end of March - probably about the same time as you are, Cathy.
Incidentally, March is the best time of the season to go. Temperatures are comfortable (it can get brutally cold, earlier in the year) and there's a good snowbase. You can usually expect to get a dump at some time too.
The scenery is awesome. The Canadian Rockies are more jagged and spectacular than the US mountains, and the fact that the ski hills are in the National Park means that you don't have unsightly condos marching up the sides of the hills.
The Club Ski programme is a really good instructional programme. You get a flavour of each of the three ski areas, each of which has its own character. I've done it a number of times, and improved markedly each time. I can really recommend it. (I'll be doing it again). If you do take this programme, get your group to have a whip-round to tip the instructor (always assuming that you've enjoyed the experience) - Like most ski pros in N. America, they don't see much of a slice of what the customer pays up-front.
March/April is a good time to get end of season deals on equipment: the exchange rate makes it worthwhile, and you can claim back your sales tax, but you have to get the claim form stamped by Canadian Customs before you leave. - They have an office at Calgary airport, but it's pretty hard to find. Monod's has a good bootfitter, and Ultimate is the place to get your skis tuned up.
Like a lot of respondents, I've done the charter flight thing. Once.
Now I always fly Air Canada from Heathrow (handy connection from Leeds-Bradford). Even so, it's best to pre-book your seats, otherwise there's a good chance you'll find yourself separeted from your partner/family when you check in.
There's a wide selection of restaurants:
I like the Sushi House (just off the main street, across the road from the Mount Royal Hotel): a little sushi bar where the dishes get carried round the counter on a model railway (If you like Japanese food, then it is authentic. There is a large Japanese community in Banff - the Banff Park Lodge is owned by a Japanese family, and Banff is a popular Japanese tourist destination: there's even a Japanese language TV station), the Balkan (excellent Greek), The Barbary Coast (pub/steakhouse) to name only three out of a huge choice.
As I said above, the three local ski areas are very different in character. Sunshine Village gives you a wide-open high alpine experience: you don't want to be there in bad weather, though, you can experience complete white-out conditions at the top. On a bluebird day however.........! Lake Louise is the place to head for if it's snowing. It has more sheltered tree-lined trails, although it gets less snowfall than Sunshine (I'm being picky here: it still gets a load). A lot of people neglect Mount Norquay, as it's only a small hill. It's the place to go at the weekend, when all the crowds come in from Calgary, the Banff locals go to Norquay. You avoid the queues (such as they are) and you can sometimes spot some of Banff's more famous natives, like former Olympic ski racers Ken Read and Karen Percy skiing with their families.
Did I use the "Q-word"? Well, welcome to civilisation. Short lines, polite behaviour, no Gauloises.
Enjoy!
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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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We had a heatwave in January, temps reached +1 one day! Not much snowfall though so still haven't experienced Canadian powder. (Heavy snow & -15C on the day we flew out)
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The day I was at Kicking Horse, the Wiley Coyote run had been pisted. This was a great run though admittedly you had to come down from the top to reach the start. Also, the Catamount Quad gave access to loads of Blue & Green runs, trouble is it's a slow lift.
Second that about the tri-area pass, only worth it if you're staying in Banff and using the buses. Doubtful value in Lake Louise as local bus is free and Sunshine/Norquay buses only run twice a week each.
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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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FAQ
- you sound like the person with the info! Was hoping March would be good time to go, horror stories of arctic conditions in January did not appeal. I'm sure we will enjoy - it sounds great & we're celebrating an 0 birthday that I really don't want so looking forward to having a fab time away from 'it all' 
