 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Had not realised that our schedules lashed with the Winter Olympics - so it looks like Whistler is out.
Having narrowed it down to Banff if we go to Canada I've got more questions:
Is the bus transfer to the slopes really 40mins? - this seems like an awful long time at the start & end of the day (I've been spoilt the last three seasons by staying on piste at Breck & Vail).
What's the town like?
How feasible is it to drive (i.e. in US all the roads seem always clear)
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Kelcat, bus transfer to Sunshine depends on where you're staying; it trawls around a few hotels and then heads for Sunshine. The drive from Banff to Sunshine is 15/20 mins, so if your hotel is the first on the route it could take the thick end of 40 mins, I suppose. I suggest hiring a car instead of taking the airport transfer; you avoid the transfer (hooray!), you can drive to Sunshine, LL (about 30/40mins) and Norquay (10 mins), as well as anywhere else you want to go (Kicking Horse, Nakiaska, wherever). Driving's a pleasure in Canada (although the speed limit is low in the national park - 56mph on very good, empty roads), plenty of parking at ski bases, roads cleared promptly, no problems. You can hire a 4wd sports utility and drive about in it without looking a total prat.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 22-06-09 12:11; edited 2 times in total
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Driving from Calgary to Banff is quite straight forward. I'd suggest looking into hiring a car at Calgary, given the cost of transfer alone quite often nearly price of car hire...
Unless you're really keen on being the first on the mountain (before the snow plow clear the road), there's really no need for a 4x4. Any 2 wheel drive car will get you there just as easily.
I agree on the bus in the morning being a real pain in the butt. Though I found I don't mind it much at the end of the day. I simply doze off on the bus...
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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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Kelcat, I forgot to say that Banff is a very jolly place, lots of character,although inevitably a bit touristy, loads of bars and restauants and a beautiful location. Apart from not being on the slopes, I can't think of any drawbacks, but there must be some.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 22-06-09 8:34; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks Folks, we're settled on Banff then with a 4x4. Sounds like a Canadian Breck except for the ski in bit.
Benefit for me in skiing in NA is that I can chat to people on the lifts when not skiing with the family - they're not keen on the steeper off piste stuff.
Are there many bars / restraunts on the mountains?
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Kelcat, Lake Louise has the base lodge with a couple of options, they seem to have stopped using Whitehorn at mid mountain but Larch (over the back) has a restaurant. The food is pretty much the same everywhere, standard burger options. Sunshine has a small place at Goatseye Mountain, Trappers, the hotel (never eaten there) and the main lodge. In the main lodge there is a small palce downstairs and a larger dining room upstairs. On the top floor there is a slightly more expensive (but worth it IMO ) eatery which has a range of things and will set you back about 20 bucks a head. At the base of the gondy in Sunshine there is a place for eats but it is pretty much the same story as everywhere else, classic Canadian ski hill food. Norquay only has the main lodge which is pretty average. The food isn't great but Banff has plenty options for eating/drinking from budget to really classy joints. Everything happens in Banff itself.
As for eats in town my favourite is the Buffalo Lodge on the hill, Saltlik is pretty classy too and has a cool bar downstairs. Rose and Crown is good for a quiet drink and has live music, they also serve pub type food until very late so you can eat slumped on the bar 
If you have any specific questions fire away.
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Kelcat, FWIW, I prefer Banff town to Breck town, by some margin, but there are similarities. As abc said, you are unlikely to need a 4x4, but they're a bit of a laugh, and you'll feel out of place without one. Restaurants are not that plentiful on the mountains, but they're perfectly adequate. At Sunshine and Norquay, restaurants are limited to the ski base, with a cafe at Goat's Eye and at the bottom at Sunshine. LL has what arv says. Not gastronomic experiences, but good value. I'd suggest breakfasting up the mountain, rather than in Banff, especially if anyone in your group is having lessons. Apres beers can be drunk in Trappers at Sunshine, at the ski base, but someone will be driving back so that limits things.
At the risk of repeating myself for the 867th time, if you go to LL, visit the LL Station; it's in the 'village' (by the railway line for some reason). Good for apres beers but great for dinner. Food is good, not great, atmos is excellent. In Banff, the buffet dinner (and breakfast and Sunday brunch) at Banff Springs are extraordinarily good. Loads of good Japanese restaurants, as well as the usual N.Amreican stuff.
Where will you stay?
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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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Kelcat, Remember to plug your car in overnight if it is parked outdoors. Otherwise it could well freeze.
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Kelcat,
Lake Louise is approx 35-40 min from banff
Sunshine is approx 20-24 min
Nourquay 10 min
Banff is a great central base to explore around and the drive to all 3 resorts is along some of the most scenic roads you will ever see. Just try not to get caught at the level crossing when the trains go bye you could be there for a while.
The bus service to the resorts is amazing and efficent and both Revelstoke and Kicking horse are less than 3 hour drives away.
The town itself is great value with lots of places to eat, shop and drink and tons to do if you have any non skiers with you. Again Saltlick is super and cheap for what you get. James Gate bar has some good food as does the Rose and Crown. Stay away form Bills over priced and not great.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Wow thanks for the responses guys.
We think we'll be staying at the Caribou, but should be confirmed this week.
I ask about hill bars as I'm the only off pister in the group so it's good to know where we can meet up. I get nervous when the missus is out of sight for too long as she has had a history of meeting idiots on the slopes (fortunatly not for a long time now though) - including one twisted knee, 6 stitches in an eyebrow (almost a miracle) and one ski miises head by literally a scratch.
The 'olds' also like to finish mid afternoon so someone might be on the bus the odd day. I'll probably post re radios closer to the time, but my paragliding one froze last time we were at Vail - was minus 30 though.
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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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Caribou is good, slopes are generally very very quiet. Radios are useable nd anything with a fairly decent range will work all round all 3 of the resorts
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Kelcat, In Sunshine, all roads lead to the car park, so the chances of someone going AWOL are more or less zero. There is a seperate area, Goats Eye, on the way up to (or down from) the main ski base, but that too leads down to the car park. At LL the same applies, although once you're over the amusingly named 'backside', in the Larch area, you wouldn't normally choose to take the rather flat road down to the base. At Norquay, everything leads to the base.
I don't know what your question about radios will be, but we used walkie talkies there, no problem. Reception is generally good, because all the skiing is on more or less the same face of the mountain, at Sunshine and Norquay. At LL, you can go up and over, and receptionbetween the front side and the backside was not always great, but usable.
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You know it makes sense.
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Kelcat,
If you're driving to Sunshine at a weekend, you might need to make an early start to get a good position in the car park. It's a popular spot for Calgarians, and I've seen cars parked up way back down the access road. The last thing you need is a long slog into the gondola first thing.
- The resort runs a car park shuttle on busy days (an open trailer towed behind a tractor) to facilitate getting to the gondola base, but I'm not sure if it goes down the access road. At least if you stick to the buses you'll be delivered to the base of each hill without problems.
Personally, I don't understand why some people don't like the buses. They're comfortable, efficient and take you pretty much where you need to go.
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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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IME, invariably over Easter, the car park only fills up on very busy weekends by about 10/11am. Otherwise, you should be fine. If it's getting full, you can drop off passengers and kit by the gondola, so that only one person has to walk back, and if you want to, you can wear ordinary shoes and leave them in a locker underneath the ski school.
Acacia, I like the flexibility that one's own transport offers. Friends who have used the bus say it's fine, but sometimes they'd be galloping through breakfast so as not to miss the bus and have to wait 20/30 mins for the next one. Significantly, perhaps, after a couple of visits they started using a car. A car also avoids the TO transfer (or provides the transfer if you are DIY), one of the lowlights of a ski hol. Also, buses from Banff to LL are infrequent, so a car is handy if you want to si there. A car is obviously not essential, though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Acacia wrote: |
Kelcat,
Personally, I don't understand why some people don't like the buses. They're comfortable, efficient and take you pretty much where you need to go. |
Gets my vote too - the ski buses are free with the tri-area pass and you can fill up on apres beers during happy hour after threading your way down the Ski-out.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yup - another vote here for the bus. A very efficient comfortable system - if you have a car surely it makes things much less flexible especially if you're a group, you all have to be ready to go skiing at the same time & leave the ski area at the same time or pay to travel back by coach. And both times we've been to Banff the TO transfer was fine, no waits at the airport and gets you to the hotel quick 
The Carbou is a nice hotel, with good food in their restaurant The Keg. It's a bit of a walk from the town centre but perfectly do-able and, if you do decide to use the bus to get to the skiing, is early on the bus drop-offs.
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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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It is probably worth adding there is a pretty regular bus drop in the middle of Banff too, it is really cheap and I am pretty sure you can get free passes for it.
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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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With a car, if anyone wants to ski at different times to the others, they can use the bus service. I can't recall that any of us ever did that, but we could have done. I hate having to be somewhere at a particular time, and the rest of my family is pretty hopeless too, so, having to make ski school was bad enough without having to worry about the bus as well. We usually got ready, drove up to the slopes, went up to then ski base and breakfasted, secure in the knowledge that we wewre about a minute from the ski school. We still ended up rushing to get gloves, helmets, suncream, ... sorted. The only down side of a car, for me, is the restriction on immediate apres beers for the driver, which I didn't mind too much, and I thoroughly enjoyed the actual driving, especially to and fro LL on the old Highway 1A. But whatever you prefer, obviously.
There is (or was) a shuttle bus service more or less up and down Banff Avenue (in the town, not the run down at Sunshine) which used to cost very little; handy in the evenings if you are staying out at Inns of Banff or somewhere (as we often did).
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FAQ
Roads are fantastic and always kept clear between Banff and Lake Louise as its the main highway. Depending how long you are staying a trip to Kicking Horse is wll worth it and Revelstoke is feasible too if you dont mind a couple of nights out. Accom. is easy to turn up and stay, and they all have ski and sleep packages 
