 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm going to Banff next year after hearing good things about it whilst in Fernie, anyone else have any experience with this resort.
Cheers.
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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 RichardB, went there last year and liked it so much going back again this year! There's quite a bit on various threads if you do a search, and also on Lake Louise. I'll put a link to the main one I can remember below:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=103
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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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The thing you need to be sure of in Banff is that you like a bit of action..... if you cant stand a young lively atmosphere, Banff isnt for you! But if you do like that, then you are sorted! On the ski side, be prepared to sit in the bus to get to a ski area..... while Norquay is near to Banff, it has suffered with the snow this year and both sunshine and Louise are a bit away.....
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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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My friend at work has just returned from a weeks boarding in Banff, it was her first time and she had so much fun, but she's about 22 and I think it is quite a young crowd
She did say that she has to travel to lake louise and sunshine for better snow 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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Hi Richardb, just back from banff had a great time skiing lake louise and sunshine, thought norquay was a bit limited every run seemed the same.
I hired a car and it was the best thing we did. they say it takes 40 mins to louise 20mins to sunshine and 10mins to norquay which is true if you go straight there, but the bus stops at all the pickup points in banff. The night life had a bit of everything pubs, live music,2 nightclubs, lots of restaurants. Hope you enjoy it, thinking about it I might go again next year
cheers clive
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The snow in the Banff area is a little late this year but it's shaping up to look fabulous, they normally seem to get a big dump between 22-25 January - it's been a long time coming this year!
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yeah....... as soon as i left, they have had about 2 feet! And dont necessarily trust the web reports...... they reported 4 cm on friday and in the hotel which was a bit lower, we had at least a 8 inches
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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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I've skied a lot (8 times on the trot) in Banff /LL, and like it a lot, the skiing and the town. It 's a very easy place to have an enjoyable skiing hol, not too busy, reliable snow, decent (N.American style) lift system. As buns says, there seems to be a lot going on, but I've always been there en famille and we've all enjoyed it greatly.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask; if I don't know the answer, I'll make up something.
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The thing you need to be sure of in Banff is that you like a bit of action
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But be careful! Banff has the highest incidence per capita of sexually transmitted diseases in Canada.
The skiing is great though. You'll see from my contributions to previous threads that I'm a Banff junkie.
I'm also not so inclined to be negative about the Norquay ski area as some, either. This is a good place to visit at a weekend, when the crowds from Calgary flock to LL and Sunshine. Although it doesn't get the snowfall of the other two areas, and it relies more heavily on snowmaking, what they do have is usually well cared-for. The grooming of the cruisers is excellent, and as these are cut straight down the fall-line, you can get some high-speed turns in.
Many people also forget that there is some genuinely challenging skiing off the North American chair on the extreme left of the ski area. This doesn't get too many people going up, since every trail is black or double-black. When I was there last March/April there was deep untracked powder off this chair, while everyone else was skiing the groomers. It is steep, though, and negotiating the catwalk from the lift to the heads of the trails is tricky! (Hint, if you can't manage this, you'd better think again about your capacity to handle what's coming: except its too late). Norquay is also a good place to spend those few hours on your last day, when you're hanging around wiaiting for your airport transfer. You can buy ski-by-the-hour lift tix.
Finally, don't go in January. Temperatures of -30 are not much fun. March is great, though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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well we were there in Jan and it was 0-10 C for the whole two weeks!
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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 usually ski there Jan but not this year boohooohoo etc.,etc. and have skiied in everything from +6 to -50.
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Acacia, I agree that Norquay is a very handy area. It has varied skiing, including some pretty tricky (for me) stuff, and it's quiet. I've almost always visited at Easter, which is bit late for Norquay, but I've always enjoyed a day.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm quite a fan of Norquay for all of the above reasons. But the fact that theres no one there is the real bonus. The runs maybe shortish, but in all my years of skiing I have never skied as fast as at Norquay. Brilliantly groomed surfaces and no one else around, turning was a novelty.
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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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richmond,
Yeah, I've been there at Easter also, and it can get pretty slushy by lunchtime.
Three years ago, though I had a truly great day: I was at Norquay because I was in the "Club Ski" instructional programme, and there had been a big dump overnight, and when I got up on the first bus I abandoned Mrs. A (there are no friends on powder days) and got first tracks in knee-deep powder down the black run off the middle chair ("Rascal"??). It was the first time that I'd really and truly "got" powder skiing. The snow was light enough to float through, and the pitch was steep enough to build up speed. - I got about half a dozen runs in before we met for the class, by which time the pow had been well and truly trashed, anyway.
It was the nearest thing to a religious experience you can have on skis. A true epiphany.
Plus: Later on we saw Olympic medallist Karen Percy skiing with her kids.
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