Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

christmas in canada ...

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi,

I’m off to Banff for close on 2 weeks over the Christmas time Cool

I have a decision to make now regarding the place to stay.

My choices are a single room in a hotel or a shared dorm in a backpackers lodge.

I’m going by myself, so basically the question is, if I stay in the hotel will it be easy to meet outsiders i.e. people who are not me. I've come to the conclusion that no matter where in the world I go skiing for xmas, there will be families with kids - I'll put up with the screaming from the kids as long as they put up with the smell of beer and the long face in the morning off me snowHead

I have absolutely no experience of Canada and I’m wondering if the people are as friendly and easy-going as I’ve been told.

I’m a bit worried about the shared dorm also. Having to share a room with 5 other pairs of “off-piste” socks would be just about manageable if I were able to sleep the whole night through. Are the backpackers lodges crazy places where it’s likely to be woken up 3 or 4 times per night by different people coming in to the dorm? I have the same amount of experience of hostels as I do about Canada – the square root of diddly squat. What are these places like to stay in ?

Any information would be gratefully appreciated Smile
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
smolo, can't help about Canada but in general Hotel = Bar = Possibility of meeting many people - - - but also of 'escaping' from some if necessary.

My impression from T.O. brochures is that hotel rooms in the States / Canada tend to be huge (often for 3/4 occupants - almost condominiums) and you might need to be careful about avoiding a single room supplement of humungeous proportions. With luck a snowHead will be able to point you at a suitable room in Banff if you go the hotel route. Have a good trip.
snow report
 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?
Hi smolo, I've only stayed in hotels so wouldn't be able to advise you on the comparisons with a backpackers place. However, people are very friendly and if you join a 3 day ski tuition class you'll make some friends there. Lake Louise & Sunshine also have ski hosts, who take groups round the mountains for free each day - this will be a good way of meeting people. And you can ski for free for one day with the Ski Club of Great Britain representative, except I've just seen the Banff reps don't start till mid-Jan, so forget about that one!

Hotel rooms tend to have 2 double beds in - don't ask me why cos there's never enough cupboard/drawer space for 2 never mind 4 people (yes we do unpack our cases! wink ). Don't know about single rooms. We have stayed at the Ptarmigan Inn which is very close to the central shopping/restaurant area and also has a nice small bar in the hotel very conducive for sitting up at the bar and chatting to people.

I would guess a backpackers lodge would be pretty jolly, especially at Christmas. There seemed to be lots of Aussies/Kiwis in Banff so I guess there'd be quite a few staying there. Enjoy it wherever you end up! snowHead Very Happy
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
My advice to everyone is stay 1 night in the Sunshine Inn, Sunnshine Village. 100% Natural Snow, 100% First Tracks guaranteed before the hoards from banff arrive. Total Isolation Very Happy
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Smolo, I've only stayed in hotels when in Canada, but as there seems to be a lack of information about backpacker hostels, I can chip in with my experience of them in Australia. I spent several months in one when I first arrived in Sydney and in general found it to be an enjoyable experience. The people there were pretty much all on a similar wavelength and so you basically had an instant group of friends, which is good news in a far away place. I was in a shared room (4 people) and didn't suffer too much with being woken up throughout the night, although that could have been because I was the one doing the waking up!

On the downside however, I remember that we had a complete nutter move in, who after a couple of nights tried to grope one of the girls in the hostel Evil or Very Mad. Well as you may imagine, this wasn't met with unanimous approval by the rest of the inmates and as I recall we quickly formed a posse and kicked said nutter out. I'd like to tell you it ended there, but unfortunately not. A couple of days later the lunatic broke into the hostel at night and attempted to burn it down!! Fortunately the smoke alarms prevent any death or injury and all ended well.

Don't know if that's the slightest bit of help, but whatever you decide - happy travels. Very Happy
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
yard sale junkie, Dont sell holidays for a living do you NehNeh
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Nadenoodlee, No, smoke alarms Laughing
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
yard sale junkie, Nadenoodlee, Laughing Laughing Laughing
snow conditions
 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.
smolo, I'd echo what yard sale junkie says. I've not done backpackers' in Canada, but have done them in NZ, Israel and Egypt, a bunkhouse in Breckenridge and several official and unofficial youth hostels (although not recently) and gites in Europe, spread over the last 25 years. It really depends what your mindset is. They're not luxury hotels so don't expect that, but if you don't mind roughing it a bit and living out of your backpack they're fine - and I much prefer the sociability of them to hotels for a solo holiday. Dorm sizes can be as small as 4, but I would say they're normally 6-10, and sometimes even up to 20. Everyone normally gets on great and you frequently end up hitting the town as a group unless you are a complete hermit. And after the first couple of nights you don't even notice the "arome de sock". Main things to be careful of are:
1) snorers - take comfortable earplugs (I used my walkman in-ear phones on my last hol and they were very effective);
2) your own snoring, if relevant - it's only polite to announce to the dorm acceptable remedial measures they may take if you do snore;
3) security - if you have anything valuable your insurance may well not cover it unless locked in a safe. Often the reception will have a safe for valuables, and always wear a money belt for important documents and....money. Having said all that, I've never had a problem, and have only once come across someone who had had their pack stolen - at Copenhagen railway station of all places.
4) Plastic bags - can be the bane of backpacker life if someone does arrive/leave late and has all their stuff in crinkly plastic bags inside their pack. You tend only to pack these bags in the middle of the night once because of all the derision you receive.

I would expect the only time you're likely to get a load of coming and going in the middle of the night is on a "transfer day", when some may have to leave v. early or arrive v.late. I guess Xmas Eve or New Year could be busy nights too - just make sure you're as drunk as everyone else.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
smolo, how about a bit of "pressure pulling" when you're over there? Hey presto, solved your company and accomodation problems in one fell swoop! wink
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
smolo, I went to Banff on my own last year. Paid for lessons with Club ski which was excellent and well worth it skied with the friends of Banff and also with the skiclub of GB reps. The whole time I was there I never ate a meal alone or skied alone. In fact the night I went out to a bar on my own I was befriended by a couple of locals who ended up drinking with me all night and skiing the next day together. I had a fantastic time so much so Ive booked for 14 days this year instead of the 10 I had last year. snowHead The locals are really friendly you'll have a ball.
snow report
 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.
I've stayed in hotels and motels in Banff and Canmore - Canadians are a fantastic bunch, friendly, mad for drinking beer until the small hours and very approachable. Love it over there. And some of the girls give you freebies of power bars from the company they work for - great!!!!
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy