 Poster: A snowHead
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Dear skier friends, I would value some help.
Two of us are taking a weeks' holiday in Banff. we have the week of the 8th December. I don't want to miss discounted passes and ski hire.
Do any of you know if pre-booking online for
1) ski hire
2) lift pass
is the right thing to do, or is it just the same booking in resort (which I find more relaxing, especially being able to find a ski shop I like).
With thanks
And hello, I'm new here
Jack
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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 Jack and welcome.
If you are planning to rent all your equipment, get passes and lessons you may well do better buying a ski pack through a major T/O,and Neilson for example do a lift price promise that means they will refund the differance if you can find it cheaper in resort, (They paid up without quibble for mine in Italy) other T/Os may do the same.
If you only need skis and a liftpass you may not find much diff. Google liftopia for discounted passes, often it is on single days rather than weeks but Dec is early season so you never know.
Sometimes gas (petrol) stations in Canada sell cheaper passes than the in resort ticket office.
Generally online is a little cheaper than walk up but not always convenient.
When we were in Banff we rented from the shop by the hotel "Inns of Banff" the equipment was in top notch condition and the guys manning the shop were really helpful.
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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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Never hired equipment in Banff, but there's plenty of choice. For lift passes, we booked via American Ski Classics last year and saved a fair bit compared to buying from the Ski Hub.
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jackio, last year if you booked before (i think it was) 15th december there was a saving of about £200 on a two week pass. I booked mine through Canadian Affair, together with the holiday itself and was really happy with the price and service. (looking online quickly there's a ski 6 buy 5 days offer - before we booked last season I checked the Crystal website and they were charging full rates irrespective of when you booked.)
Like others have said there's a lot of hire shops, take your pick when you get there.
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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 thanks for all the replies. Very helpful. American Ski Classics seems way cheaper, for the whole lot, hotel, travel, lift pass (£60 cheaper??!!). And liftopia loads cheaper too. I cant get the Canadian Affairs websight to work for me today so will phone them for an all in quote tomorrow.
Thanks so much to all...Any more replies welcomed.
Jack
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Jack - Give Canadian Affair a call, they are normally able to offer discounter passes, prebooked hire etc. And get a pretty good rate on accomodation.
www.canadianaffair.com
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We booked ours through Ski Independence on an early bird option, I think we paid around £500 for 4 of us for 10 days (2 kids got free passes)
There are quite a few ski hire shops in town, we've used one by the cinema before it are taking our own stuff this year
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We went to Banff last year and booked skis online from http://www.ultimatebanff.com/ you can book online and they were great! Lift passes I would by in resort, you can decide where you want to ski then depending on the weather and also check any deals. Personally I was glad not to have bought the 3 mountain lift pass as we didn't bother with Mount Norquay. Enjoy!
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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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Thank you. The internet is good isn't it? We are just trying to decide where to stay. Any advice?
So far your advice has saved us loads of money.
Do we need a car? The buses look infrequent and I am unlikely to be rushing on this holiday.
Shall I buy the Prophet 90's (Tignes in early jan, will have another 3 weeks before season end, most likely europe) or the 98s?
Thanks again....
Next question is Solutions4feet vs Profeet
Jack
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When we stayed we spent a week at the Lake Louise Inn which was quiet, pleasant and the bus stopped outside. Itwas a short walk into the tiny village centre one way and a short walk to the hostel the other. The hostel did cheap good quality food, not sure what the accom was like there. The re was a good Italian type restaurant upstairs in the Inn, the breakfast buffet room was nice, self made waffles anyone? (yummy) If I returned with a group I would happily stay there again as you make your own entertainment but as a solo or just a couple I would stay in Banff itself.
The second week we stayed in The Ptamigan Inn which is fairly central Banff, the bus stop is directly outside. Nice hotel, very clean, restaurant and bar food served, comfy beds in large rooms. They did McDonalds style muffins in the morning quite cheaply so you could grab a muffin and a coffee to eat on the bus if you wanted to get up last minute.
If you drink coffee take your own!! Nearly everywhere we went we found dreadful coffee served from jugs that were keeping it warm (for hours judging by the taste) we ended up buying some from a supermarket (expensive) so we could have a decent cup in the mornings.
I wouldn't stay on Sunshine, although it is the only way to get ski in/out accom, you are then stuck up a mountain with one bar, a coffee shop and no other entertainment although we are first lift/last run type people who don't care much for varied late night Apres, sunshine would be too limited for us.
A car could be useful it would make a daytrip to kicking horse very doable (well worthwhile) we found the buses quite user friendly due to our location but a lot of people have complained about them previously. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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When I went a few years ago we stayed in the Inns of Banff which was OK then, on the edge of town and at the time the buses started from there. We used to catch an early bus and have breakfast at Sunshine or Lake Louise when we arrived.
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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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jackio, whether you need a car or not depends largely on you and where you're staying. We did 3 trips to Banff staying downtown and never really felt we missed a car, but we were on a package, so transfers were covered and the shuttles come on the tri-area pass. If you are not on a package, I think the cost of getting to Banff from the airport is not cheap, and a car may work out not a lot more (depends on party size, too). Last Winter we DIYed and stayed in Canmore - that worked out as we could get a pretty nice apartment and a decent car without breaking the bank - we also tried Nakiska, and were closer to Calgary, which we went to for a couple of Hockey games (so glad we're not going this year since the NHL's not happening).
Remember if you drive to the slopes, you can't have a sneaky beer at the end of the day but if you're bussing, you can't stay for two. Once you're back in Banff, it's small enough that you'll not want a car
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jackio, we stayed in the Caribou Lodge and found it very comfortable with vey helpful staff on the front desk. Also had a BanffSki Hub office thingy in the lobby, the guy in there had up to date snow info every morning pre-bus which was handy. I have to say though as far as eating goes it seemed best to avoid the hotel restaurants (tried the CL and the Fox because they were convenient - food was ok, just not great), but a short stroll into town and great food was to be had - from memory - Magpie and Stump, Wild Bills, The Elk and Oarsman, Banff Avenue Brewery(?), Wings Wednesday at the Waldhaus and if you've got a few quid The Saltlik for one of the best steaks you'll ever eat.
As far as busses go they were fine. I thought the journey times were slightly less than quoted, but even the trip to LL seemed to pass quite quickly. The busses seemed to come into town from the end where the Caribou was (maybe second stop- just accross the road from the IOB?) so you were nearly first on and off.
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You know it makes sense.
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+1 for the Magpie and Stump for decent mexican and beer in jam jars. The Irish bar did great beef stew and stuffed yorkshires.
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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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jackio, as Colin B, I stayed a few years ago at Inns of Banff, standard fare stuff, quite adequate as a sleep station. The buses from there, edge of the town, which is walkable, efficiently served Lake Loiuse and Sunshine Valley at regular intervals. I went in January and buses were not full. No need to rent a car unless need to explore further. Scenery along the Icefields parkway to LL spectacular, better to be a passenger. When I was there the bus service did not run into evening. Worth a visit is the magnificently baronial Banff Springs Hotel, located just outside the town. A free shuttle bus ferried people between the hotel and Banff free of charge into the night, or it did.
I booked flight to Calagary seperately then got a deal on hotel and lift pass (covering Sunshine Valley, Lake Louise and Norquay areas) through the tourist office in Banff. Can't remember what I paid, but it seemed a very good deal at the time.
Suggest you contact the Banff tourist office for deals on hotels, lift passes and futher info.
One further consideration, Banff can be very, very cold mid winter!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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We have just got back. Can I thank everyone for their advice and help. We stayed at the Banff Springs which was great, a very short walk to town, good enough for a ski holiday.
We stayed warm despite the minus 16 (4 layers on top, 2 below).
We got our passes and hire cheaper by booking before we went.
The ski hire shop really check the skis over on return (scary as they don't seem to care in france).
The skiing was absolutely sensational. The cost was high, my mistake for booking the flights at high cost so late. It snowed every night, 4cm of fresh light snow.
Best wishes
Jack
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Glad you had a great time, feel free to share any photos....
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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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jackio,
Glad to hear you had a good time!
I'm off there for the first time end of Feb. How often were the busses?
Any other tips of where to eat etc much appreciated!
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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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Hi MCL
Good name...The buses were frequent enough, and they (Brewsters) were putting more on this week for the high season. I would not worry about them at all, we skied plenty plenty, and the buses worked well for us.
Our 'posh' meal was at SaltLik. Very nice. Of note, Canadian portions are massive; it is entirely reasonable to share 1 meal up the mountain. Though not at SaltLik as it was so nice. Mission Hill Cab Sav (Canadian wine) was very good.
At Sunshine the Trappers Lodge was great on the mountain. Cosy.
Ah I am jealous, we had such a great time.
Bw
Jack
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