Banff - 2017

[Jenny]

Day one - travel day

Everything started out suspiciously smooth. Traffic to Chicago extremely light, arrive at off-site parking with no problems. Shuttle to the airport, no problems. Check in, no problems - even hit the TSA pre-check lottery so we get to keep our shoes on. Leisurely stroll to the gate, all seems well.

Flight, smooth.

Landing - here's where it gets interesting. The nose steering gear is stuck, so we experience an "emergency" landing and all assume the brace position. First time for that. I've actually had rougher landings than this one was. And the wheel must have been straight because it didn't collapse, we didn't veer off the runway, and we also didn't get to use the slides to exit. But we had to be towed in to the gate, which took extra time.

Skis arrive just fine. We wait and wait and wait for bags, which did not arrive just fine. In fact, baggage services says they're still in Chicago and will get to Calgary sometime tonight, and be delivered to the hotel tomorrow afternoon.

So while getting that straightened around, we missed the shuttle. Next one, two hours. Ok, Calgary airport is nice but . . .

The carry-ons had boots, a day's worth of ski clothes, no helmets, and no outer layer of coat for me. And I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be above 0F tomorrow. So, gotta find a place to rent (if there even is one) or go shopping first thing! And I'm guessing coats aren't necessarily cheap in Banff.

2017 is going to get better after this, right?

 

[nopoleskier]

glad you are there safely!! Hmm a new coat?? I had a post on FB about Mt's that rent ski outfits so you may be in luck.. Hopefully the transport will bring tonight. can't wait to hear about your adventure and check the exchange rate coats may be cheaper?
And 2017 starting with a ski trip is SUPERB! Enjoy!

 

[Albertan ski girl]

It's going to toget much better! Bluebird skies tomorrow!

I'm glad to hear the landing was safe -that's the most important thing. Have a good trip to Banff- sorry to hear that you will be doing th drive in the dark - it's great in daylight hours.

 

[nopoleskier]

any chance your luggage will show up while you wait for the shuttle?

 

[Jilly]

Well forget about going to North Faces, store was part of the fire. With the exchange rate you should be good.

 

[Jenny]

United says they'll have it here by tomorrow afternoon. They're clearly in no hurry. But they sent a survey wanting to know how our trip was, so I told them.

 

[jellyflake]

Ha, starting 2017 with a ski trip *is* a good thing.
And don't the airline cover some costs for whatever you need to do have the missing luggage sorted for the time being? Check their conditions - might be a good surprise for you!?

Keep us posted on how the trip is - Banff is on my list so I am curious

 

[Jenny]

Day 2 - Lake Louise

Beautiful and oh so very very very cold. Need to look up what the temperature was but I never thought it was one I'd be skiing in. Snow was quite sticky.

It's late, but here's a picture:

 

[Albertan ski girl]

Gorgeous - yup that's what happens to packed champagne when it's really really cold! The snow is so dry here it starts to stick below -20. One more cold day and then itll start to warm up!

 

[VickiK]

OK, @Jenny : how cold was it?

 

[santacruz skier]

United says they'll have it here by tomorrow afternoon. They're clearly in no hurry. But they sent a survey wanting to know how our trip was, so I told them.

So when did your skis arrive?

 

[Jenny]

Day 3 - Sunshine Village

Forgot to mention, bags arrived last night at 9:30. Much cheering ensued - I had face cream, and good hair conditioner, and clean undies for the next day! @santacruz skier - the skis arrived with us, it was just everything else that took the extra time. We had ski clothes and boots with us, so all was good on that front, for a limited period anyway.

Today was colder than yesterday, and the lifts were on hold until about 10:45. So we sat around and talked with @Albertan ski girl and her SO. Terrain was going to be limited so they decided to wait until tomorrow, but we layered up, booted up, and went out to have some fun. We met up with them again for dinner and will ski together tomorrow.

The wifi here in the hotel is iffy, and I get kicked off every time I try to put a picture in this post, so I'll add them separately.

@VickiK - take a look at the temp in the upper right hand corner of the screen in the pic below. That was when we went out to the gondola to start.

 

[Jenny]

 

[Jenny]

 

[Jenny]

OK, can't get another picture to upload so will have to try again tomorrow. This wifi is killing me!

 

[santacruz skier]

View attachment 6351

Just did on line conversion.. -26 C is -14.8 Fahrenheit.. is that right??? Very very cold but it's so beautiful there.. when I was there one day at Lake Louise was so cold we went cross country skiing for the first time.. warms you right up!

 

[Jenny]

Yep, that's right.

 

[VickiK]

@#$%^&* , that is incredible. I bow down to your mitten state hardiness. You are surely made of sterner stuff than I! Have a marvelous time. Your pictures are gorgeous.

 

[Jenny]

Funny!

Here's what I wore:

Feet - normal smart wool lightweight socks, with toe warmers.
Legs - lightweight Hot Chilly's leggings/tights, polar fleece logins over that, then my insulated ski pants
Body - under armor compression top, polar fleece top, North Face Apex/bionic jacket (can't remember for sure which order that name goes in but I'll get kicked off the internet if I try to look it up), lightweight down coat, insulated ski coat (lightly, but not just a shell). After lunch I managed to cram in an extremely lightweight down vest, too. And a stick on body warmer - heavenly.
Neck - windproof baiter, and my stagecoach robber face mask.
Head - lightweight helmet loner type hat and helmet
Hands - liner mittens with hand warmers in the pocket and outer Swany Toaster mittens. After lunch I added a fleece mitten in between them.

So, how hardy am I, really?

 

[Jenny]

It's funny, I realized tonight that I have skied when it was -14.8F and when it was +70F, and both of those days were in Canada. DH's range is -30F to +70F.