Banff

[Albertan ski girl]

Have been south so haven't been on for abit but just read about the Mt Royal fire. @Albertan ski girl is the Fire Station still located right behind it?? If so, that'll be the second fire adjacent to the Hall- the old bus station burned down in the 80s. I remember watching it go up while I was doing trail crew on Mt Norquay right beside the Volunteer Fire Chief.

Yup! the fire station is still (luckily) right behind the mount royal on caribou street. apparently this fire is linked to the work that was being done on the mount royal roof!

 

[CarverJill]

Just a reminder for the locals, I'll be in Banff Feb 22-26. My ski group is now staying at Inns of Banff, hopefully it's nice and close to things. How has the weather been @Albertan ski girl ? I'm worried its going to be cold which means I will need better gloves. Oh an is it best to just ski at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise or is a day at Norquay worth it? I heard it was small and not worth it. I have the MCP which is supposed to work at all three.

 

[Albertan ski girl]

Hi @CarverJill - I wouldn't worry about the weather – it's supposed to be pretty warm for the next two weeks. Temperatures at sunshine Village are supposed to be at a high of -3 or -5 Celsius for the most part. lows of around -10 or -12 C. Perfect weather. We had some snow at the end of last week – the conditions are really nice and it's really sunny. We're supposed to be going into more snow toward the end of this week. As for norquay - I would say pass. It's quite small, and the snow is never as good because of its low elevation. Banff has also had a relatively low snow year compared to sunshine Village or Lake Louise. If you're a fan of big hard icy bumps, then maybe it might be worth it – norquay has one of the most famous long bump runs in Canada under the North American chair. However, the snow is so good this year at Louise and sunshine that I would suggest a pass. As for the inns of Banff - there's good news and bad news. The good news is that it is much nicer than the Mount Royal hotel. However, it is much further out. I Think there might be a shuttle stop at the ends of Banff, which would be fine for skiing. But it will be annoying for getting to and from dinner locations, and the town more generally. There is a bus that runs up and down Banff Ave, however I think it costs money. Since you were moved there by no fault of your own, I may try complaining and seeing if they will toss in a town bus pass for each of you. This will make it much easier to get around. Last thing you want to do is late at night, after dinner have to walk far back to your hotel. I'm planning on being at sunshine towards the end of next week – I'll let you know when.

 

[Albertan ski girl]

Ooooooh - The forecast looks so so good for your time here!
https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Sunshine/6day/mid

 

[CarverJill]

Thanks for all the info @Albertan ski girl ! I'm glad to hear the snow and weather will be good and will plan on skipping Norquay and its super long icy bump run. I'm no good in bumps and especially ones like that!

In the group emails we were told there is a shuttle stop right outside the hotel that will take us to any of the resorts and the hotel has a free scheduled bus service into town. The tour guide also sent us the local bus map, maybe we are getting bus passes as well, not sure. The trip is usually well done so hopefully we don't run into any issues this year with the hotel move. I'd love to meet up with you to ski if you are going to be out skiing when I'm there.

 

[DeweySki]

Is anyone up this weekend? We are heading to Lake Louise tomorrow (Saturday) because it's a big demo day, and then probably Kicking Horse Sunday and Sunshine on Monday.

 

[CarverJill]

I got to Banff last night and am on my way up to Sunshine on the shuttle now. It's so beautiful!