Banff - 2017

[Jilly]

You're from Michigan, should be used to those temps....

 

[Jenny]

You're from Michigan, should be used to those temps....

At home I don't go out and ski in them, because I can always go another day. On vacation I can't afford to waste the day so I just suck it up.

Plus, it doesn't usually get quite that cold where I am - the lake effect mitigates it quite a bit.

 

[vickie]

Our week is not over, but I think we should do a final recap of the prefer-to-not-repeat events:

1 "Brace for Landing" flight
1 delaaaaaaayed baggage delivery
1 sprained ankle in the group

It has indeed been cold, but we've had sun, blue skies, majestic views, and a wonderful reunion of friends, new and old.

Albertan ski girl and her SO are warm and lovely people. If you are coming here, I encourage you to meet them and include them in your ski circle.

Our trip is at its mid-point. Pictures to follow as the Wi-Fi gods deem acceptable.

Let the festivities continue!

 

[vickie]

The concourse for my departing flight



There was no one waiting at the airline counter. There was not one passenger at the TSA checkpoint. There was one guy at my gate, so I went to a different gate to sit out my hour+ wait.

 

[vickie]

Part of the crew they sent to greet us at Calgary


Jenny, her DH, and I were all on the same flight.

 

[vickie]

View from the bus ... Banff to Lake Louise

 

[vickie]

A view from the front side at Lake Louise

View attachment 6359

 

[Christy]

Who sprained their ankle?? That's a shame!

 

[vickie]

Who sprained their ankle?? That's a shame!

What happens in Banff stays in Banff!

 

[vickie]

Let's try that again ... a view from the front side of Lake Louise

 

[skibetty]

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?

I'm picturing Randy, the younger brother in "A Christmas Story"!
Wow! That's cold!!! I don't think I would even attempt!!! I would rather take a cat ride and view the scenery!
Great pics! Beautiful! Hope it warms up for ya!!

 

[Jenny]

Day 4 - Sunshine Village again

While some of the group took the day off to go back to Calgary for shopping, sightseeing, and a hockey game, one of us iced her ankle, and DH and I went skiing with @Albertan ski girl and her SO. Had a great day following them all over the hill. So far this trip I pretty much have yet to consult a trail map; I just follow someone down a hill.

It was another gorgeous blue sky day, although it did cloud up as the weather for tomorrow moved in. It's supposed to snow just a little bit, then be back to partly cloudy on Friday.

I believe the cold snap is over and tomorrow is supposed to be 14F here in Banff. (DH says it might be too hot to ski.). Haven't checked the mountains yet.

Will try to load a couple of pictures later, but we're off to dinner now.

 

[Albertan ski girl]

It has been so great meeting up with @Jenny @vickie and their crew. We had dinner last night at the Banff Brewing Co - and everyone is so nice and interesting! It really was so great.

Today it was just @Jenny, mr.jenny, mr.albertanskigirl and I at sunshine village. It was a beautiful bluebird day!!!

SO and I got there a little early and managed to catch a good part of the sunrise at the top of the continental divide. After a couple of runs we met up with Jenny and Jim and skied all over lookout in the morning and goats eye in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, highs were about -15, and the snow softened up with the snow. We weren't cold at all today!!! For me, favourite runs today we're everything from the divide, angel flight and boundary bowl! Here are some pics:




Sunrise at the divide





@Jenny and I on goat's eye!

View attachment 6367

 

[Albertan ski girl]

I'm picturing Randy, the younger brother in "A Christmas Story"!
Wow! That's cold!!! I don't think I would even attempt!!! I would rather take a cat ride and view the scenery!
Great pics! Beautiful! Hope it warms up for ya!!

This made me laugh out loud - I love that movie!

Also: there are no cold days, just bad clothing...and wimps


And @Jenny and @vickie are definitely NOT wimps. Totally hardcore.

 

[Jilly]

Ask SkiBam, that's just about normal for Quebec in January. WB folks have been complaining about the cold too.

I love the Banff Brewing Co. Had dinner there year ago fall when I was out there at Hallowe'en with local friends. (Who aren't there anymore....booo)

 

[skibetty]

I've never been! Would love to be able to go sometime!!! Hubby just got a new knee....so maybe!

 

[vickie]

Sunshine Village - When we arrived, the gondola was running to take people to the base, but only 1 lift was running. It was -30ishC. We waited for them to start more lifts before heading out, which happened late morning. Wawa Bowl, run on the left, was our first run at Sunshine Village

 

[vickie]

After a few runs on Mount Standish, we decided to head to Lookout Mountain and the Continental Divide at the summit


Note: I think this one has the little dark dots over on the left that are probably 30-foot tall trees.

 

[vickie]

Another view from the summit

 

[vickie]

Another view from the summit


I think someone else got closer to the edge taking pictures, so maybe there will be more with a better perspective of the height. In some I posted, if you expand them, you can see that the little dark dots are trees.