cyn
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We returned from our annual western ski odyssey last night with swollen knees and somewhat burned noses. What an amazing trip!
We arrived Sunday April 1st in Banff, Alberta. Light snow fell overnight and intensified the next morning. Since our passes were good for both Lake Louise and Sunshine village, we decided to spend the first day at Lake Louise. By the time we arrived, everything was covered in several inches of dry white powder, and the snow didn't let up until lunchtime. We skied the front face for a couple of hours, but there were too many less experienced skiers freaking out in the deep snow and making the choke points (a shortcoming of this mountain) scary and potentially dangerous. We took off for the "Larch" area on the back side, which was far less crowded and way more fun.
Tuesday was sunny, but pretty cold - about 5F when we arrived at Sunshine. Sunshine Village, for those of you who are not familiar with the area, is quite high, and much of the skiing is above the tree line, making it a wonderful open skiing experience. You park, then take the gondola up to the base.
One we got up there, we immediately took the chair up "Lookout", the highest and most open area, where we were treated to endless packed and fresh powder. Virtually everything was skiable, and there were no crowds or liftlines.
We spent the afternoon at Goat's Eye, a mostly black area, enjoying the snow and feeling our quads turn to mush.This turned out to be our pattern for the rest of the week: ski the higher areas, then head down for a sandwich on the deck and finish the day on Goat's Eye.
We did take one day off to drive up to the Columbia ice field, which is well worth seeing - a magnificent glacier surrounded by imposing snow-covered mountains.
Our hotel was also a pleasant surprise. We had booked a reasonably-priced basic double room at Buffalo Mountain Lodge, which is just outside the town of Banff, so we could get to town in a few minutes but didn't have the hassle of loud partying at night (it was spring break there) The room had a very cool sitting area in front of a stone wood burning fire place which was cleaned out daily and stocked with fresh firewood.
There were a lot of Europeans there, all of whom said they had come to Canada because the conditions were poor in the Alps this year.
Sunshine holds its snow until late May, so it's a pretty safe choice for spring skiing. Things only started to really warm up on our last day, and by the time we picked up our skis to take the gondola down to the parking area, the snow was pretty mushy lower down the mountain. This is the second time we've been to this area, and we would definitely go back for reliable late season skiing.
My husband brought his Rossi Z9s, and demoed some Salomons and some Rossi B3s for a few hours. I brought my Elan Magfire 12s and they did everything so well, I didn't feel the need to try anything else.
And now, it looks like our ski season is over....sigh.
We arrived Sunday April 1st in Banff, Alberta. Light snow fell overnight and intensified the next morning. Since our passes were good for both Lake Louise and Sunshine village, we decided to spend the first day at Lake Louise. By the time we arrived, everything was covered in several inches of dry white powder, and the snow didn't let up until lunchtime. We skied the front face for a couple of hours, but there were too many less experienced skiers freaking out in the deep snow and making the choke points (a shortcoming of this mountain) scary and potentially dangerous. We took off for the "Larch" area on the back side, which was far less crowded and way more fun.
Tuesday was sunny, but pretty cold - about 5F when we arrived at Sunshine. Sunshine Village, for those of you who are not familiar with the area, is quite high, and much of the skiing is above the tree line, making it a wonderful open skiing experience. You park, then take the gondola up to the base.
One we got up there, we immediately took the chair up "Lookout", the highest and most open area, where we were treated to endless packed and fresh powder. Virtually everything was skiable, and there were no crowds or liftlines.
We spent the afternoon at Goat's Eye, a mostly black area, enjoying the snow and feeling our quads turn to mush.This turned out to be our pattern for the rest of the week: ski the higher areas, then head down for a sandwich on the deck and finish the day on Goat's Eye.
We did take one day off to drive up to the Columbia ice field, which is well worth seeing - a magnificent glacier surrounded by imposing snow-covered mountains.
Our hotel was also a pleasant surprise. We had booked a reasonably-priced basic double room at Buffalo Mountain Lodge, which is just outside the town of Banff, so we could get to town in a few minutes but didn't have the hassle of loud partying at night (it was spring break there) The room had a very cool sitting area in front of a stone wood burning fire place which was cleaned out daily and stocked with fresh firewood.
There were a lot of Europeans there, all of whom said they had come to Canada because the conditions were poor in the Alps this year.
Sunshine holds its snow until late May, so it's a pretty safe choice for spring skiing. Things only started to really warm up on our last day, and by the time we picked up our skis to take the gondola down to the parking area, the snow was pretty mushy lower down the mountain. This is the second time we've been to this area, and we would definitely go back for reliable late season skiing.
My husband brought his Rossi Z9s, and demoed some Salomons and some Rossi B3s for a few hours. I brought my Elan Magfire 12s and they did everything so well, I didn't feel the need to try anything else.
And now, it looks like our ski season is over....sigh.
