how to ski banff

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jesski

Thanks guys.

Called Monod sports and they confirmed able to refill Mammut canisters.

Sounds like Juniper (which I was choosing in part for the breakfast menu) is a better place to eat than to stay.

Is the Rimrock worth the uptick in price?
vs Fairmount?

vs. a 3-star place like Mount Royal Hotel?

We were thinking of splurging for one night possibly.

---

Mount Royal has a superb location for 'urban Banff' - haven't stayed there since they had a big fire, but I think it re-opened almost a year ago now (disregard older reviews). Personally, I wouldn't want to stay much further down the 'strip' than Banff Aspen Lodge - at that point I'd rather be in Lake Louise or go somewhere secluded like Storm Mountain Lodge.

I think rooms at the Banff and LL Fairmonts can be terrible value...they're only nice places to stay if you want to spend more money at their restaurants and other amenities. Not sure about rooms at RimRock - I'd probably stay somewhere more moderate and splurge on a kick-ass meal at the RimRock, though.

Tourist perspective:

Rimrock is modern luxury, Fairmont Banff Springs is historical luxury (impressive building, smallish guest rooms), neither is near downtown (short drive or longish walk). Whether or not they are worth it depends on your priorities and finances. Banff Springs is considerably more expensive, so between the two I would say stay at Rimrock and visit Banff Springs, or stay at a mid-range hotel in central Banff and splurge on a nice meal as others have suggested. There should also be lots of condos available for cheap in Canmore this time of year if you prefer that.

If you are considering skinning up the Lake Louise or Sunshine ski outs for exercise, maybe Moraine Lake road (near LL, it's an xc ski trail in winter) or the actual Lake Louise (still frozen) would be more interesting.

I have an unregistered Sunshine Super Card with only the first day used if anybody wants it (for free).

[QUOTE}Avalanche Safety Solutions [/QUOTE]

closed on weekends at this time of year, but I did call Mountain Motor Sports (open 9-5 on Saturdays, closed Sundays) in town who does do it, 250-344-6100

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TrueNorth

Tourist perspective:

Rimrock is modern luxury, Fairmont Banff Springs is historical luxury (impressive building, smallish guest rooms), neither is near downtown (short drive or longish walk). Whether or not they are worth it depends on your priorities and finances. Banff Springs is considerably more expensive, so between the two I would say stay at Rimrock and visit Banff Springs, or stay at a mid-range hotel in central Banff and splurge on a nice meal as others have suggested. There should also be lots of condos available for cheap in Canmore this time of year if you prefer that.

If you are considering skinning up the Lake Louise or Sunshine ski outs for exercise, maybe Moraine Lake road (near LL, it's an xc ski trail in winter) or the actual Lake Louise (still frozen) would be more interesting.

I have an unregistered Sunshine Super Card with only the first day used if anybody wants it (for free).

---

AWESOME! THANK YOU for the Info! Might have to take you up on this Sunshine Super Card!

Mount Royal hotel post-recovery is much better than pre-fire. They killed their lounge, though, which I used to love. Great warm feel. Now an industrial sports lounge. Not at all special. If you want a kick ass meal, the Maple Leaf is very good as well, and pricey. Their game is awesome.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Anyone want to post up some cool videos from the dive?
General LL and sunshine videos would be cool too. Not having any luck on youtube..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mr_pretzel

Anyone want to post up some cool videos from the dive?
General LL and sunshine videos would be cool too. Not having any luck on youtube..

---

current? Dive and backside of LL are winter mode and empty. SSV and LL marketing facebook will have some too

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mntlion

current? Dive and backside of LL are winter mode and empty. SSV and LL marketing facebook will have some too

---

Was more thinking just general stoke. Can be from whenever.

Btw, is sunshine open daily until may 20? Do they keep most of the mountain open?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mr_pretzel

Was more thinking just general stoke. Can be from whenever.

Btw, is sunshine open daily until may 20? Do they keep most of the mountain open?

---

this was 2 years ago (me and spook)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6zBCZczEqg

he has some other videos too

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mntlion

Dive and backside of LL are winter mode and empty.

---

Actually yesterday in the Dive seemed like the busiest of the season, a surprising amount of people made it out of the Calgary carnage. Milky Way and Galaxy Chutes were skiing most excellently!

snow up high


Attachment 291447

Attachment 291449

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mntlion

snow up high


Attachment 291447

Attachment 291449

---

Is there a specific strain that is best?
Tech talk I know....

HAd a beautiful view of the Rockies as I drove home at 8AM from dropping wife off at the airport.

Some new gear needed this winter and the ski shops are all closed until at least Sept. Getting itchy....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Old thread bump. I hate crowds.

If I come to ski Banff late Jan on a Thurs/Fri is it gonna be nuts?

That would be a no.

hard no


so Lake Louise Vs Mammoth, CA

MAM 3,500 acres ski-able terrain, serviced by 28 lifts, with a VERY busy long weekend hitting 20-25K people

LL 4200 acres ski-able terrain, serviced by 10 lifts, with a VERY busy long weekend hitting 7K people

^ ^ solid, thanks gents.

Planning a day at Sunshine and a day at LL, largely basis mntlion's "how to" thread. Was gonna stay at Sunshine Mountain lodge, but that's out now as we've added a third to our party who's on a different budget. Seems Canmore and Banff are both driveable to either, just added time. But wondering. If it's a storm day...much risk of getting trapped in town? Never been to the area, not sure if it's like LCC where if you're staying out in Sandy you could be on hold waiting for avy mitigation/road clearing instead of skiing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mntlion

hard no


so Lake Louise Vs Mammoth, CA

MAM 3,500 acres ski-able terrain, serviced by 28 lifts, with a VERY busy long weekend hitting 20-25K people

LL 4200 acres ski-able terrain, serviced by 10 lifts, with a VERY busy long weekend hitting 7K people

---

As a longtime employee & pass holder at Mammoth I’ll play along. I would say that the comments above are accurate, but for me the biggest is the bone chilling temperatures at SV/LL.

I’ll preference this with the fact that I’m a Californian born and raised and a West Coast skier. I’ve skied LL twice and SV twice on three different Powder Highway trips in late February & March. Had fun at both SV & LL, but we froze are balls off. Single digit highs, with an occasional heat wave with temps climbing into the teens. Full face coverage was mandatory. This was without any wind, it was that cold, Artic air.

Mammoth, it’s not like that. It gets windy here for sure, but even in January the daytime temps are typically very pleasant, with night time lows in the 20’s. Like I said, I’m a Californian, never skied East of Colorado, and am used to skiing a wetter and soggier coastal type snow pack, so the difference in the temperature really stood out to me. Good times skiing both places we’re had.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

You should consider staying in Lake Louise if its only for a night or two, then you could also easily visit Kicking Horse for a day. If it snowed, the Calgary mob would be delayed in their arrival at the hill. If you stayed in Banff, there are several good restaurants and things to do after skiing. From Banff the drive to SSV is painless and the Lake is less than an hour away on a flat road. Just err on the side of an early start as the Trans Canada highway can be a real shit show in a snowstorm.

Thanks for thoughts.

We’re all native MInnesotans, so hopefully we can hack the cold.

We’re skiing Thurs/Fri so hopefully that’ll limit Calgary Mon-Fri’er population.

No significant risk of getting trapped in town. Sunshine road can close for avy work, but this doesn't happen very often (like hardly ever) and it doesn't take long to complete.

Banff to Lake Louise should always be clear.

Beyond Lake Louise, the highway can have some issues with avy work or slides across the road, but again, it's not that common....at least in the Rockies. Rogers Pass is another story.

LL is skiing VERY well right now, had another day today that far exceeded expectations for this time of year

and NO crowds

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...hrough-rockies

Looks like closures will be minimal in summer and ski season, sticking to shoulder season. But worth being aware....




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dufferdan

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...hrough-rockies

Looks like closures will be minimal in summer and ski season, sticking to shoulder season. But worth being aware....

---

With much of the construction being in avalanche paths there couldn't be any real construction in winter even if they could cope with the cold and snow at road level.

Originally the Ministry of Transportation planned to do the construction without the long closures and diversions. I expect that all the potential bidders told them there wasn't a cat in hell's chance of them doing that without backing up westbound traffic all the way up the 10 mile hill and eastbound right through Golden.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nickinbc

With much of the construction being in avalanche paths there couldn't be any real construction in winter even if they could cope with the cold and snow at road level.

Originally the Ministry of Transportation planned to do the construction without the long closures and diversions. I expect that all the potential bidders told them there wasn't a cat in hell's chance of them doing that without backing up westbound traffic all the way up the 10 mile hill and eastbound right through Golden.

---

When we built the bridge a few years back, we did a lot of work in the winter, but we also had beacons on everyone that worked outside a machine, and got shut down a few times due to avy control work above us.

The last time I looked at a plan for this last section, it involved a couple cantilevered bridges and a section of road on the far side of the river. Not sure what the current design is, but that’s what it used to be.

I’m glad I’m not working on this section.


Sent from inside the house

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eastern Sierra Skier

As a longtime employee & pass holder at Mammoth I’ll play along. I would say that the comments above are accurate, but for me the biggest is the bone chilling temperatures at SV/LL.

I’ll preference this with the fact that I’m a Californian born and raised and a West Coast skier. I’ve skied LL twice and SV twice on three different Powder Highway trips in late February & March. Had fun at both SV & LL, but we froze are ball off. Single digit highs, with an occasional heat wave with temps clinging into the teens. Full face coverage was mandatory. This was without any wind, it was that cold, Artic air.

Mammoth, it’s not like that. It gets windy here for sure, but even in January the daytime temps are typically very pleasant, with night time lows in the 20’s. Like I said, I’m a Californian, never skied East of Colorado, and am used to skiing a wetter and soggier coastal type snow pack, so the difference in the temperature really stood out to me. Good times skiing both places we’re had.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

---

I was in mammoth 2 winters ago, over pres day. First day the hill shut due to winds, next day the cold front moved in, hill was still busy for me, but I guess VERY quiet due to temps by local standards. Felt like a normal day in banff in Feb. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caucasian Asian

The last time I looked at a plan for this last section, it involved a couple cantilevered bridges and a section of road on the far side of the river. Not sure what the current design is, but that’s what it used to be.

I’m glad I’m not working on this section.

---

Nothing on the other side of the river - basically straightening out the current alignment with bridges and cuttings. However it will be interesting to see how much the successful bid differs from the Ministry's 'concept plan' (and how close the bids are to the already increased $600m budget). Really going to be a hairy project with lots of potential to go wrong - I bet CPR will have their lawyers on standby in case their line is blocked by rockfall (believe that happened during the original construction of the highway). Hope that we don't discover that ruling out a tunnel was a big and costly mistake (Ministry didn't like it because it would have been long enough to require manning 24/7).

Any beta on lift ticket options vs buying from skibig3.com for 2 day, party of 3? Currently $269 CAD a head for a day at Sunshine and a day at Louise--which is not outrageous.

All I can find is this Costco deal https://www.skibanff.com/explore/new...costco-tickets, which would be great if it was good at both hills...just purchase x 3 and we're sub $200 CAD each, but seems to be just for Sunshine (maybe).

Getting cheap lifts seems a pipe dream at times, but if there's anything out there appreciate it.

any skibig3 pass holder gets:

Access to four (4) additional Buddy Tickets at $89 so your friends can join you for a discounted day of skiing or riding at one of our three mountain resorts.



I've got a rocky mountain passport, so can't help.


also on banff/canmore kijjii, or facebook banff buy/sell pages.

Also consider one of the ski cards. Sunshine and Louise each have discount cards that pay for themselves after 2 ski days, and can be used for discounts at other hills like Panorama and Revelstoke.
Louise: https://www.skilouise.com/louise_cards.php
Sunshine: https://www.skibanff.com/ski-ride/pa...ine-super-card

The Costco lift ticket is just for Sunshine, whereas the SkiBig3 ticket can be used for Sunshine, LL or Norquay.


Sent from my iPad using TGR Forums

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dgilligan02

Planning a day at Sunshine and a day at LL, largely basis mntlion's "how to" thread. Was gonna stay at Sunshine Mountain lodge, but that's out now as we've added a third to our party who's on a different budget. Seems Canmore and Banff are both driveable to either, just added time. But wondering. If it's a storm day...much risk of getting trapped in town? Never been to the area, not sure if it's like LCC where if you're staying out in Sandy you could be on hold waiting for avy mitigation/road clearing instead of skiing.

---

It's a bit of a late answer, but at Sunshine if you're stuck at the bottom due to avalanche control chances are most of the staff are too, so you're not missing much of anything.

cheap tickets in banff for First Responders

https://www.skibanff.com/explore/new...ghwiB3AZwJ1NOQ

Hey,
Lot's of good info on this thread but just wondering if anyone has any tips for skiing LL on a Sat. I have a day there later this month on the way to KH and Revy. I get it that it's not Mammoth or Vail but there's probably areas/lifts to hit or avoid when it's busy?
Also, I'll be hitting the road from YYC around 5:30pm on the Fri before up to LL. Not ideal timing but any guesses on how long that will take with the traffic etc?

Thanks a lot,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by marcs44

Hey,
Lot's of good info on this thread but just wondering if anyone has any tips for skiing LL on a Sat. I have a day there later this month on the way to KH and Revy. I get it that it's not Mammoth or Vail but there's probably areas/lifts to hit or avoid when it's busy?
Also, I'll be hitting the road from YYC around 5:30pm on the Fri before up to LL. Not ideal timing but any guesses on how long that will take with the traffic etc?

Thanks a lot,

---

YYC to LL is 90 from the edge of the city

LL on a sat: Get to Larch, from the Gondi first thing, Then a few paradise laps, early lunch in upper temple lodge (sawers nook)

summit/paradise laps all afternoon

Great thanks a lot

Thanks for this awesome thread!
I'm planning on heading up with the fam for our kids spring break in mid April. Sounds like conditions should be solid spring skiing to full-on winter at that time! And lots of great info on non-skiing stuff, too (just in case). Thanks.
We are planning to ski SSV and LL. We are finding a really good deal on a hotel in LL and a good deal on a condo in Banff. I'm assuming it would be better to be in Banff, generally speaking, right? Would it be a huge pain to be staying at LL if we wanted to ski SSV and hit restaurants in Banff too?
We will probably fly to Calgary and rent a car, but considering the shuttle (though with 4 of us, a car is usually same price or cheaper).
Thanks!


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rob D!

Thanks for this awesome thread!
I'm planning on heading up with the fam for our kids spring break in mid April. Sounds like conditions should be solid spring skiing to full-on winter at that time! And lots of great info on non-skiing stuff, too (just in case). Thanks.
We are planning to ski SSV and LL. We are finding a really good deal on a hotel in LL and a good deal on a condo in Banff. I'm assuming it would be better to be in Banff, generally speaking, right? Would it be a huge pain to be staying at LL if we wanted to ski SSV and hit restaurants in Banff too?
We will probably fly to Calgary and rent a car, but considering the shuttle (though with 4 of us, a car is usually same price or cheaper).
Thanks!


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

---

I would stay in banff. Way more things to do, eat, see.

Not sa huge pain it stay in LL, and better with a car, but better. Unless you really want a quiet, romantic get away.

Having just stayed in both Banff (ok, Canmore) and LL I’d also agree on staying in Banff. Although I think tons more condo options in Canmore.

We stayed in LL after skiing up there thinking we wouldn’t want to drive back to Canmore that evening. We all agreed afterwards it would have been fine, and maybe less hassle than relocating.

Bonus, tho, was early AM access to the Lake at sunrise. Before the hordes arrived.
Attachment 312689

My recommendation is to take take the Trans Canada Hwy to Banff... and then keep on driving and go to another community. This reduces your chances of getting an STI, being ran over by a terrible driver, or being persuaded to buy a Canada Goose parka.

That being said, Banff is beautiful and has all the ammenities. Just be comfortable with a bunch of people and budget on the high side.