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Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Hello from Banff: High Altitude Skiing at
Sunshine Village
We planned on an afternoon of skiing at Sunshine
Village, one of the largest ski resorts in Canada. It is located
just 15 minutes from Banff, going west on the TransCanada Highway.
Sunshine Village is a pretty historic place and as a sk resort it
dates all the way back to 1936.
A snowy welcome at Sunshine Village
With over 3,300 acres of skiable terrain Sunshine Village is one
of the largest ski resorts in Canada. The top elevation is 8,954
feet (2730 m) and the base elevation is 3,514 feet (1070 m). It
receives a huge amount of natural snowfall: up to 33 feet or 9 m.
Skiing usually lasts from mid November all the way to late May.
This resort straddles the Continental Divide and some of the runs
are in Alberta and some in British Columbia. 107 runs spread out
over 3 mountains (Goat's Eye Mountain, Lookout Mountain and Mt.
Standish). The whole area is serviced by a high-speed 8 passenger
gondola that whisks you from the parking lot up to the main village.
In addition, there are also 5 high-speed quad chairs, 2 quads, 1
triple, and 1 double chair and 2 magic carpets.
The 8-passenger high-speed gondola
Sunshine Village
also offers extreme terrain for really expert skiers. Delirium Dive
is an expert ski area that requires special safety equipment and
precautions such as being equipped with an avalanche transceiver,
a shovel and having at least one other person with you. Goat's Eye
Mountain offers a number of highly challenging double-black diamond
runs that should be mastered before you even consider venturing
into this area.
Sunshine Village (altitude: 7082 feet or 2160 m)
At our level we decided to stick to the blue runs, which on this
snowy day with lots of accumulated snow were plenty challenging
enough for us. Every trail had turned into a mogul run, with all
the extra piles of snow that had been carved into bumps by the other
skiers. It was basically snowing the whole day with the sun peaking
through in between the snow flakes. The night before 10 cm of fresh
snow had fallen, and during the day several more centimeters got
added. All the extra snow made this a really great workout, and
we had to work really hard to push the white powdery stuff around.
 T
The sun peaks through....
The Banff National Park is unique in that it restricts development
and there are no sprawling condominiums at the base of any of the
3 Banff area ski resorts. It is almost a throw-back to an earlier
time when skiing was less commercialized. The only ski-in/ski-out
accommodation is at the recently renovated 84-room Sunshine Inn,
located in the main village of the Sunshine Village Resort at an
altiude of 7082 feet. Ski Canada has referred to the Sunshine Inn
as "the best rooms with a view in Canada!".
Plenty of snow....
For those with an appetite Sunshine Village offers a variety of
culinary options: the Creekside Bar & Grill is located the gondola
base. The Deli, Alpine Grill and the Lookout Bistro are all located
in the Day Lodge in Sunshine Village. The Java Loft Coffee Bar and
Chimney Corner Lounge are located in the Sunshine Inn while the
Mad Trapper's Saloon can be found in the Old Sunshine Lodge. Goat's
Eye Gardens is located right next to the Goat's Eye Express and
offers cafeteria style food.
Getting ready to go up to Goat's Eye Mountain
An interesting feature of this resort is that it offers a SnowHost
program, an absolute free program for visitors, that are welcomed
by a team of frontline ambassadors for Sunshine village, all dressed
in yellow and black outfits. Every day at noon the SnowHosts take
skiers / riders out on tours using blue runs and show them how to
access this monstruous ski area.
Amazing mountain scenery on the drive back (Mt. Rundle)
We spent most of the afternoon in the Lookout Mountain (top elevation:
8954 feet or 2730 m) and Mt. Standish areas, going up the Angel
Express and the Wawa Quad Chair. There are many blue and green runs
available in this area which was helpful on this challenging day.
After a rest in the Goat's Eye Gardens cafeteria and a sinfully
filling portion of poutine, a truly Canadian culinary treat that
combines French fries with curds and gravy, we felt strong enough
to tackle Goat's Eye Mountain which offers mainly single and double
black diamond runs. By that time it was about 3:30 and after getting
safely down the mountain we decided to make our way down to the
Gondola Base. We skied down a picturesque green run called Banff
Avenue all the way to our car, surrounded by peacefulness in the
forest.
With scenery like this it's hard to keep your eyes on the road...
On our way back to Banff the sun finally came out and we stopped
the car several times because the scenery was so breath-taking.
The Rockies do have a way of sucking you in....
Mt. Rundle in all its glory
Turn-off at the Banff exit
Related Articles:
An overview of our discovery of the
Canadian Rockies
Arrival in Calgary and our
whirlwind tour of the city
Discovering Canada Olympic Park,
one of Calgary's most visited attractions
Our fabulous dinner at Il Giardino's
and a connection with one of Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs
- an Italian-Canadian immigrant success story
Comfort, luxury and our celebrity
breakfast at the Historic Twin Gables B&B
Calgary's Kensington area and a
meeting with a local entrepeneur who went from Vietnamese boat person
to successful restauranteur
Arrival in Banff & exploring
a local landmark: the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Our first skiing experience: perfectly
groomed trails at Norquay
High altitude skiing on the
Continental Divide: Sunshine Village
Exploring Canadian history: the
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Skiing in the largest ski resort in
the Canadian Rockies at Lake Louise
A real adventure: dogsledding in
the Canadian Rockies
A gondola trip to the top of
Sulphur Mountain and discoveries of Banff
Our final walk through downtown
Calgary - discoveries of downtown
An interview with Tourism Calgary:
what to see and do in Calgary
An interview with
Tourism Banff Lake Louise
Useful Websites:
Tourism
Calgary
Tourism
Banff Lake Louise
Canada
Olympic Park
Ski the Big 3:
Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine
Banff
National Park of Canada
Useful books about Calgary and the Canadian Rockies:
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