Lake Louise slopes couldn’t be better
LAKE LOUISE
Let’s just put this as plainly as possible: The last week has been absolutely epic at Lake Louise. The Banff National Park ski resort has been slammed with so, so much snow. How much? We’re talking 102 cm in the last seven days alone, bringing the season total to 395 cm. All that snow is reason enough to make the trip to the Lake, but if anyone needs another reason, the Ice Magic Festival is just around the corner. Running from Jan. 16-27, the annual festival brings some of the world’s very best ice carvers to town for a competition at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. www.skilouise.co twitter.com/skilouise
SUNSHINE VILLAGE
Mother Nature clearly decided to give Calgary’s skiers and snowboarders an early gift to kick off 2019. At Sunshine, she delivered a whole tonne of powder. The last week saw 60 cm of the fluffy white stuff fall on the mountain, and that brought the season total to 379 cm. They’re celebrating the awesome conditions with a busy calendar of events in January that includes the always important Avalanche Awareness Days on Jan. 19 and 20, as well as a full day of fun for both Robbie Burns Day on Jan. 25 and Australia Day on Jan. 26. www.skibanff.com twitter.com/SunshineVillage
NORQUAY
The conditions are Mount Norquay are no joke these days, as the 41 cm of new snow that blanketed the Banff resort in the last week brought the season total to 135 cm. This weekend, Norquay is also getting its Saturday night tubing and skiing season underway, as guests will be able to ski, snowboard or tube under the stars from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. www.banffnorquay.com twitter.com/MtNorquay
NAKISKA
Once a year, the Canadian ski and snowboard community comes together to celebrate everything that makes alpine sport so special. This year, National Ski & Snowboard Day goes down on Jan. 26 and 27, with discounted tickets at resorts across the country — including Nakiska. Tickets need to be bought in advance and online, but by purchasing one you’ll be supporting the Canadian ski and snowboard teams that aim to get their athletes on the podium. There should be lots of snow at Nakiska, too, as the Kananaskis resort got hit with 29 cm in the past seven days and the season total now sits at 183 cm. www.skinakiska.com twitter.com/ SkiNakiska
WINSPORT
This weekend, the very best skiers on the international scene are going to be descending on WinSport for the FIS Freestyle Ski Acro World Cup, as more than 100 athletes from around the world will be competing for moguls gold. Canada’s pretty great at the alpine discipline, too — Mikael Kingsbury has been on a historic run over the last couple of years — so don’t be surprised to hear O Canada at least once. It’s going to be a busy couple months in general for international sport at WinSport, as the moguls World Cup goes Saturday, while the FIS Freeski & Snowboard World Cup halfpipe competition goes Feb. 15-16 and there’s a IBSF World Cup of Bobsleigh and Skeleton event set for Feb. 22-24. www.winsport.ca
CASTLE MOUNTAIN
You can always count on the snow gods delivering a bunch of massive powder days in early January at Castle Mountain. This year is no exception. The Southern Alberta resort has been getting pounded by snow in recent weeks, and the 56 cm of new powder that fell from the skies this week has brought the season total to 359 cm. That’s great news for skiers and snowboarders, but it’s worth noting there’s a lot to do these days at Castle even for those people who don’t partake in alpine sports. The resort is offering scenic snow cat tours this year that take guests high up onto Haig Ridge for a view of some truly stunning alpine vistas. www.skicastle.ca twitter.com/SkiCastle
PANORAMA
There’s something about the Columbia Valley this time of year. It’s a little warmer than the west side of the Rockies, but that doesn’t slow down the snow even a little bit. In the past week, for example, Panorama was blessed with 50 cm of new snow, bringing the season total to 319 cm. They’re keeping busy at the resort, too, and Panorama will be hosting a Syndicate Rockstar Rail Jam event Jan. 19, as well as a Ladies Ski Series weekend Jan. 19 and 20 where women can put in some work on their skills with two days specifically catered to them. www.panoramaresort.com twitter.com/panoramaresort
FERNIE
On Saturday, Fernie is making sure all the women and girls who love ripping down the mountain know how much they’re appreciated. The B.C. resort will be celebrating International Women’s Snow Day with a schedule that includes morning yoga, first tracks, mountain tours, avalanche education and women’s après, among other things. As someone who was skiing at Fernie this weekend, I can also confirm conditions are as close to perfect as you get. The resort got 62 cm of new powder in the last week, and has been blessed with 422 cm so far this season. www.skifernie.com twitter.com/ SkiFernie
KIMBERLEY
Sometimes, some people just don’t want to ride the ski lift. For those people, going up the mountain — whether it’s skinning, skitouring or uphill skiing — is just as much the point as going down. This year at Kimberley, they’ve made sure to accommodate those people with a new up-tracking zone that should keep the most athletically-inclined among us happy. You know what else should keep everyone happy? The snow report, as Kimberley saw 37 cm of new snow fall this week and has been on the receiving end of 221 cm so far this season. www.skikimberley.com twitter.com/SkiKimberley
REVELSTOKE
Surprise, surprise, it snowed a lot at Revelstoke. We’d probably be getting bored of saying the same thing every single week if, well, the powder wasn’t so awesome. Just like it always does, Revelstoke was slammed with a tonne of fresh snow this week. The B.C. resort was blasted by an awesome 86 cm in the past week and 676 cm so far this season. www.revelstokemountainresort.com twitter.com/revelstokemtn