If you’re looking to ski this season, head west
Alberta boasts new lifts, runs and intense slope experiences that everyone can enjoy
Intimidated by the thought of skiing in the Rockies? Don’t be.
Whether you stick close to the bunny hill or you’re a mogul master, virtually every downhill ski resort in Alberta is celebrating the new season with something fresh and exciting, whether it’s a new lift, a new run or a better off-slope experience.
Take Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort. Sunshine’s big news this season is the new Tee Pee Town LX heated chairlift. The first heated chairlift in Canada, the Austrian-made lift features 47 bright orange “bubble” seats. Each holds four people, twice as many as the previous chairs. Plus, the new chairs go twice as fast as the previous system. “It now takes about 4 1⁄ minutes to
2 get up the hill,” says Lindsay Gallagher, Sunshine’s media and marketing co-ordinator. How does it work? The new lift seats are heated when they come through the bottom terminal. Then, when they leave the terminal, the heat is captured inside each bubble, keeping skiers warm on the way up the hill.
Construction started in August 2014. Much was done by helicopter in the winter to reduce damage to the fragile mountain vegetation.
Speaking of construction, Mt. Norquay completed 10 acres of new runs this past summer, just in time for this fall’s snow. “We’ve done some extensive trail work on the mountain,” says David Jones, Norquay’s marketing communications manager. “This is the newest skiable terrain within the front range of the Rockies, and it’s all blue and green runs.”
The time-tested resort celebrates its 90th anniversary this winter with many events marking the occasion.
For example, the resort has partnered with Banff Ave. Brewing Co., to release the Norquay 90, a limitededition craft beer. A light kolsch style, it will be for sale at Mt. Norquay as well as the Banff Ave. Brewing Co. in the town of Banff.
On select full-moon nights, you can take the lift up and enjoy dinner at the retro Cliffhouse Bistro, which was opened in the 1950s and offers loads of Mad Men- era charm. (Marilyn Monroe visited it when she was in the Rockies for the filming of River of No Return.) Afterward, if the skies co-operate, ski downhill under the light of the moon.
And if you just want to take the lift both ways? That’s OK, too, says Jones. “It’s an open-air chairlift, so you’ll have to be dressed warm, but it does get you there.”
Of course, once you’re in the Rocky Mountains, you’ll want to stay. Sunshine Mountain Lodge is Banff’s only ski-in, ski-out lodge. Spend the night and you can literally ski to and from your room. The hotel has undergone myriad upgrades and renovations throughout the past few years to improve guest experiences.
“There are lots of little things that are new,” Gallagher says.
“Staying here really is an amazing experience.”