Skiing Heaven (Lake Louise)

Name: MaryanneH

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Product:	Lake Louise
Date:	30/12/04 (603 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Skiing, Fantastic Scenery, Friendly people

Disadvantages: Very Long flight

The silent majesty of the Canadian Rockies in winter is a completely unforgettable sight but the feeling of skiing down the tree lined runs is second to none. Now that Christmas is over it is time to dust off the Salopettes, dig out the passports, buy a new set of thermals and head off to the slopes.

Well an introduction like that makes me sound like an expert skier who goes year in, year out racing down the black runs, well the reality doesn’t quite add up, I have been once, to one of the most peaceful, beautiful areas I have ever visited Lake Louise, in the Canadian Rockies.

Lake Louise is a 2 hour drive from Calgary (direct, but very long flights available from Heathrow) the countryside on the journey goes from mildly interesting, seeing the Calgary ski jump where Eddie the Eagle made his winter Olympic name, to the beautiful Canadian countryside with a small river flowing through a wilderness of snow. To the completely spectacular as you driver further into the Rockies, with the mountain peaks poking out through lines of snow covered trees.

The first stop en route if you have travelled as part of a ski package is Banff, the local town. Banff, is a beautiful little town, with reasonably priced shops, and very expensive boutiques and has a typical Christmas Card, view down the main street, which looks amazing all lit up. Now if you are a young single skier or a young couple with no kids, Banff is the place for you, it has the bars (including a Hard Rock Café) and a couple of clubs and some great skiing in the Banff based Mount Norquay, and Sunshine, all of which are linked to Lake Louise by free shuttle buses and a ‘tri-area’ lift pass is available to cover all three.

Then finally a further short bus ride away, you reach Lake Louise itself. The village of Lake Louise is very small, with hardly any buildings at all, but by far the most imposing of them all is the Chateau Lake Louise, which is a huge hotel, built on the edge of the Lake.

Accommodation
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Accommodation in the village ranges from the reasonable at the Lake Louise Inn, which has self catering apartments or hotel style rooms, this is where we stayed and the staff were very considerate and I would certainly recommend the Inn for anyone wanting a good quality hotel and restaurant without any pretentious overtones. We were travelling at the time with my eldest daughter who was just 12 months old then, they knew this and provided us with the room closest to the main area so we wouldn’t have to walk far. Lake Louise has an indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Just opposite is the Deer Lodge, which is a similar level of accommodation, but with no pool, but I believe the residents can use the pool in Lake Louise Inn.

For the rich among you there is of course the Chateau Lake Louise, which is a very beautiful building both inside and out. The shops and restaurants in the Chateau are open to non residents and the shops, although expensive, are certainly worth a look with an all round Christmas shop (have to say, really wouldn’t want to work there I’ve had enough of Christmas by Boxing Day.) but the decorations are truly beautiful. They have a wide choice of restaurants and bars available, usually with a view over the lake itself, which is beautiful to walk around. According to the brochures, the service at the Chateau is exemplary but it certainly comes at a price and personally whilst the food at the Chateau was gorgeous, I felt a lot more relaxed at the Inn.

What’s the Skiing Like?
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Well as I mentioned before, this was my first and only attempt at skiing, although I have the brochures for next year and no-one is allowed to spend any money on anything except food and petrol this year so we can save up and go again. But certainly for me it was excellent. We used the ski school and spent the first day on the drag lift at the bottom learning how to snow plough etc, now the second day we were supposed to do the same thing, but the instructor was bored of that bit so up to the top of the hill we went. Lake Louise has 3 run classifications, Green, Blue and Black and from every lift there is a Green way down, so it is fantastic for beginners, the Crystal brochure gives it 4 stars, but it gives intermediates and advanced skiers 5 stars. The thing that struck me was the variety of runs, there was the great big open runs that I was expecting then small pretty tree lined tracks with little paths that you could ski down through the trees, then one day he took us right to the top of the world ( and I believe that is what the lift was called) It was a very grey day and we were skiing in flat light so you couldn’t judge any distances or see the edge of the slope from the sky, quite scary to the inexperienced novice like me.

The ski lifts were mostly chairs and yes I did the Bridget Jones thing and didn’t get off at the top, and started to go back down again, and they stopped the lift, bought it backwards a good 10 metres so I could get off, my eternal apologies to anyone further down the lift, who doesn’t like heights and didn’t like going backwards.

The ski school was excellent, it ran for 3 hours every morning and our instructor was odd to say the least but great fun. On the first day we were going up on the drag lift and I was on the same bit as him, half way up he decided we were going to try and swap sides, you have never seen anything quite so hysterical in your life, my husband was on the lift behind us and I have no idea what he thought as I suddenly dropped down underneath him and shuffled my way over to the other side literally hanging on and trying desperately not to lose a ski. He also took our daughter down on his back one day (in the carry back pack) and we have a great shot of video with her in fits of giggles.

The ski area facilities
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We were there the first year they had built the new ski lodge and it is beautiful, all wood built looking out onto the main lift. The Day care centre is right next door (this also services Mount Norquay and Sunshine resort) the staff there were excellent, each day they provide you with a menu for the little ones and they get great choices, including mid morning and afternoon snacks. There are soft play areas for the very little ones and they have ski and sledging options for the older one. The main lodge has the ski hire area and a great outdoor shop. The restaurants are one regular one with the take a tray sort of service or burgers and a slightly more expensive one upstairs which sold amazing stonebaked pizza, and you could get iced Baileys in a souvenir ski boot, we have a few of those thanks to my husband.

Also they have the usual mountain restaurants on the mountain itself, always good for a hot chocolate stop – I had quite a few of them.

Weather report
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Canada is very cold, the week before we were there it had dropped to -40° and they had had to close all the lifts which they do if it drops below 30. The week we were there, which was the second week in January it averaged -20°.

Non skiing days
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Well everyone needs a day off, and as with any resort there is plenty to keep you occupied, there is ice skating at the Chateau, they have cross country skiing, husky dog rides and shopping day trips to Calgary. Lake Louise is also host to an ice sculpture competition, and if you thought ice was something to put in your drink to cool it down, think again, they were truly beautiful, including highly detailed Eagles, castles, Disney characters and they are everywhere, its not like you have to pay to go and see them, wonder around the village abit and you will see them.

Queues!
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I don’t do queues, I really don’t like them, and to be honest the most we ever queued was 5 minutes when we got there a little early and the lift hadn’t quite opened yet, but with the amazing natural spectacle of a Rockies dawn to keep us occupied, it really didn’t cause any problems at all.

So would I recommend a visit?
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Too right I would, I would go back tomorrow if finance permitted, the cost of Canada isn’t necessarily prohibitive the Crystal brochure has prices from £450 per person based on 2 adults sharing so hopefully, one day soon, I’ll be back!

Thank you for reading and if you take up my recommendation have a fantastic trip.

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