My wife learned to ski in Banff and will now go nowhere else! (Banff)

Member Name: markjlomas

Product:	Banff
Date:	02/05/02 (272 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Skiing, Speak English, Well organised

Disadvantages: Cold early season, 20 min bus to ski

Banff is right in the center of Banff National park, which was Canada's first national park, in the Rocky Mountain state of Alberta. It is surrounded by some of the most spectacular and rugged mountain scenery in the world, including glaciers, ice fields, snow-covered peaks, crystal clear lakes and raging rivers. Banff has everything for all types of visitors, the snow capped Rocky Mountains are some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

I have visited Banff on a number of occasions since 1997 and have had a really enjoyable skiing holiday. It is best to avoid early season as the temperatures can be very cold (as much as minus 30C), better to visit later in the season, for instance during March.

The main hotels are mostly situated on the main road and a short bus trip form infront of your Hotel will take you to one of the nearby ski areas of Mount Norquay, Sunshine Village or Lake Louise.

During the evening the town is very lively, with many bars full of skiers, my favourite place to eat, the Hard Rock cafe is (June 2000) sadly closed :-). Prices in town were not so expensive when I visited, try the Hudsons Bay Company for cheap CK, Levis jeans etc, or if you fancy a 'day off' skiing then I suggest that you take a bus to Calgary and try the shops there where you can find a great selection of shops. Oh and don't forget to get a form to claim your tax (GST) back on any purchases that you make out there.

Our favourite is ski area Sunshine Village (www.skibanff.com) and the bus only takes 20 minutes or so to reach the bottom of the gondola station. Sunshine has a great mix of slopes for all abilities and a very long (and reasonably easy) run back down to the car park if you don't fancy taking the gondola down at the end of the day.

If you are new to the area and are learing to ski then I suggest that you try Club Ski www.skibanfflakelouise.com/html/skiing/club_ski.ht ml which last for 3 days starti
ng on a Monday and a Thursday, it visits Lake Louise, Sunshine and Marmot on consecutive days and is a great way to get to know the 3 main ski areas.

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