Banff
Lake Louise Mountain Resort
Mt. Norquay
Sunshine Village

Banff is one of the most popular winter resort destinations in Canada – not only is the town of Banff a popular destination in and of itself, with a number of great mountains surrounding it such as Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Mt Norquay and Cascade Mountain, the town of Banff and the nearby town of Lake Louise are close enough to the ski resorts of Sunshine Village and Ski Norquay to provide an excellent place to stay while snowboarding at either one of those popular resorts.

Banff National Park is host to three of the world renowned ski resorts; The Lake Louise Ski Area, Sunshine Village and Mt. Norquay. This spectacularly scenic area offers a tri-area lift ticket that is good at the resorts and free transportation between Banff-Lake Louise and the three resorts.

The Sunshine Village Ski Resort is one of the most popular regional ski resorts, yet it manages to provide an uncrowded snowboarding / skiing experience with over three thousand and three hundred acres of terrain in total. The average snowfall for the Sunshine Village Ski Resort is more than thirty feet per year, and as a result the Sunshine Village Ski Resort is known for having an exceptionally long open season which lasts from the middle of November until the end of May.

There are three mountains at the Sunshine Village Ski Resort, called Goat’s Eye, Lookout and Standish. These mountains are home to more than one hundred and seven runs. Twelve lifts serve the system of trails, with a lift capacity of twenty thousand people per hour making it easy to get to the top without ever having to wait in line. Sunshine Village Ski Resort has a terrific vertical drop of just over three thousand and five hundred feet which lets you get in some truly epic runs.

The challenge levels at the Sunshine Village Ski Resort are also well varied, with twenty percent of the runs being geared towards beginners, fifty five percent being more for intermediate snowboarders and twenty five percent being well suited for expert level snowboarders and skiers. There is also the Rogers Terrain Park for snowboarders, which provides eight acres of terrain including a great selection of boxes, jumps and rails.

An A-frame box, a whale tail box, a nutcracker rail, a 20 foot handrail, a banked C box, an old blue rail, a C bow box, a stepdown box, a 40 foot rail, a coffin box, a down box, a Dr. Suess rail, a flat / down rail, a rainbow rail, an up box, a right hip jump and a pyramid are just a few of the great pieces of equipment that you can work off of at the Rogers Terrain Park at Sunshine Village Ski Resort.

Ski Norquay offers a snowboarding / skiing experience which is more geared to families, making it easier for younger children as well as large groups to have a good time learning how to ski and racing down the gentle slopes. While there are also more difficult runs for you to try at Ski Norquay, it provides an easier experience overall for lots of people to come and enjoy.

The Banff area is filled with great runs, great back country and lots of great resorts where you can have a great time developing your snowboarding skills or just playing around!

Today, Alberta has seven impressive, destination ski resorts: Banff, Fortress Mountain, The Lake Louise Ski Area, Marmot Basin, Mystic Ridge/Norquay, Nakiska and Sunshine Village. And don't forget about their six heli-skiing operators!

For some, a trip to Alberta is not complete unless it includes a side trip to the West Edmonton Mall--the world's largest shopping and entertainment complex with a wave pool, triple-loop roller coaster, shark tank, ice rink, trained dolphins and an indoor beach.

Alberta is easy to get to. Simply fly into Calgary or Edmonton and rent a car, or take scheduled shuttle bus service to the ski resorts. And yes, it's still possible to take a sleeper train--just like those first tourists-- right into downtown Jasper. If you have the time, the VIA Rail journey from Vancouver in the west or Montreal in the east, is an unforgettable experience.

*Written by: Paul McMorris - a contributing editor for Skiing Magazine.