Banff, Ski Resort

...from the main part of Banff, Banff Avenue. I found the service I received was good and our room was cleaned everyday. The only problems I had with this apartment was that it was in dire need of redecoration! It looked as though it had not been decorated since the 80’s! Also our apartment was on the lower level (more like basement) and our windows were the same height as the footpath so when our curtains were open we tended to have people looking ...
...relax after a hard day’s skiing. I tended to wave at the passers-by which soon made them look back to their journey and not me on the sofa! This would have been a nicer place to stay if I had been located on one of the upper floors! However it was also a good location to get to the ski bus which was a minute’s walk away at the Ptarmigan Inn (which had a nice little bar and log fire perfect for when coming back from the slopes!).

~~Dining~~
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Banff is a beautiful resort situated in the heart of Banff National Park in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. The town has something to offer everyone from shopping, to fine dining and skiing! I have been lucky enough to visit Banff twice both on skiing trips, once a few years ago and then again in Feb this year.

~~History of Banff~~

Banff was first established a Canada’s first National Park in 1885 and was the third in the world to be given this title.
Many sites in the park were inhabited by tribes previous to this date but it was until the Canadian Pacific Railway was starting to be built in this area that the director of this company named Banff after the place where he was born, Banffshire in Scotland.

~~Accommodation~~

There are a number of places to stay in Banff; there are hotels, B&B’s, Cabins, Chalets, Inns and hotels. I stayed a Rundle Manor which offered a good sized apartment located 2 minutes away from the main part of Banff, Banff Avenue. I found the service I received was good and our room was cleaned everyday. The only problems I had with this apartment was that it was in dire need of redecoration! It looked as though it had not been decorated since the 80’s! Also our apartment was on the lower level (more like basement) and our windows were the same height as the footpath so when our curtains were open we tended to have people looking in! Not what you want when you are trying to relax after a hard day’s skiing. I tended to wave at the passers-by which soon made them look back to their journey and not me on the sofa! This would have been a nicer place to stay if I had been located on one of the upper floors! However it was also a good location to get to the ski bus which was a minute’s walk away at the Ptarmigan Inn (which had a nice little bar and log fire perfect for when coming back from the slopes!).

~~Dining~~

Banff really has something for everyone from Banffshire Club (Banff Springs Hotel) to McDonalds, it also has many different cuisines – Greek, Thai, Japanese, Swiss, Italian, Chinese, Mexican and the list goes on! I found that all the restaurants that I did visit that the Service was always excellent and the food was delicious. Banff seems to take it customer service very seriously. It is customary in Banff to tip around 15 – 20% for good service, although for larger groups a service charge is normally added onto the bill automatically.
My favourite restaurants were:
Melissa’s – Offers a true taste of the Rockies!
Bumpers Beef House – “if you haven’t been to bumpers you haven’t been to Banff” is the places motto and offers steaks, ribs, pasta, salads and fish.
Georgio’s – Classic Italian Cuisine

~~Shopping~~

There are many shops in Banff ranging from the top of the range clothing store to your local supermarket. There really is something for your every need. When I first arrived in my Banff my first thought was shopping! This was mostly due to the temperature of the town, it was around -15! I decided at this point that perhaps I had not packed enough clothing and headed out to buy warmer jumpers! There are a few shopping malls and many side streets as well as the main street in Banff which have various stores; I preferred the shopping malls mostly due to the freezing temperature when walking down the streets! I did tend to find that when I did venture down the streets that I stopped every 10 or 15 mins to find another coffee shop to warm myself up! I did find most of the prices in the shops to be quite reasonable for what you bought and the staff was always helpful and cheery. There are a number of tourist shops spread over Banff for those most wanted souvenirs!

~~Nightlife~~

Canada, like the UK, has enforced the smoking ban in all public places, so Banff for smokers is not the best place to be during the winter! I found that the temperatures of a night time were even colder that during the day and lots of layers of clothing was required! I tended to find that everyone in our group walked at quite a fast pace to get to the restaurant or pubs just to warm up….any excuse for a pub crawl! However I thank god that I am not a smoker as I don’t think I could handle standing outside each place in the freezing cold! I found that there were quite a few bars in Banff which did tend to get quite busy in the evenings, I normally tried to fight over the seats by the log fires! As with most of the ski resorts I have visited there was an Irish bar in Banff which was one of the places I tended to go in the evenings as it was a friendly bar and had reasonably priced drinks. Another bar/restaurant I visited was the Rose and Crown down Banff Avenue (main street) as this was quite a lively bar which have live bands place and also offer food and drinks at a good rate. There are a few nightclubs in Banff however I tended to stick to the pubs and bars as these were always a fun night out and I wasn’t then too worse for wear for skiing the next day! If pubs aren’t your thing there is also a cinema showing the latest films.

~~Activities~~

~Summer~
During the summer there are many activities Banff has to offer there are lots of walks/hikes which offer fantastic views of the Rockies absolutely a must see!! Some of the activities include: golf, fishing, rafting, hockey, natural springs, horse riding, kayaking, caving, wildlife tours and heli-rides.

~Winter~
Skiing, snowboarding, heli skiing, snow mobiling, sleigh rides, ice climbing, caving, dogsled tours, hiking, sightseeing and many many more.

I travelled to Banff in February so I’ve have only tried out a few of the winter activities, I tried skiing (see below), dog sledding and an ice walk.
The dog sledding was great, we first me our guide in the morning and asked to climb aboard the bus where we were whisked off (took an hour in total to get there!) to meet up with the huskies – which were not actually all huskies the majority were cross bred with greyhounds as this made the dogs better for touring the circuit with tourists – when we arrive it was extremely loud! There was been 60 – 80 dogs all in one location all howling as they were all excited to be let out to meet their new owners (we’ll for an hour at least! Lol). Each person doing the tour was allocated a guide and 6 dogs which we had to greet and hook up to the sleigh ourselves. Each sleigh held 2 people in the sleigh and 2 people hanging on the end!! Due to this being the middle of winter and around -15degrees I opted to be the first in the sleigh as it had a blanket! BIG MISTAKE! It was freezing! I had all the gear I normally wore on a day out skiing but however as I was just sitting enjoying the terrific views and the blanket wrapped around me I was still freezing! Luckily half way round the trip we we’re able to stop for a bite to eat and a hot chocolate normally I can’t stand hot chocolate but seeing as I was so cold I almost downed it in one!! For the second half of the trip I was able to stand on the back of the sleigh and to take the reigns! Although closely watched by the guide! My only tip would be for this trip would be to wrap up warm! Thermals, t-shirts, jumpers, fleeces, coats!! And very thick socks and sensible boots (these can be provided if needed). This trip lasted 4 hours in total and cost me $137.00 each; although this may seem expensive it was worth every penny!

I also managed to go on another tour whilst on my trip to Johnston Canyon on an Ice Walk. This one again we were picked up outside our hotel and got onto the tour bus to the Canyon, we were provided with boots, ice cleats (grips for your boots) and hiking poles and set off with two guides showing us the way. Both guides were very clued up on the history of Banff and the ice walk we were on. I personally thought I would have been at the back trailing behind the rest of the group however we all went at quite a leisurely pace so we could take advantage of all the views. The views were breathtaking! I would recommend to anyone to visit this and to see the icefalls and to learn how they were formed. The duration of the trip was 4 hours in total and cost $59.00. This trip you will also need to dress up warm for although depending on the pace the hike may keep you quite warm anyway and there is always the hot chocolate halfway through!

Both these tours were booked with Discover Banff Tours I found all staff members to be very friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable!

~~Skiing~~

Although you cannot actually ski in Banff this is a popular ski resort. There are 3 skiing regions which are located near to the town which you are able to get shuttle buses to – Sunshine Village, Mount Norquay and the fantastic Lake Louise.

~Sunshine Village~

Sunshine is a 30 minute bus journey from Banff and offers 3,300 acres on terrain over 3 mountains. Due to the size of the village you will find that the majority of the slopes are not very crowded at all and a pleasure to ski on especially as they have an average snowfall of 914cm’s! Sunshine also offers Banff’s only ski in and out hotel which offers extras such as saunas, massages and hot tubs – perfect after a hard days skiing!
The villages offers 7 quad chairs, 1 Triple chair, 1 double chair, 2 magic carpets and a high speed gondola which takes you from the bottom on the mountain into the centre of the ski resort. There are over 107 runs in the resort – 20% are beginner runs, 55% are intermediate and 25% expert.
Ski season: November - April
The only downside of this resort was that after the bus journey from Banff it still took 15 mins on the gondola to get to the resort.

~Mount Norquay~

Norquay is the closest ski resort to Banff and is only ten mins from the town centre, it is largely considered to be Banff best family resort. The Cascade Lodge is the only place to sit, relax and use the facilities in the resort, this is a two storied beautiful timber fame design which offers and deli and a cafeteria on the ground floor and a restaurant and Lone Pine Pub – perfect for the après ski! – On the second floor.
Norquay offers 1 high speed quad lift, 2 fixed grip quad chair lifts, 1 double chair and 1 surface lift. Norquay offers 190 acres of terrain and 28 runs which makes this the smallest of the 3 resorts, 20% are beginner, 36% intermediate, 28% advanced and 16% Expert. There is an average snowfall of 300cm.
Ski season: early December – mid-April
I found that Norquay tended to get very busy on slopes near to the main lifts, especially with ski schools and did have to constantly look over my shoulder to avoid being wiped out by a learner who hasn’t figured out their brakes!! I also found that due to the size I had managed to ski most of the runs before the end of the day which meant I didn’t really want to return when you have the delightful skiing of Sunshine and Lake Louise.

~Lake Louise~

Louise is the largest of all three resorts and my personal favourite. The journey to the resort takes around 45 mins to an hour but once you arrive you will be at a lost for words at the beauty of the resort. Although this is the busiest of the three resorts will the number of runs and off-piste skiing available it does not seem busy at all. The only time you will have to queue is when you’re buying your lunch!
Louise offers 4200 skiable acres of terrain on four mountains and 139 names runs and limitless off-piste adventures, 25% are beginner runs, 45% are intermediate and 30% advanced. Louise has an average snowfall of 454cm’s.
Ski season: November – May.

Ski passes for the tri-area adult pass will set you back around $432.00 for 6days so very expensive but as per the descriptions above worth every penny!

For Ski, boot and pole hire for 6days this will set you back around $210 for intermediate equipment, most shops offer next day delivery to your hotel which is always a bonus!

~~Weather~~

The average temperatures and snow fall are:
January = -15 to -5 (degrees Celsius), Snow = 38.2cm
February = -11 to 0, Snow = 30.0cm
March = -8 to 4, Snow = 27.0cm
April = -3 to 9, Snow = 26.3cm
May = 2 to 14, Snow = 17.1cm
June = 5 to 20, Snow = 1.7cm
July = 7 to 25, Snow = 0cm
August = 7 to 24, Snow = 0cm
September = 3 to 17, Snow = 7.0cm
October = -1 to 10, Snow = 18.9cm
November = -8 to 1, Snow = 33.6cm
December = -14 to -5, Snow = 43.9cm

~~Additional info~~

The nearest airport to Banff is Calgary International and this is 67.4 miles away and takes around 2hours to get there.

On my first visit to Banff the locals were allowed to feed the local wildlife (this has since stopped); it was a common occurrence to see Elk or Deer wandering the streets! This was actually quite scary at first as they are quite large animals and I tended to run the other way whenever I saw one, once outside my apartment which was quite a surprise!! I have also heard that bears have been seen in the town but luckily I never saw one!

~~Overall~~

I would recommend Banff to anyone who enjoys beautiful scenery and lot of activities! I would recommend that if you are planning to visit in the winter that you wrap up warm! Banff offers lots of things to do that only problem I found was trying to squeeze them all into the one week!

~~Websites~~
www.banfftours.com
www.skibig3.com 

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