One Two Ski: Winter Sun at Snowy Sunshine Village Banff

SkiBig3 Guided Adventures at Sunshine Village

Where better to spend Christmas Day than Banff’s Sunshine Village? Leave the gift giving and turkey tasting until later, there was snow to be skied! It’s not typically a busy day on the Alberta slopes, just tourists as locals are following family traditions. But our family fave is to ski all day, taking a break for a leisurely lunch. After skiing, we race back home to do present exchanges and Christmas dinner in the evening, all energized and exhilarated from a wonderful downhill day.

Ploughing the Pow at Sunshine Village

Lunch at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge was a highlight, especially with the menu including diet-damaging bison burgers and sweet potato fries. We sat in the revamped bar of the main Chimney Corner Lounge, where a new wine room made it feel much ritzier than the previous sports bar image. Bit incongruous, though, in our suits and boots!

Continental Divide Chair at Sunshine Village

On the hill, we made sure to ski the trail map, doing every chairlift so that we thoroughly skied the terrain. It’s something we used to do when the kids were young to stop them getting bored with our favourite runs – make a game of notching up each lift at least once. Of course, nowadays, all of us favour the heated and covered Orange Bubble which accesses some of Sunshine’s best blacks.

TeePee Town Heated Chairlift at Sunshine Village

Sunshine Village

It was at Sunshine that I activated my Mountain Collective pass for the season. As it is a season pass, you don’t line up at the regular windows for this – instead you go upstairs above Creekside to get your photo taken. BTW: on a busy weekend, Creekside is a great place to escape the crowds for lunch. The Mountain Collective pass gives you two days at Sunshine, and the same at all the other 17 resorts it covers, plus discounts on subsequent tickets. Great for those who are roving skiers, notching up multiple mountains throughout the season.

Sue Shih on Goat's Eye at Sunshine Village

You might bump into SkiBig3 Ambassador, Sue Shih who rides regularly at Sunshine throughout the seven-month winter – Nov to May. Her persuasive posts and photos are reaching 2183 Facebook friends and 1663 wintersports fans on Instagram. Originally from Taiwan, Sue now lives in Banff and is an ardent snowboarder: “The mountains are the canvas where we can make beautiful lines, our boards and skis are the paintbrush, and we leave our own signature,” she declares poetically on her Ambassador bio.

Sue Shih looking in the Galaxy Ridge 4 drop into Delirium Dive

Her fave double diamond at Sunshine is Delirium Dive: “It’s controlled/inbound/off piste freeride terrain that you don’t even have to walk that far for!!!” she enthuses. “The effort and reward ratio is amazing. From chutes to cliff to pillows, the possibilities are endless.” The Shoulder, which is accessed from the Tee Pee Town Orange Bubble, is her go-to black run: “It’s a little harder to get in and out so that means not a lot of traffic with a great chance of powder,” she explains. Over on Goat’s Eye, like me, she loves the Sunshine Coast run: “Cruise down, chill out and let the sun shine down on Sunshine Coast. Nice consistent, wide open pitch and it’s never that busy!”

Mad Trapper's at Sunshine Village

Banff Ave ski out at Sunshine Village

Sue Shih coming out of Hay's Hill pillows

For green, she recommends the Banff Ave ski out. Those who crave groomers, she directs to the south side of the Continental Divide. Also over that way is the ‘Divide Triangle’, a bumps bonanza jeered or cheered by everyone who ascends the Divide Chair: “It’s always bumpy,” says Sue. This area also yields the best views and photo opps from the top of the chair: “With Assiniboine – the Matterhorn of the Rockies - in the background, this is the best photo opp on hill.” Her tip for a perfect day is to follow the sun: “Go to the chairs that are in the sun. Divide, Standish in the morning, Goat’s Eye in the afternoon, and duck into the Orange Bubble when it’s windy and cold.”

A fount of info on food, she recommends the crepes for breakfast at Java Lift, which is at the bottom of the Sunshine Mountain Lodge, conveniently by Standish Chair – go there for coffee stops, too. We always do and our friends, arriving before us, once bumped into Alec Baldwin there and had a great coffee convo – he’d gone before we got there, though! “ You can also make it a ‘grown-up’ coffee,” Sue suggests. “This place is licensed.” For lunch linger at the Lounge atop the Sunshine’s Lookout Lodge: “Good variety of food with a great view,” says Sue. And, of course, après at Mad Trapper’s. “Fire place, rustic wood cabin makes a great place to brag about your day,” says Sue. Her dinner pick for topnotch cuisine is Eagle’s Nest at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge - but only after a pre-dinner dunk in the hot tub for maximum relaxation.

Java Lift at Sunshine Village

Sunshine Village by Lindsay Smith

Events

March

CSP MOUNTAIN DIVISION FIRST AID AND ON SNOW TRAINING (MARCH 1-3)
SKIER'S CHURCH (MARCH 3-31)
TELL A FRIEND TOUR (MARCH 9-10)
SAINT PATRICK'S DAY TREASURE HUNT (MARCH 17)
BACK TO THE VILLAGE (MARCH 21)
TOYOTA FREERIDE DAYS (MARCH 23-25)

Easter at Sunshine Village

April

U16 PROVINCIAL ALPINE SKI RACE ON SCAPEGOAT (APRIL 5-7)
PRO BOWL RIDERS SESSIONS (APRIL 5-7)
SHREDABILITY 2019 (APRIL 6)
UNTRACKED CONCERT SERIES (APRIL 6-28)
ELLEBOARD RIDE DAYS AT SUNSHINE VILLAGE (APRIL 7)
SKIER'S CHURCH (APRIL 7-28)
TOYOTA FREERIDE (APRIL 20-22)
JAMIE BLAIN MEMORIAL BANKED & STYLE (APRIL 20)
EASTER BUNNY & EGG HUNT (APRIL 20-21)
DOWNTOWN THROWDOWN (APRIL 25)
BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES: WOMENS SNOWBOARD CAMP (APRIL 27-28)

Bikinis and Board Shorts at Sunshine Village

May

UNTRACKED CONCERT SERIES (MAY 4-19)
BACON FEST (MAY 4)
BIKINIS & BOARDSHORTS (MAY 11)
MOTHER'S DAY (MAY 12)
WATERGATE BANKED SLALOM (MAY 18)
SLUSHSHINE RAIL JAM (MAY 19)
SLUSH CUP 91 (MAY 20)

Slush Cup at Sunshine Village

Sunshine Village Terrain Park by Will Lambert Photography

Mountain Stats

Average snowfall: 30 feet annually

(364 inches/925 cms)

Length of season: Mid November to late May

(weather permitting)

Cozy coffee stop at Sunshine Mountain Lodge

Vertical rise: 3,514 feet/1,070 metres

Base elevation: 5,440 feet/1,658 metres

Top elevation: 8,954 feet/2,730 metres

Skiable area: 3,358 acres

Number of lifts: 12 Lifts

Terrain breakdown:
• 20% Beginner
• 55% Intermediate
• 25% Expert