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BANFF



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 13th 05, 04:23 PM
Howlee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default BANFF

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg? I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts are
appreciated.


Ads
  #2  
Old October 14th 05, 08:15 PM
stuart
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Howlee" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg? I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts are
appreciated.


If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot basin in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for some really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary, its a nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper on Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.


  #3  
Old October 15th 05, 04:21 AM
Brent Harsh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

stuart wrote:

"Howlee" wrote in message
...

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg? I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts are
appreciated.



If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot basin in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for some really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary, its a nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper on Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.


All good advice from Stuart...

I'd add that If you're on the budget and traveling alone, you can
get a bus deal from the Calgary airport; If you have 2 people,
the car will probably break even and 3 or more it should be less
$ to rent. Unless you stay right at Sunshine, you'll be using
the ski bus to get the resorts anyway (included in lift passes)
so you won't *really* need a car. Even if staying up on the
mountain above the town of Banff, there's a little trolley that
runs up and down to get you to restaurants and nightlife. Or
just walk down - it's a good stretch of the legs for the next
day. In 3 trips I've drove twice and bussed once; cars seem
convenient, but the busses drop you right at the gondola lines
and if you're late driving, you can park way out and have quite a
walk.

A great place, and we're going again this year in mid-Feb. Hope
to get to Kicking Horse this time... have fun...


--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.
  #4  
Old October 15th 05, 02:16 PM
stuart
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Brent Harsh wrote in message
m...
stuart wrote:

"Howlee" wrote in message
...

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place

should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg? I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts

are
appreciated.



If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway

Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot basin in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for some

really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary, its a

nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper on

Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only

drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at

Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all

prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check

condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.


All good advice from Stuart...

I'd add that If you're on the budget and traveling alone, you can
get a bus deal from the Calgary airport; If you have 2 people,
the car will probably break even and 3 or more it should be less
$ to rent. Unless you stay right at Sunshine, you'll be using
the ski bus to get the resorts anyway (included in lift passes)
so you won't *really* need a car. Even if staying up on the
mountain above the town of Banff, there's a little trolley that
runs up and down to get you to restaurants and nightlife. Or
just walk down - it's a good stretch of the legs for the next
day. In 3 trips I've drove twice and bussed once; cars seem
convenient, but the busses drop you right at the gondola lines
and if you're late driving, you can park way out and have quite a
walk.

A great place, and we're going again this year in mid-Feb. Hope
to get to Kicking Horse this time... have fun...


Thats a good point to add. The bus services in the area are amazingly good
and plentiful. In fact, if our visitor wants a side trip to Jasper, there's
a bus for that too. I prefer Marmot, with the new terrain, and NO lift
lines.

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.



  #5  
Old October 20th 05, 08:06 PM
Shawn Ross
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Banff is an ok place to visit however it is very commercialized these days.
Your better bet would be to consider Kimberley, British Columbia. You can
fly directly into the Cranbrook airport via a Calgary or Vancouver
connection and then rent a car or take a transfer to get you the 25 miles to
the resort area. There are about 70 trails with a perfect mix of beginner,
intermediate and expert runs. The best thing about Kimberley though is the
fact that it has not become one of those areas where cost routinely
surpasses value. The town itself possesses a strong Bavarian theme and life
moves at a nice and relaxing pace.

I work with a group of developers in the area who have been building some
amazing 2 and 3 bedroom chalets that are right on the ski hill (complete
with a hot tub on the balcony of each unit). The great thing about
accomodations in Kimberley is that with the exception of Christmas time, it
is possible to get into high end accomodations for a fraction of what the
higher traffic areas would cost you. Get in touch with me and I can help you
figure out the logistics of planning a trip to this undiscovered gem of a
town.

Shawn Ross
Hotel Alternative / Imperial Suites
888-270-0802 - Office
403-714-3623 - Cell

"stuart" wrote in message
news:gb84f.31355$ir4.29176@edtnps90...

Brent Harsh wrote in message
m...
stuart wrote:

"Howlee" wrote in message
...

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding

in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place

should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg?

I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs

of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts

are
appreciated.


If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway

Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot basin

in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for some

really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary, its a

nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper on

Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only

drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at

Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all

prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check

condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.


All good advice from Stuart...

I'd add that If you're on the budget and traveling alone, you can
get a bus deal from the Calgary airport; If you have 2 people,
the car will probably break even and 3 or more it should be less
$ to rent. Unless you stay right at Sunshine, you'll be using
the ski bus to get the resorts anyway (included in lift passes)
so you won't *really* need a car. Even if staying up on the
mountain above the town of Banff, there's a little trolley that
runs up and down to get you to restaurants and nightlife. Or
just walk down - it's a good stretch of the legs for the next
day. In 3 trips I've drove twice and bussed once; cars seem
convenient, but the busses drop you right at the gondola lines
and if you're late driving, you can park way out and have quite a
walk.

A great place, and we're going again this year in mid-Feb. Hope
to get to Kicking Horse this time... have fun...


Thats a good point to add. The bus services in the area are amazingly good
and plentiful. In fact, if our visitor wants a side trip to Jasper,

there's
a bus for that too. I prefer Marmot, with the new terrain, and NO lift
lines.

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.





  #6  
Old October 20th 05, 10:36 PM
stuart
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Hey Shawn, never been there myself. How far a drive are you from Salmon Arm?


"Shawn Ross" wrote in message
news:RMS5f.252233$tl2.247774@pd7tw3no...
Banff is an ok place to visit however it is very commercialized these
days.
Your better bet would be to consider Kimberley, British Columbia. You can
fly directly into the Cranbrook airport via a Calgary or Vancouver
connection and then rent a car or take a transfer to get you the 25 miles
to
the resort area. There are about 70 trails with a perfect mix of beginner,
intermediate and expert runs. The best thing about Kimberley though is the
fact that it has not become one of those areas where cost routinely
surpasses value. The town itself possesses a strong Bavarian theme and
life
moves at a nice and relaxing pace.

I work with a group of developers in the area who have been building some
amazing 2 and 3 bedroom chalets that are right on the ski hill (complete
with a hot tub on the balcony of each unit). The great thing about
accomodations in Kimberley is that with the exception of Christmas time,
it
is possible to get into high end accomodations for a fraction of what the
higher traffic areas would cost you. Get in touch with me and I can help
you
figure out the logistics of planning a trip to this undiscovered gem of a
town.

Shawn Ross
Hotel Alternative / Imperial Suites
888-270-0802 - Office
403-714-3623 - Cell

"stuart" wrote in message
news:gb84f.31355$ir4.29176@edtnps90...

Brent Harsh wrote in message
m...
stuart wrote:

"Howlee" wrote in message
...

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding

in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place

should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg?

I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs

of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have
at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your
thoughts

are
appreciated.


If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway

Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot basin

in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for some

really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary, its
a

nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper
on

Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only

drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at

Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all

prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check

condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.

All good advice from Stuart...

I'd add that If you're on the budget and traveling alone, you can
get a bus deal from the Calgary airport; If you have 2 people,
the car will probably break even and 3 or more it should be less
$ to rent. Unless you stay right at Sunshine, you'll be using
the ski bus to get the resorts anyway (included in lift passes)
so you won't *really* need a car. Even if staying up on the
mountain above the town of Banff, there's a little trolley that
runs up and down to get you to restaurants and nightlife. Or
just walk down - it's a good stretch of the legs for the next
day. In 3 trips I've drove twice and bussed once; cars seem
convenient, but the busses drop you right at the gondola lines
and if you're late driving, you can park way out and have quite a
walk.

A great place, and we're going again this year in mid-Feb. Hope
to get to Kicking Horse this time... have fun...


Thats a good point to add. The bus services in the area are amazingly
good
and plentiful. In fact, if our visitor wants a side trip to Jasper,

there's
a bus for that too. I prefer Marmot, with the new terrain, and NO lift
lines.

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.







  #7  
Old October 20th 05, 10:52 PM
Shawn Ross
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

It would be about a 5 hour drive. Basically you would head up through
Revelstoke and then down through Golden and Radium. Kimberley itself is only
a stone's throw from the US border.

"stuart" wrote in message
news:TZU5f.28496$yS6.18289@clgrps12...


Hey Shawn, never been there myself. How far a drive are you from Salmon

Arm?


"Shawn Ross" wrote in message
news:RMS5f.252233$tl2.247774@pd7tw3no...
Banff is an ok place to visit however it is very commercialized these
days.
Your better bet would be to consider Kimberley, British Columbia. You

can
fly directly into the Cranbrook airport via a Calgary or Vancouver
connection and then rent a car or take a transfer to get you the 25

miles
to
the resort area. There are about 70 trails with a perfect mix of

beginner,
intermediate and expert runs. The best thing about Kimberley though is

the
fact that it has not become one of those areas where cost routinely
surpasses value. The town itself possesses a strong Bavarian theme and
life
moves at a nice and relaxing pace.

I work with a group of developers in the area who have been building

some
amazing 2 and 3 bedroom chalets that are right on the ski hill (complete
with a hot tub on the balcony of each unit). The great thing about
accomodations in Kimberley is that with the exception of Christmas time,
it
is possible to get into high end accomodations for a fraction of what

the
higher traffic areas would cost you. Get in touch with me and I can help
you
figure out the logistics of planning a trip to this undiscovered gem of

a
town.

Shawn Ross
Hotel Alternative / Imperial Suites
888-270-0802 - Office
403-714-3623 - Cell

"stuart" wrote in message
news:gb84f.31355$ir4.29176@edtnps90...

Brent Harsh wrote in message
m...
stuart wrote:

"Howlee" wrote in message
...

I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was

snowboarding
in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place
should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm &

leg?
I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into

Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and

outs
of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have
at
least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your
thoughts
are
appreciated.


If you are planning to ski more than 3 days, get the Safeway
Sunshine-Marmot
card. That gives you 30% off your lift ticket prices at Marmot

basin
in
Jasper and Sunshine, plus it comes with a great coupon book for

some
really
great room rates (50-55 Cdn Sun-Thurs) in Banff, Canmore and

Jasper.
Personally, i would spend the dough and rent a car from Calgary,

its
a
nice
1-1/2 hr drive to Banff/Canmore and a world famous drive to Jasper
on
Hwy
93 (Icefields Scenic Pky) About 220k on mountain roads. The only
drawback
with the card is that it doesn't give you a deal at Lake Louise.
You also have the option of driving to Golden BC for a day or so at
Kicking
Horse resort.
In January, they have what they call "Jasper in January" where all
prices
are reduced a further 30%..
Best snow is after X-mas, especially in Mar-April. I would check
condition
prior to booking. Marmot tends to exaggerate their conditions a bit
Hope this helps.

All good advice from Stuart...

I'd add that If you're on the budget and traveling alone, you can
get a bus deal from the Calgary airport; If you have 2 people,
the car will probably break even and 3 or more it should be less
$ to rent. Unless you stay right at Sunshine, you'll be using
the ski bus to get the resorts anyway (included in lift passes)
so you won't *really* need a car. Even if staying up on the
mountain above the town of Banff, there's a little trolley that
runs up and down to get you to restaurants and nightlife. Or
just walk down - it's a good stretch of the legs for the next
day. In 3 trips I've drove twice and bussed once; cars seem
convenient, but the busses drop you right at the gondola lines
and if you're late driving, you can park way out and have quite a
walk.

A great place, and we're going again this year in mid-Feb. Hope
to get to Kicking Horse this time... have fun...

Thats a good point to add. The bus services in the area are amazingly
good
and plentiful. In fact, if our visitor wants a side trip to Jasper,

there's
a bus for that too. I prefer Marmot, with the new terrain, and NO lift
lines.

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say
bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news.
------------------------X-------------------------------
Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts.








  #8  
Old December 2nd 05, 05:13 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hey, I know what you're talking about.

If you are looking for cheap accomodations, check out the youth hostel ran
by "hostelling international"? There is one in Lake Louise, I recommend it,
and another on in Banff (not as close to Banf Downtown as I'd like it but it
does the trick). Down side is that you're sharing a room with others but if
you're on a budget, why not? I didn't mind it. I had a bed, a bathroom,
and a great ski hill (or 3).

Renting a car is a bit of a luxury. In the past I took a bus there from the
Calgary airport. I know Brewsters runs a bus there, but so does grayhound
or greyhound. Prices are reasonable, and it saves you getting a car for a
week. There were busses (verify that there still are) that ran from Banff
and Lake Lousie to the ski resorts..

check out a few pics from my trip there. I loved it there, and go back
whenever I get a chance.
http://www.jacksnest.com/ski/index.htm

Happy skiing!




"Howlee" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of checking it out this year. When I was snowboarding in
Colorado and Tahoe last year, I met many folks who said this place should
definitely be checked out.

Can anyone tell me how to do this trip without spending an arm & leg? I
have some free plane tickets I have to use and they fly into Canada.

When should I go to Banff?

Where should I stay? At the resort of some other place close by?

Do I need to rent a car when I fly into Calgary?

I thought I'd ask you folks, since yall seem to know the ins and outs of
many resorts. I am trying to budget this trip because I still have at least
one or 2 more ski trips to take before the season ends. Your thoughts are
appreciated.



 




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