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.

Hey,

Banff is a pretty cool place to go as I was there in February of 2004.
My thoughts on that place is that its a nice town with good eats and
good snowboarding. A lot of people will go to Sunshine but I'm not a big
fan. Personally I loved Lake Louise as the trails were good and no flats
at all. As to where to stay, I'd recommend the hundreds of hotels/motels
situated in the town of Banff. They're all catered to
skiers/snowboarders at that time anyways so its really a preference of
how close to town you want to be and the price. All the mountains are a
quick drive away (~45min tops for lake Louise). There's a shuttle that
takes you from Calgary airport to Banff but I'd rent a car just for
convenience's sake.

As for when to go.... I guess from Jan - March is a good time

Hope that helps

Stu

Howlee wrote:
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.

Waco Paco wrote:

A lot of people will go to Sunshine but I'm not a big
fan. Personally I loved Lake Louise as the trails were good and no flats
at all.

They're both world-class hills. I'd go to each and decide what to do
from there depending on your personal preferences and the snow conditions.

As to where to stay, I'd recommend the hundreds of hotels/motels
situated in the town of Banff.

My advice is to use one of the tour package websites like skibig3.com to
pick a hotel, but then call the hotel directly. You can get the same or
better package pricing but way more flexible cancellation policies,
usually no penalty so long as you give 3 days notice. Websites usually
need a month's notice and ding you 50% even then.

As for when to go.... I guess from Jan - March is a good time

Yep. Dec is iffy, snow-wise. January can be cold, but you can get some
good deals then. There's usually still good snow in April, but you're
well into spring conditions, highly variable.

As far as getting from Calgary to Banff - there's lots of airport
shuttle services, just google Banff shuttle. Most of the hotels provide
free transport to the hill. The airport shuttle is typically $90 round
trip so if you've got a few people, renting a car may be cheaper. Note
that if you rent a car you'll have to pony up $16/day for park fees.
It's maybe 30 minutes to clear town from the airport, then 130 km to
Banff mostly on 4 lane highway with 110 kph limits.

Neil

Neil, you always got something good to say. : )

thanks again for the tip.


"Neil Gendzwill" wrote in message
...
Waco Paco wrote:

A lot of people will go to Sunshine but I'm not a big fan. Personally I
loved Lake Louise as the trails were good and no flats at all.

They're both world-class hills. I'd go to each and decide what to do from
there depending on your personal preferences and the snow conditions.

As to where to stay, I'd recommend the hundreds of hotels/motels situated
in the town of Banff.

My advice is to use one of the tour package websites like skibig3.com to
pick a hotel, but then call the hotel directly. You can get the same or
better package pricing but way more flexible cancellation policies,
usually no penalty so long as you give 3 days notice. Websites usually
need a month's notice and ding you 50% even then.

As for when to go.... I guess from Jan - March is a good time

Yep. Dec is iffy, snow-wise. January can be cold, but you can get some
good deals then. There's usually still good snow in April, but you're
well into spring conditions, highly variable.

As far as getting from Calgary to Banff - there's lots of airport shuttle
services, just google Banff shuttle. Most of the hotels provide free
transport to the hill. The airport shuttle is typically $90 round trip so
if you've got a few people, renting a car may be cheaper. Note that if
you rent a car you'll have to pony up $16/day for park fees. It's maybe 30
minutes to clear town from the airport, then 130 km to Banff mostly on 4
lane highway with 110 kph limits.

Neil

Banff is great in February, but it will get busy approximatley the last 2
weeks as students here in Alberta are on spring break (even though there is
no such thing as spring in Alberta which you may be familiar with). First
week of March is nice too! I personally love Sunshine Village but I would
highly recommend picking up a Tri-area pass if you plan on staying here a
few days. That will get you onto Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise so you
have flexibility. You will also need a park pass as Banff is in a National
park, so I would suggest finding a cheap pass off Ebay. Hidden Ridge in
Banff is more expensive than your usual hotel but you are really tucked into
the back of Banff by Tunnel Mountain. However is is truly an experience to
have a fire going in your room while having the most amazing view of Mount
Norquay on your outside deck, only to go out in the dark to the hot tub and
literally meet people from ALL over the world (Banff is a major
internationally recognized park) and get right ****ed (in a civilized manner
of course). Cap it off with a bonfire and shred the slopes again the next
morning. Banff is packed with lots and lots of women and as a guy you almost
feel outnumbered. If you are a single guy you will be in Nirvana and if your
married, you'll wish you weren't lol.

If you get to Banff , don't miss out on a trek to Kicking Horse at Golden
B.C . If you don't mind the cold come in January . No line ups at all at
Goats eye mountain ( Sunshine ) Ride hard stay warm ! It's about an hours
drive from Louise .to Kicking Horse"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.

I second the Kicking Horse experience. It's a fun and hard mountain with
really different snow characteristics than that of the alberta mountains....
somehow the snow just seem heavier.

But beware of the road conditions driving to Kicking Horse. The Transcanada
Highway can be rather "dangerous" if you're in a hurry. Passing transports
on a 2 lane mountainous highway with salt/sand spray is a harrowing
experience. It's another reason to keep boards/skis inside too. Last time I
was there they were expanding the highway so there will be "jams" at certain
points on the road. The good thing is the scenery will make any traffic jam
seem bearable (I saw wild mountain goats last time I was at Kicking Horse
Pass). I guess the trick is to start driving early so you'll get a full
day's worth of fun in.

Stu


"Jack Zwanenburg" wrote in message
news:xPi4f.210288$tl2.199873@pd7tw3no...
If you get to Banff , don't miss out on a trek to Kicking Horse at Golden
B.C . If you don't mind the cold come in January . No line ups at all at
Goats eye mountain ( Sunshine ) Ride hard stay warm ! It's about an hours
drive from Louise .to Kicking Horse"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.