Powder Playground
Dry, light, Canadian Rockies powder and lots and lots of it! Ski resorts all over Alberta and British Columbia are currently experiencing some of the best conditions this season. In the past 72 hours Whistler has welcomed 85cm of fresh powder bringing their cumulative snowfall this season to a massive 1015cm. Close behind them are the resorts of Mt. Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village, which make up the Banff-Lake Louise ski area, who have also seen upwards of 1 metre in recent weeks. One person lucky enough to have experienced this is Catriona, our Banff Lake Louise rep who has sent us this update on conditions.
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Powder day at Sunshine Village. Photo: Shawn Alain[/caption]
I love the sound of powder. You know what I mean...the silence of it. Everything is still and cocooned in one big playground. There’s none of that horrible noise as your board scrapes down a hard packed slope. Just silence. Well maybe not pure silence. Powder days usually bring out the child in all of us, when you can’t help but vocalise your sheer delight as you float through the powder. And just like in a playground there are childish screams; whoops of joy can be heard as skiers and boarders fly their way down the slopes. That’s what it feels like too – that you’re flying. I don’t think there is much better.
We all dream of those powder days. But those dreams have been a reality this past week here in Banff and Lake Louise. Conditions have been described as some of the best in years...40 years to be exact as marketers claim we are experiencing the biggest snow storm since the 80s. There’s been a real buzz in the air as everyone races to catch those first lifts and carve out their own fresh lines. And even now, a week on, you can still hear the conversations and the breathless excited chatter; "Did you make it up last week?" "50cm overnight at Norquay, it was just epic!" "80cm over 3 days at Sunshine!" "The powder was up to my waist!" We’ve had guests swap their skis for powder skis and my legs have never had such a workout. The stats are looking good just now...72cm in the past 7 days at Lake Louise and 114cm at Sunshine. And from talking to locals on the lifts it doesn’t look as if it will end anytime soon. I was delighted to hear that it’s not uncommon to get huge dumps overnight, 30, 40, even 50cm at the end of the season. If that dream becomes a reality, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be brilliant. It’s going to be anything but silent. Fancy coming out to play?
Powder day at Sunshine Village. Photo: Shawn Alain[/caption]
I love the sound of powder. You know what I mean...the silence of it. Everything is still and cocooned in one big playground. There’s none of that horrible noise as your board scrapes down a hard packed slope. Just silence. Well maybe not pure silence. Powder days usually bring out the child in all of us, when you can’t help but vocalise your sheer delight as you float through the powder. And just like in a playground there are childish screams; whoops of joy can be heard as skiers and boarders fly their way down the slopes. That’s what it feels like too – that you’re flying. I don’t think there is much better.
We all dream of those powder days. But those dreams have been a reality this past week here in Banff and Lake Louise. Conditions have been described as some of the best in years...40 years to be exact as marketers claim we are experiencing the biggest snow storm since the 80s. There’s been a real buzz in the air as everyone races to catch those first lifts and carve out their own fresh lines. And even now, a week on, you can still hear the conversations and the breathless excited chatter; "Did you make it up last week?" "50cm overnight at Norquay, it was just epic!" "80cm over 3 days at Sunshine!" "The powder was up to my waist!" We’ve had guests swap their skis for powder skis and my legs have never had such a workout. The stats are looking good just now...72cm in the past 7 days at Lake Louise and 114cm at Sunshine. And from talking to locals on the lifts it doesn’t look as if it will end anytime soon. I was delighted to hear that it’s not uncommon to get huge dumps overnight, 30, 40, even 50cm at the end of the season. If that dream becomes a reality, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be brilliant. It’s going to be anything but silent. Fancy coming out to play?