Lake Louise
Lake Louise is renowned for the “wow” factor because of the amazing scenery. This backdrop adds so much to the great skiing and snowboarding experience. Lake Louise is also popular because it’s the second largest resort in Canada. It has variable and vast terrain across 4,200 acres. This is no Whistler, but it’s still huge! It’s a good indication that there’s plenty of variety to choose from when you struggle to orient yourself to the mountain, and have to peer at the trail map multiple times to figure out which face you’re on.
Lake Louise is one of three Banff ski resorts, with its neighbours being
Norquay and
Sunshine. You can enjoy all three resorts on an interchangeable lift ticket. If you don’t have a car, all the resorts are accessible via complimentary shuttle buses from various Banff hotels. Lake Louise is 57 km from the
Banff township (about 40 minutes by road), and is 180 km west of Calgary.
Unfortunately there’s no on-mountain accommodation, so many visitors
stay in Banff and commute to Lake Louise via car or shuttle bus each day. The advantage of staying in Banff is that there is a vibrant
nightlife, lots of
shops and other activities for tourists. The village of Lake Louise is quite different. It is very quiet and peaceful, and the
accommodation options are more limited. There are hotels and a hostel around Lake Louise, and also the castle known as Chateau Lake Louise. If you’re not lucky enough to stay at the Chateau, it’s still worth a visit to enjoy the view of THE lake or a chic cocktail. Shuttle buses are available from the local accommodation spots to the ski area.
The
terrain provides a lot of choice for all levels of skiers and snowboarders, and subsequently Lake Louise is a popular choice with families. The front side has many beginner and intermediate cruisers, and with plenty of vertical, some of these runs are pretty long. There are also some awesome areas for experts out the back. This area has chutes, gladed runs, and roooollly steep bowls (the sort that made four of us run off to the shop very quickly to buy a helmut). Most of the lifts are modern and fast, and there are no problems with slope congestion.
The only cons with the resort seem to be the sometimes icy slopes (not much fun when riding tight tree runs) and the cold temperatures. Brrrrrrr! Anyone who has visited Lake Louise seems to comment on the chilly conditions. Rug up well at this resort, and you’ll get to enjoy the great views and diverse terrain. Don’t forget to take your camera!