Sunshine Village
Sunshine Village is a stunning resort, situated way up in the mountains at 2160m, 18km southwest of Banff. If anything the scenery's better than at Norquay - you're higher - and you have the plus of the national park's only on-hill accommodation. There's also an incredible 10m of snow a year - so there's no need for snow-making machines - with superb soft, light powder that Snow Country magazine has repeatedly voted "The Best Snow in Canada". Skiing started here in 1929 when two locals got lost on Citadel Pass and came back with tales of fantastic open bowls and dream slopes just made for skiing. In 1938 the Canadian National Ski Championships were held here, and by 1942 a portable lift had been installed on site. The biggest change in the area's fortunes came in 1980, when a gondola (cable car) was built to carry skiers (and occasionally summer walkers) the 6km from the Healy Creek parking area to the self-contained Sunshine Village resort. Today some 62 uncrowded runs can be accessed on the gondola, three high-speed detachable quads, a triple chair, four double chairs, two T-bars and two beginner rope tows. There's less here for the advanced skier than at Norquay, but plenty for the beginner and competent intermediate. Terrain breaks downs as follows: Novice (20 percent); Intermediate (60 percent) and Expert (20 percent). The top elevation is an incredible 2730m at Lookout Mountain, with a drop to base level of 1070m: all but one or two runs ultimately converge on the village itself. The opening of Goat's Eye Mountain in 1997 has added an express quad and lots of expert-only terrain (with double black runs) but little intermediate skiing and no beginners' runs: it has arguably helped give Sunshine the edge on expert terrain over other resorts. Lift tickets are around $45 a day. Amenities include a day-lodge, day-care, outdoor hot pool, ski school, rental shop and overnight rooms in the Village at the 85-room Sunshine Inn , the Rockies' only on-slope accommodation (tel 762-4581 or 1-800/661-1272 in Alberta, 1-800/661-1363 in the rest of North America; $125-175). Ski packages are available here for anything between one and seven nights (mid-Nov to late May) beginning at around $90 a night with two-days' skiing: basic overnight charges are between $115 and $170. If you're staying in Banff, shuttle buses run round the hotels and cost around $15 for the round trip. For more information on the resort, write, call or fax Sunshine Village, Box 1510, Banff, AB T0L 0C0 (tel 762-6500, www.skibanff.com ).
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