Where To Go In Winter
Six major winter resorts are found in the Rockies - two in Kananaskis Country, two around Banff, and one each near Lake Louise and Jasper. Along with Whistler in British Columbia, these are some of the best, the most popular and the fastest-growing areas in Canada - and not only for downhill and cross-country skiing but also for dog-sledding, ice climbing, skating, snowshoeing, canyon crawling and ice fishing (snowmobiling, note, is not allowed in the parks). At most resorts, the season runs from mid-December until the end of May; conditions are usually at their best in March, when the days are getting warmer and longer, and the snow is deepest. Resort accommodation is hardest to come by during Christmas week, the mid-February school holi-days and at Easter. Nakiska, 25km south of the Trans-Canada Highway in Kananaskis Country, is Canada's newest resort. Developed for the 1988 Winter Olympics, it's one of the most user-friendly on the continent, with state-of-the-art facilities; it has snowmaking on all its varied terrain and plenty of fine cross-country skiing. Fortress Mountain, 15km south of Nakiska on Hwy 40, is a much smaller area, where you're likely to share the slopes with school groups and families. Banff's resorts are invariably the busiest and most expensive, and heavily patronized by foreigners (especially Japanese). Mount Norquay has long been known as an advanced downhill area - "steep and deep" in local parlance - but has recently expanded its intermediate runs, and also boasts the Canadian Rockies' only night skiing. Higher and more exposed, Sunshine Village has even better scenery but relatively few advanced runs. Lake Louise's three big hills add up to Canada's most extensive resort, with downhill skiing, plus cross-country trails crisscrossing the valley and the lake area. Jasper's Marmot Basin is a more modest downhill area, but it's quieter and cheaper than those further south, and the park, particularly around Maligne Lake, has almost limitless cross-country skiing possibilities.
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