Ski Banff: 4 Days. 3 Mountains.
Banff in the winter hits different. The combination of dramatic scenery, endless ski runs, short lift lines, and a fun food scene makes this a getaway you’ll want to repeat.
Touchdown in Calgary + Banff Bound
We landed at Calgary International Airport, snagged a 4WD SUV (absolute must), and hit the scenic drive to Banff (~2 hours).
Checked into our hotel in Banff, Canalta Lodge (walkable access to everything), and grabbed groceries for the early mornings ahead.
Gear Tip: Layer up. Temps reached -10F and rarely crossed 0F until late afternoon. We were on the move a lot and most ski lifts are covered; but cold hands and toes can be an enemy.
Smith I/O MAG XL Goggles
Smith Nexus MIPS Ski Helmet
North Face Montana Pro GTX Gloves
Planning Tip: Purchase either multi-day SkiBig3 pass through IKON or online through SkiBig3 to avoid the morning ticket lines. Also, you must have a Banff National Park Pass (can pick up in town once you arrive or order online in advance) for parking in Banff and at the ski resorts.
Day 1: Bluebird at Banff Sunshine
Banff Sunshine starts with a long but enjoyable gondola ride from the parking lot and ends at the center of the resort. The resort is comprised of three mountains (Goat’s Eye, Lookout, and Standish) which can be a bit tricky to navigate at first. However, each mountain offers something unique.
Start on Lookout to get a lay of the land. Super Angel Luxury Express lift provides access to Boundary Bowl and Green Run that runs back to the main resort village.
Next, check out Great Divide Express Quad which takes you to the top with access to ByeBye Bowl and a short hike to Delirium Dive.
Goat’s Eye offers more technical black runs (Fall Line, Mother-In-Law, Wildside), but there are blue runs accessible off the Goat’s Eye Express Quad.
Standish, while smaller, has some really enjoyable runs that you can make as technical or groomed as you choose.
Food: Nikko Ramen for lunch, Mad Trappers for pitchers.
Gear MVP: North Face Summit Series Casaval Hybrid Hoodie. Layered under GORE-TEX outer shell and coupled with SmartWool system, bulletproof to the elements.
Dinner: Bluebird Woodfired Steakhouse in Banff. Go for the dry-aged ribeye, stay for the fireplace and cozy ambiance.
Day 2/3: Lake Louise + Après
Lake Louise Ski Resort is hands-down one of the most breathtaking ski areas in North America. Cruising Ptarmigan, Paradise Bowl, and Upper Boomerang kept our legs busy and our GoPros humming. So much mountain to cover, you need at least two days to take it in.
The views and terrain seemed to give our group the sendies. After a couple questionable jumps, everyone settled a bit.
Front side of mountain is a lot of structured groomers and access through Glacier Express lift > Top of the World. We usually started and ended the day on front side but spent most of time in the back bowls.
Off Top of the World you can go skiers left and get on Saddleback which is a long green run that takes you around most of the runs or take Summit Chair lift and go off the blue run Boomerang to gain access to some of the steeper cliffs. Skiers right off of Top of the World takes you on a narrow run to access Paradise Bowl and multiple double black runs that test your skills. At the bottom we used either Paradise lift or Ptarmigan to navigate. The big plus in the back is that even if the group wants to split up for more challenging or easier runs it was easy to separate and connect back at the bottom as it all funnels to two lifts.
Food: Après was lakeside at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Cocktails + frozen lake views are unmatched. Bring packable indoor shoes, your ski boots are not the vibe indoors.
Gear MVP: Osprey Kamber 30. Great ski backpack for storage and straps for your skis when boot packing opportunities arise.
Rocky Talkie. Essential amongst the group to stay in touch if we separated, cell service was non-existent in the back bowls.
Dinner: Hello Sunshine in Banff. Order the sushi boat and the house chilled sake, thank us later.
Day 4: The SkiBig3 Gauntlet
For the bold. Back at Sunshine, we tackled Delirium Dive, a hike to double black chute that requires avalanche gear just to enter.
After Sunshine, we powered through an afternoon session at Norquay, small but mighty and home of the steepest groomed run in North America.
After checking off Norquay, we had completed the SkiBig3 Trifecta Challenge. You can stop by the SkiBig3 Adventure Hub to have your Lift Ticket or Ikon Pass scanned and validated. You'll receive a commemorative SkiBig3 Trifecta award.
Dinner: Magpie & Stump closed out the trip with tacos, tequila, and just enough spice to keep the frostbite at bay.
Loaded up the rental and limped back to Calgary to catch a red-eye back home.
Final Word: We packed a lot into a few days with some experienced skiers. Still unsure if this could be a trip with young kids given the temps and a lot of technical ski terrain, but will consider it again once kids get a few more ski seasons under their belts. All in all, some of my favorite skiing I’ve ever done.
Your turn, Banff’s calling.
