On our third day of skiing in Banff, we headed to Lake Louise for what was likely my favourite day of the trip. The previous night, we welcomed our 4th and final trip member, who would be joining us for the last two days of skiing. We woke up to a cold, but bluebird day in Banff, and boarded our 8am SkiBig3 shuttle to Lake Louise, a 45 minute ride. The trail map is listed below for reference: For the first time on the trip, the skies were fully clear, allowing us to finally see the mountaintops unobstructed by the fog and clouds.  The majestic Castle Mountain at sunrise:  Unfortunately for us, temperatures had changed to be colder than forecasted, with the early morning hours coming in at a brisk -31 (without the wind chill). Thus, the mountain once again offered discounted tickets and free hot drinks, in expectation of lift...

On our second day in Banff, we planned to head to Lake Louise, which boasts 3250 vertical feet, 9 lifts, and Canada’s second-largest area! While temperatures that day would be similar to the (brutal) previous day, it was worth noting the effect caused by elevation. Lake Louise’s upper mountain is at a similar elevation to Sunshine Village’s base area! This meant that the base area would be 5-10 degrees warmer than the summit. Nevertheless, a cold warning was still in effect, with the mountain offering discounted tickets, and free hot drinks, to accommodate for the lift delays.  At 8am, we boarded the Lake Louise Shuttle, and enjoyed some amazing views on our 45 minute ride there! We arrive a little before 9am, and since the lifts did not plan on opening until 10am, we decided to give our skis a much-needed wax (due to the extreme cold causing the snow to be less...