On our 4th and final day of skiing in Banff, we enjoyed one last Rocky Mountain ski experience at Sunshine Village Resort. We awoke at 7am, seeing some beautiful sunrise views from our hotel room window: We then got dressed and boarder our 8am shuttle to the resort. Temperatures were expected to range from -15 to -20C, fortunately (and unfortunately) our warmest day of skiing of the trip!    Since it was a Saturday, we did expect more crowds; however, the base-to-village gondola lineup took no more than 5 minutes: All lifts were open, meaning that we could finally experience the resort’s expert terrain which was closed on our last visit three days prior. I have attached the trail map for reference below: Unfortunately, the high base elevation meant that winds were blowing snow from the surrounding peaks and valley into the air, creating a sort of haze similar to our...

Over my university break week, a few friends and I headed to Banff, Alberta; our first time being and skiing out west! Three of us arrived on a Tuesday, with the other friend arriving on Thursday, before we all departed that Sunday. After having wanted to visit the Canadian Rockies since I was 9 (one decade ago!), this trip was a ‘bucket list’ type of experience for me! Fortunately, the week we chose benefited from some of the best snow conditions of the year, as 50-80cm (depending on the location), had fallen on the region two days before we landed, giving what the locals said were good conditions after a long snow drought. Unfortunately, extreme cold temperatures followed the snow, meaning that for three out of our 4 ski days, temperatures were in the -20s, 30s, and even 40s once the wind chill was factored in…  Despite the high prices of...