Nakiska introduces new daily shuttle bus service from Banff this winter.

Nakiska ski area in Alberta, is introducing a new daily shuttle to the mountain from Banff. Until now the resort, most out of town guests drove by the resort preferring instead of staying in Banff. The daily shuttle will take passengers directly from the major hotels directly to the former 1988 Winter Olympic downhill. Continue reading ‘Nakiska introduces a shuttle bus service and a new rail park for upcoming season’

Tourist Office

Nakiska
P.O. Box 1988
Kananaskis Village
Alberta
Canada
T0L 2H0

Telephone: (403) 5917777
Website: www.skinakiska.com/

Description

Purpose-built to stage the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics Alpine events, accommodation is centred on Kananakis Village, close to Canmore and Calgary.

Review

Located in the heart of the spectacular Kananaskis Valley, Nakiska was specifically designed to host the alpine events of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Also known as Mount Allan, Nakiska is set within Kananaskis Country, a popular 4250 sq km/1615 sq mile) outdoor recreation area located an hour’s drive southwest of Calgary (110km/68 miles) spanning both the foothills and the Rockies. Within Kananaskis Country there are 4 provincial parks; Peter Lougheed, Bow Valley, Bragg Creek and Elbow/Sheep Wilderness. The area is a real winter playground with a host of winter activities including cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating and dog sledding as well as downhill skiing and snowboarding. Accommodation is directly adjacent to Nakiska in Kananaskis Village.

When Captain John Palliser led a British scientific expedition through this area between 1857 and 1860, he wrote in his journal about the legend of an Indian named Kananaskis, “giving account of his most wonderful recovery from the blow of an axe to his head, which stunned but failed to kill him”. Palliser gave the name Kananaskis to the Bow River tributary in the area. He named the Kananaskis River and the pass that he crossed, the Kananaskis Pass, which led him through the Rocky Mountains. The word Kananaskis is said to mean “meeting of the waters”.

Today Kananaskis Country is not only a multi-use recreational area, but other activities such as timber harvesting, ranching and natural gas operations also co-exist with the diversity of recreational uses. Alberta’s youngest Rocky Mountain resort, Nakiska was designed using computer technology to best create long, wide, fall-line runs, perfect for ski racing during the Olympics and now a cruiser’s paradise.

The layout of the ski trails is simple and very user-friendly with expert terrain primarily at the top of the mountain, intermediate runs in the middle and beginner areas at its base. Skiers and snowboarders can depend on quality snow coverage as Nakiska is equipped with extensive and sophisticated snowmaking systems. This combined with a commitment to world class grooming makes Nakiska a great choice for those that enjoy long cruising runs on the “picture-perfect” corduroy daily snow reports consistently speak of.

Only 30 minutes drive away through some spectacular wilderness is the neighbouring ski resort of Fortress Mountain. Lift tickets are transferable so you can ski the 2 areas in one day. The town of Canmore 60km/37 miles is considered to be the residential community of the area with an established infrastructure geared towards an outdoor lifestyle. Canmore Nordic Centre, which hosted the cross-country skiing, biathlon and nordic combined events of the XV Winter Olympics is considered to have some of the best developed nordic ski trails anywhere in the world.

keywords

Calgary, Canmore, Kananaskis, Nakiska, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Rockies

Tourist Office

Ski Marmot Basin
Box 1300
Jasper
Alberta
Canada
T0E 1E0

Telephone: (780) 8523816
Email: info@skimarmot.com
Website: www.skimarmot.com

Description

Heaven on earth for lovers of unpretentious, untamed skiing with piste borders kept to a minimum, backed up by excellent accommodation and other essential resort amenities, with all the facilities of the town of Jasper nearby. It’s possible to hike up to the summit for about 200 vertical metres from the top of Knob chair to 2601m to ski the full 914m vertrical.

Review

Nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, Marmot Basin is one of Alberta’s 6 major downhill resorts. Flanked by the mountains of British Columbia to the west, the prairies of Saskatchewan to the east and the State of Montana to the south, Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada with a population of 3 million. Its larger in size than most US states and is 3 times larger than the UK.

Known throughout the world for its excellent skiing facilities, deep dry powder, miles and miles of runs and bright sunny days, Alberta is a skiers’ paradise. Marmot Basin is known as “The Big Friendly” and it lives up to its reputation for being a family-friendly resort with an easy, laid back atmosphere and some of the best glade skiing the Rockies have to offer.

In common with many ski resorts, Marmot Basin’s first wintersports enthusiasts practised cross-country and the resort was named by Joe Weiss who acted as a guide for cross-country skiers from Whistler’s Creek via Caribou Ridge. During WW2 British soldiers carried out alpine training here but it was’nt until the 1950′s that the first road was built to connect the highway with Marmot Basin. By 1961 Marmot’s first rope tow, constructed from the remains of an old army truck, was installed on Paradise run and developments seemed to take off with the resort gaining a licence to operate and more facilities being added yearly.

Marmot Basin’s nearest town is Jasper, in the heart of the Jasper National Park. Established in 1907, its the largest and wildest of Canada’s mountain parks and contains a superb backcountry trail system as well as 10,878 acres of mountain wilderness and the Columbia Icefields, one of the only icefields in the world accessible by road. Internationally renowned for wildlife viewing, it is home to some of North America’s rarest animals, including healthy populations of grizzly bears, moose, caribou and wolves.

Jasper is one of many communities which can trace it’s history back to David Thompson’s explorations. In January 1811 he made an epic winter crossing of the Athabasca Pass, the first recorded trip by a European through the Jasper area. This expedition established the fur trade route, subsequently used for decades as the most practical passage overland to the Pacific.

The first ever sighting by a white man of a Bigfoot, or “Sasquatch” as they are known locally, was in Jasper. Bigfoot are to the Rockies what the Yeti are to the Himalayas with several mentions of them in Native American folklore. On his travels in this area David Thompson was recorded to have found some strange footprints, fourteen inches long and 8 inches wide, with 4 toes!

keywords

Jasper National Park, Marmot Basin, Alberta, Canada, Rockies, Rockys, The Rocky Mountains

Tourist Office

Lake Louise Ski Resort
Box 5
Lake Louise
Alberta
Canada
T0L 1EO

Telephone: (403) 5223555
Email: info@skilouise.com
Website: www.skilouise.com/

Description

Lake Louise is a stunningly beautiful place to visit summer or winter, but especially vibrant during the ski season. Located in the vast wilderness expanse of Banff National Park in the heart of the romantic Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise offers world-class ski terrain. With 4200 skiable acres, Lake Louise is one of the largest ski areas in North America. The layout accommodates every ability, with novice, intermediate and expert runs from every chairlift.

Review

For scenic grandeur, imaginative terrain design, and sheer size, the Lake Louise Ski Area ranks with the finest ski resorts in the world. Encompassing eleven square miles, spread over four separate mountain faces interconnected by a lift and trail system that is comparable to the European ski circuit concept, this is the largest ski area in Canada. Visitors from Europe, who may have been somewhat disappointed by the rather gentle rolling hills on which some of North America‘s most famous ski resorts are located, will be mesmerized by the spectacular beauty of the place. In addition to over 100 named runs, some more than five miles in length, Lake Louise offers thousands of acres of open powder bowls, glades and chutes. When it comes to reliable snow, ‘The Lake’, is again hard to beat. With copious amounts of natural snow augmented by Canada‘s largest snow making system, Lake Louise’s season runs from early November to mid-May. Thirty years’ average temperatures see a drop to -5 degrees Celcius in December and -7 in January. With dozens of long, protected tree-lined runs, and 65% of the terrain below treeline, you can comfortably ski Louise even when it’s snowing hard up top. Skiers and ‘boarders skiing Louise usually stay either in Banff, a 45-minute drive away, or in Lake Louise village located five minutes from the lifts and linked by a free bus shuttle service. Within the village you’ll find more than 1,000 lodging units, along with twenty restaurants and bars. These thousand units include the palatial bedrooms (suites?) of the world famous Chateau Lake Louise, one of the world’s greatest hotels, built in 1890 when the railway arrived in one of the most beautiful locations on Earth for any hotel – on the shores of the lake with the Rockies rising majestically behind. The hotel was extensively refurbished for its centenary. Lake Louise itself has offered cross-country skiing since the 1890s and downhill for 80 years. The first downhillers were a group of youngsters from Banff who, having learned to ski downhill on Mt Norquay and slept the night in the Lake Louise train station, headed out onto the slopes. A decade later the same youngsters who had skied Louise in 1920 teamed up with some of the original Swiss guides who had led cross-country tours in the area for 40 years and built the Canadian Rockies’ first chalet, Skoki, in the summer of 1930. More huts followed and the first lift, a poma, was installed in 1954. A few years later, when the Trans-Canada Highway passed through the area, the gondola tramway was installed in 1958. The rest, as they say, is history. Grand plans for a big 6500-bed resort in the 1960s were blocked as ‘too big’ in 1972, largely due to the area’s location in the precious National Park. However, slow and controlled growth has continued with new lifts gradually bringing the resort to a level where it attracts skiers from all over the world. The growth restriction is considered by many to be a major asset and helps Lake Louise to remain so special to its many fans.

keywords

Banff, Lake Louise, Ski The Rockies, Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Rockies, The Rocky Mountains

Tourist Office

Fortress Mountain Ski Resort
111-11 Avenue S.W.
Kakanskis Village
Alberta
Canada
T2R 0G5

Telephone: (403) 5917108
Email: sales@skifortress.ca
Website: www.skifortress.com

Description

Full-service ski area located 45 minutes from the facilities of Canmore and close to the Nakiska Ski Centre.
The base area complex at Fortress Mountain is situated at an altitude of 2040 m (6,692 ft), the highest in the Alberta Canadian Rockies. This lofty elevation ensures Fortress an annual snowfall 630 cm (21 ft) and a ski season that stretches from early November until late April. Fortress Mountain is thus often the first Alberta Mountain ski area to open for the winter and is the pre-season training site for the Canadian National Freestyle ski team. The casual and relaxed resort offers wide-open cruising as well as serious bumps.

Review

Fortress Mountain is located in Kananaskis Country, 80km/50 miles from Calgary and 70km/43 miles from Banff. Its base area at 2040m/6692ft is the highest of the Canadian Rockies resorts and its lofty elevation ensures an annual snowfall of 630cm/21ft and a ski season that stretches from early November through until late April. Often the first of Alberta’s ski resorts to open for winter, it is the pre-season training site for the Canadian National Freestyle Ski Team and hosts several freestyle skiing. This casual and relaxed resort offers wide open cruising, serious bumps, large gladed areas and natural halfpipes which make it popular with freestylers.

Fortress’s reputation as an unpretentious ski area with affordable prices has made it popular with families and those who appreciate powder snow, uncrowded runs and downhome friendly service amidst the ruggest scenery of the Canadian Rockies. Fortress has 2 curved T-bars which are among the world’s most unique ski lifts. The ski area covers 2 mountain sides and another on the backside with 55% of the terrain classed as intermediate, 25% for advanced skiers and 20% suited to beginners.

Within Kananaskis Country there are 4 provincial parks; Peter Lougheed, Bow Valley, Bragg Creek and Elbow/Sheep Wilderness. The area is a real winter playground with a host of winter activities including cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating and dog sledding as well as downhill skiing and snowboarding. Accommodation is directly adjacent to Nakiska in Kananaskis Village.

When Captain John Palliser led a British scientific expedition through this area between 1857 and 1860, he wrote in his journal about the legend of an Indian named Kananaskis, “giving account of his most wonderful recovery from the blow of an axe to his head, which stunned but failed to kill him”. Palliser gave the name Kananaskis to the Bow River tributary in the area. He named the Kananaskis River and the pass that he crossed, the Kananaskis Pass, which led him through the Rocky Mountains. The word Kananaskis is said to mean “meeting of the waters”.

Today Kananaskis Country is not only a multi-use recreational area, but other activities such as timber harvesting, ranching and natural gas operations also co-exist with the diversity of recreational uses. Nearby Canmore Nordic Centre, which hosted the cross-country skiing, biathlon and nordic combined events of the XV Winter Olympics is considered to have some of the best developed nordic ski trails anywhere in the world.

keywords

Calgary, Canmore, Fortress, Kananaskis, Alberta, Ski The Rockies, Canada, Rockies, Rockys, The Rocky Mountains

Tourist Office

Edmonton Ski Club
9613 – 96 Ave
Edmonton
Alberta
Canada
T6C 2B3

Telephone: (403) 4650852
Email: skiclub@telusplanet.net
Website: www.edmontonskiclub.com/

Description

ESC was the first ski hill in Edmonton, and is still the closest to downtown. While not as large as other local hills, it offers a great variety of terrain for beginners and experts alike. Edmonton Ski Club is located on Connors Hill, in the heart of downtown Edmonton. The top of the hill yields a great view of the downtown core behind the Muttart Conservatory.

keywords

Edmonton Ski Club, Alberta, Rockies, Canada, Connors Hill

Tourist Office

Castle Mountain Resort
Box 610
Pincher Creek
Alberta
Canada
T0K 1W0

Telephone: (403) 6275101
Email: info@skicastle.ca
Website: www.skicastle.ca

Description

Famous for its abundant light powder and spectacular views from the lift tops to Waterton Glacier National Park and Montana.

keywords

Castle Mountain, Pincher Creek, Westcastle Park, Alberta, Canada