Revelstoke or Banff? (Sunshine/Lake Louise)

Cincher

Cincher

Active member
I'm considering two school ski trips that I want to go on; Red River College's trip is going to Banff around Christmas break and the other at the U of M is going to Revelstoke during Reading Week (Feb. 13-19 I think, right around my birthday). Both are about the same price (~$680), have about 4 days of riding on offer, and I haven't skied at either place. The key differences between the two is that my friend is going on the Banff trip because a friend of his is going on it, and the Banff trip would let me ride at either Sunshine or Lake Louise. Normally I'd

So which should I - or would you personally - go on? People who've skied both would be great to weigh in on this. I need to make a choice fast as there is only 6 spots left on the Revy trip.
 
I go to Macewan in Edmonton and my school is going to revy. Sounds like a really cool trip. Unfortunately i cannot go..ACL haha but id choose revy man
 
Skied both a LOT.

I'd do banff trip. More on offer, less driving.

Revy is a great mountain, especially slackcountry wise, and the town is pretty cool, more working class than Banff.

But louise and sunshine are much bigger mountains with awesome consistent conditions and good parks.
 
Go to Banff, Revelstoke doesn't have much good snow or terrain, it's all super hard pro stuff or flat, and usually icy as fuck! The town is lame, there is no place to party, and doesn't have that ski town vibe, mostly just tourists.

Banff doesn't have many tourists, tons of places to party, and a great mountain town vibe. Lake louise is never rocky, always has snow, and usually no crowds. Sunshine usually has snow and great visibility, it's hardly every windy or cloudy there. Plus it's in Alberta so the drinking age is 18 as opposed to 19 in Revelstoke if that matters.

Also lift tickets in banff are about $85 a day for students and in revelstoke they are about $50 a day for groups so you are getting better value if the trips are similar in price.
 
13555533:Julius_Steezer said:
Dunno about revy but lake Louise is on course for a sick year of snowfall. Plus its park setup is way better. So I'd go banff
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Revelstoke has had 120" of snowfall already. Most snow in North America. It was reported a week ago.
 
Based on nothing that actually has to do with either option I would recommend Revy simply for the reason that things will have way better coverage in February as opposed to December.
 
I haven't been to Louise since I was a little kid, but if you just plan on messing around all over, Sunshine is a good time. Also, despite everyone else having pretty much the worst year every last year, Sunshine was pretty consistent all year.

That said, I want to ski Revy more than pretty much anywhere else right now.
 
I have skied all of the above and ski Lake Louise quite frequently, living in Calgary.

Revelstoke and it isn't particularly close. If you have the chance, take a day and go to Kicking Horse while you're there.

Sunshine is not a great resort on the whole - it has some good terrain, but it's very rarely accessible. Louise, in contrast, is a really great resort with a ton of variety (especially if you bring skins) but is hit and miss with the snow sometimes and can't measure up from a terrain perspective to Revy or KHMR.
 
13555546:PoLaRpEaK said:
Go to Banff, Revelstoke doesn't have much good snow or terrain, it's all super hard pro stuff or flat, and usually icy as fuck! The town is lame, there is no place to party, and doesn't have that ski town vibe, mostly just tourists.

Banff doesn't have many tourists, tons of places to party, and a great mountain town vibe. Lake louise is never rocky, always has snow, and usually no crowds. Sunshine usually has snow and great visibility, it's hardly every windy or cloudy there. Plus it's in Alberta so the drinking age is 18 as opposed to 19 in Revelstoke if that matters.

Also lift tickets in banff are about $85 a day for students and in revelstoke they are about $50 a day for groups so you are getting better value if the trips are similar in price.
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Yeah given that the majority of what I've skied the past decade is in and around Manitoba (only started taking mountain trips in 2014), I'd say my skiing ability might be high intermediate, or low expert, with an emphasis on park skiing. Kicking Horse kicked my ass last year with it's super gnarly terrain, and it didn't help there wasn't an inch of fresh snow falling throughout the whole trip. Of course to my bad luck they got dumped on the minute we left for home.

Good to know, my friend was super concerned about rocky terrain as he doesn't wanna gouge his bases. Also I'm 22 so the the drinking age has been a non issue for quite some time.

Lift ticket prices are also not a concern as they are included in the package.
 
13555712:Cincher said:
Yeah given that the majority of what I've skied the past decade is in and around Manitoba (only started taking mountain trips in 2014), I'd say my skiing ability might be high intermediate, or low expert, with an emphasis on park skiing. Kicking Horse kicked my ass last year with it's super gnarly terrain, and it didn't help there wasn't an inch of fresh snow falling throughout the whole trip. Of course to my bad luck they got dumped on the minute we left for home.

Good to know, my friend was super concerned about rocky terrain as he doesn't wanna gouge his bases. Also I'm 22 so the the drinking age has been a non issue for quite some time.

Lift ticket prices are also not a concern as they are included in the package.
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Ah shit, I was just fucking with you. You really can't go wrong with any of the resorts. It sounds like the banff trip will be the right one for your situation though.
 
13555705:J.D. said:
I have skied all of the above and ski Lake Louise quite frequently, living in Calgary.

Revelstoke and it isn't particularly close. If you have the chance, take a day and go to Kicking Horse while you're there.

Sunshine is not a great resort on the whole - it has some good terrain, but it's very rarely accessible. Louise, in contrast, is a really great resort with a ton of variety (especially if you bring skins) but is hit and miss with the snow sometimes and can't measure up from a terrain perspective to Revy or KHMR.
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Thanks for the insight!

Both trips are hauling a bunch of college/uni kids on a bus so unfortunately I don't have the luxury of moving between resorts at will. The U of M trip I went on last year went to KHMR, unfortunately it was the worst year EVER and there was zero fresh snow to speak of. No way was I stepping out of bounds for fresh turns with zero backcountry experience/knowledge. Was also super disappointed they had no terrain park when it looked like their trail map indicated as such. Still had fun blitzing down the easiest way down at warp speed!

I'm sure to me the terrain will be awesome, lots of things are better than Asessippi, and literally EVERYTHING is better than Springhill Winter Park, which is located on the side of Winnipeg's floodway. You can guess which I ski the most based on distance.
 
I ski both Sunshine and Louise regularly. Both are excellent resorts. Sunshine has excellent snow while Louise has imposing terrain and a really nice park. Banff itself is a really nice place but its a bit of a tourist trap. Lots of restaurants and places to hang out after skiing a long day. Or you could hit up Norquay for night skiing.

Now on to Revelstoke... If its a good snow year you won't regret going there. I skied 3 days and the first two days there was easily 30 cm of new snow each day. There's some really nice advanced and blue terrain. Newbies looking for green runs will be a bit disappointed. Apparently Revelstoke is putting in a park this year... So it could be interesting. The town itself is much less touristy but it still has a few decent bars and restaurants so you can still party if you want.

If you're going to party ... and do some skiing...Banff is better. If you want amazing snow ... I'd consider Revelstoke.
 
Skied both a lot and Lake Louise looks really good right now. But Revy for sure. And if it makes any kind of difference Revy is also putting a park in this year

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13555748:PoLaRpEaK said:
Dude why do you live there?
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There are many reasons for me. I'm from here and I live with my parents at the moment. Also I have plans for secondary education and its easier to do that if I only have to pay my mom $350 for rent as opposed to living in a apartment with a roommate, or on my own with rent ranging from $500-800 (personal max), plus utilities (internet, phone, hydro, etc.), and food. It's also pretty affordable to live here as opposed to a bigger city. Doesn't make me dislike living here any less though. I just landed a job and I'm rebuilding my savings again after a year of unemployment. We'll see where it goes from there.

But trust me, once I finish my education plans, I'm getting the hell out of here; probably Calgary or at least Saskatoon as I have family there as well. January can get NWT or Yukon cold, way beyond my tolerance, and I like it when it's chilly!
 
Sounds like you wouldn't enjoy revy. You'll want some fat rocker skis and some experience for

Sunshine/Lake Louise have varied terrain. Lake Louise is a more traditional resort with cut runs. Some good stuff in the back bowls and slack country takes more work.

Sunshine is up in the alpine terrain so it's more open. It has some pretty good stuff but you have to be with a local to find it. Slack country is super easy at Sunshine but again you need to know where your going.
 
13555546:PoLaRpEaK said:
Go to Banff, Revelstoke doesn't have much good snow or terrain, it's all super hard pro stuff or flat, and usually icy as fuck! The town is lame, there is no place to party, and doesn't have that ski town vibe, mostly just tourists.

Banff doesn't have many tourists, tons of places to party, and a great mountain town vibe. Lake louise is never rocky, always has snow, and usually no crowds. Sunshine usually has snow and great visibility, it's hardly every windy or cloudy there. Plus it's in Alberta so the drinking age is 18 as opposed to 19 in Revelstoke if that matters.

Also lift tickets in banff are about $85 a day for students and in revelstoke they are about $50 a day for groups so you are getting better value if the trips are similar in price.
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Not sure if trolling
 
I bought/have 2013 Sir Francis Bacon skis I got specifically for my big mountain trips, back before my first trip to Fernie in 2014. Those still might not be rockered enough for the terrain you know about, I still find it difficult to move about in deeper snow when the terrain flattens out. It might be the skis, but I still think it's because of my inexperience with deep snow skiing.

So yeah, at this point I think I'll be going on the Banff trip, due to the wider array of terrain and because my friend is going on it. I like doing these trips with a friend; I usually go with my brother but he'll be in school midwinter so he can't take the time off.
 
The Banff trip will be better if you're looking for more varied terrain. I would personally choose Revy, but Kicking Horse is my home mountain. Plus Banff will be better for you to go and party at night.
 
Based purely on the time of year of each trip I'd go with Revy. I live in Banff and so ski Sunshine and the Lake a lot and they have some amazing terrain BUT Christmas is not a great time to visit. It's busy, it can be brutally cold, it tends to be one of the least snowy months, some of the best terrain might not be open and the parks probably won't be firing on all cylinders.

February in Revy though should be pretty perfect timing.

If the Banff trip was in March or April it would be a harder decision.
 
Just a small update...

Welp, I missed my opportunity to get on the Revy trip, 2nd bus is full. But the waiting list is growing and there's the possibility of them booking a 3rd bus. No guarantees yet, but I'm staying hopeful.

I emailed the admins for the Banff trip, inquiring if they're booked up yet, and if not, when I can arrange to put in my deposit.

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone, I'll report back with any new developments.
 
If you have a chance, go revy. I've lived in Banff, there is great skiing to be had, but christmas there is a fucking zoo. Revy on the other isn't really near an airport so that stops 1 million brits from taking over for weeks at a time.
 
lake louise does not build its park until mid january due to them having to do the Ski and snowboard Cross and things. I dont think this was mentioned yet.

so dont expect anything but beginner park features until february time. But once february comes last year they had a new park builder from ontario and he did an amazing job so im sure he will be back and the park will be kick ass again this year.

sunshines park is really good to, seen a few pros like evan macharean there last year when they specially built a jump and im sure they would have fun anywhere but they absolutely slayed the park and looking like they had a blast there.

Not to sure when sunshines park gets into full swing though, mainly played around at louise last year.

If you have any questions about the hills or banff feel free to shoot me a message, I live in banff.
 
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