Dry, Light Alberta Snow: - Rip Up the Rockies

By Travel Alberta,

travelalberta [at] raremethod . com
www1.travelalberta.com

It's the snow in Alberta's Rocky Mountains that fuels snowboarding dreams.

Wispy and light, it settles in the bowls and between the trees and creates endless acres of riding pleasure. Float through this powder and leave fatigue behind. Here, it's lap after lap of fresh lines and long trails of billowing white smoke under blue skies.

Altitude and geography are responsible for the good weather and quality snow in the Alberta Rockies. The snow that falls in these high, cold regions is dry and fluffy. Though it's best known as champagne powder, locals also refer to it as "blower" because it seems to weigh less than air. On the slopes the powder's lightness makes it easy to ride. It swirls around your boots and makes big fans with every turn.

"In the Rockies we've got the best snow," says Brian Rode, vice-president of marketing and sales for Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park. "On the coast, the snow turns wet really quickly. Here it's dry and light and when it's groomed out it feels great underfoot."

The snow's dryness makes it resistant to ice, so it stays soft despite weeks of grooming.

The snow is also consistent enough to ensure one of the longest snowboarding seasons in North America. For more than 15 years the average season has been nearly seven months long.

Six Resorts for Snow Variations

Alberta's Rockies encompass six resorts. To the north there's Marmot Basin in Jasper. Further south, there's Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Ski Banff@Norquay in Banff National Park. Outside the parks, but still in the spectacular Rockies, are Nakiska in Kananaskis Country and Castle Mountain in the southeast corner of the province.

Each resort is within an easy drive of Calgary or Edmonton, the international gateway cities to Alberta's legendary powder snow and jaw-dropping scenery.

Their location in the Rockies means all the resorts face towering snow-capped peaks unfolding endlessly to the horizon with awe-inspiring terrain at every turn.

From the gargantuan hits in the Lake Louise terrain park to the perilous steeps and cliffs of Sunshine's Delirium Dive, from the soul of Castle Mountain to the wide-open spaces at Marmot Basin and grooming perfection of Ski Banff@Norquay there's something to put every rider on top of the world. And that's exactly where you'll be at any of these mountains, whether riding the gentle groomers with family or shredding the backcountry with buddies.

"You're one step closer to God in the Rockies," says Rode. "There's none of these over-priced Disneyland mega-resorts. We always get comments about how beautiful our scenery is. There's no billboards and you still see wild animals roaming around."

National Park policy forbids any further construction at the ski hills, which means after a day of riding, snowboarders can head into nearby towns and cut loose with a much bigger choice of entertainment.

Nightlife is Vibrant and Varied

"We undersell our nightlife and apr??s ski," says Ladd Snowsell, general manager of Ski Banff, Lake Louise, Sunshine. "There's a lot of fun to be had in the after hours for the younger generation. The nightlife is vibrant and varied."

In Banff alone there are dozens of bars and nightclubs and scores of restaurants to suit every taste. Live bands play weekly and the Banff Centre is world renowned for its performing arts and live music. Hockey fans can watch NHL games in Calgary, just over an hour east on the Trans-Canada Highway.

In addition to incredible inbounds terrain that includes everything from bunny slopes to mandatory airs and 50-degree landings, Alberta's resorts also distinguish themselves with an open-boundary policy. Bring the appropriate equipment and the mountains are yours to explore and shred.

"A lot of resorts have tremendous vertical and great policies about opening terrain," says Marc Peruzzi, editor-in-chief of U.S.-based Skiing Magazine. "There's no problem in Canada with opening some of the steeper stuff and letting people have at 'er."

Marmot Basin, Nakiska and Castle Mountain are known for their midweek solitude. Ride the chair alone or with a friend and enjoy the mountain to yourself.

"You can fire off a canon from Monday to Friday and not hit anyone," says Rode, adding that the lack of crowds entices novices and intermediate snowboarders to ride peak chairs for the view. "We get a lot of clear skies and no foggy days with low clouds. You can get up those high chairs and get that sense of adventure and sense of accomplishment." Castle Mountain also has an underground following because of its laid-back, rootsy atmosphere. And it's got a reputation for soul.

Skip the Glitz for Raw Adventure

About a three-hour drive south of Calgary, Castle skips the glitz and the glamour and cuts straight to raw adventure. It's got incredible terrain accessed by two existing chairs and a third new chair to be added for the 06/07 season. The new chair will access mostly beginner and intermediate terrain, but will also open some serious backcountry including perilously steep chutes that descend 800 metres (2,500 feet) at a 45-degree pitch. "Above where the new chair is going we've marked it backcountry and backcountry extreme," says Andrew Rusynyk, director of marketing and snowsports for the mountain. "So you're on your own, but the chair makes it 45 minutes closer."

While all six areas have terrain parks with features varying in difficulty, the Lake Louise ski area has transformed theirs into a work of art. The flagship of the area's three parks is not for the faint of heart. Huge air meets huge talent right under the chairlift and in front of hundreds of wide eyed guests at the resort's base area day lodge.

"We hired Jeff Patterson, one of the best park builders in the world," says Matt Mosteller, director of business development for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. "What's unique about our parks are our backdrops. When you ride with family or friends you can get incredible pictures."

But Lake Louise doesn't just cater to the snowboarding stars. They've also transformed Marmot run into an intermediate and beginner terrain park that offers all the thrills without the severe consequences.

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Travel Alberta (http://www.travelalberta.com) is the destination marketing organization for the Province of Alberta. Guided by the Strategic Tourism Marketing Council, Travel Alberta is the steward for the effective delivery of tourism marketing programs. For information about our organization, please visit our Travel Alberta industry web site at http://industry.travelalberta.com