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Champagne Powder: Try Alberta's Tasty SnowCopyright © 2006-2008 Travel Alberta, All Rights ReservedWritten by: Travel Alberta With every billowing turn, Alberta's Rocky Mountains prove to skiers why the snow here is the stuff of legends. Though it's best known as champagne powder, the locals also refer to it as "blower" because the lightest puff of breath will spread a handful like so much dust. On the slopes the powder's lightness makes it easy to ski. It swirls around your boots and makes big fans with every turn. Geographically, Alberta's Rockies are higher and on average considerably colder than the mountains closer to the Pacific coast. The snow that falls in these high, cold regions is dry and fluffy. "You're one step closer to God in the Rockies," says Brian Rode, vice-president of marketing and sales for Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park. In addition to Marmot Basin, the Alberta Rockies are home to Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Ski Banff@Norquay in Banff National Park. Outside the parks, but still in the spectacular Rocky Mountains, are Nakiska in Kananaskis Country and Castle Mountain in the southeast corner of the province. Each is within easy driving distance of the international gateway cities of Calgary and Edmonton. Unlike provinces and states with high concentrations of resorts in close proximity, Alberta's Rocky Mountain ski areas have all the room to exhibit markedly different personalities. "It's the terrain that's the big draw for me," says Marc Peruzzi, editor-in-chief of U.S.-based Skiing Magazine. "I like the small, local character that you get there and the snow is drier and lighter than you get on the coast." "A lot of resorts have tremendous vertical and great policies about opening steeper terrain," adds Peruzzi. "They have no problem in Canada with opening some of the steeper stuff and letting people have at 'er." Alberta Snow Resists Ice Because it's so cold and dry, the snow resists turning to ice when it's groomed. The result is great corduroy that glides underfoot and stays soft for weeks. Riding groomed corduroy is wide-open pleasure on the spacious slopes that characterize Alberta's Rocky Mountain ski hills. That space also means short lift lines and fresh tracks late into the day. "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 skiers 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." But while the highest chairs on the mountain offer easy ways down for all to enjoy, they also access some of the best and heaviest inbounds terrain in North America. From Eagles East and the Knob Chair at Marmot, to the backside of Lake Louise and the famously steep Delirium Dive and Wild West at Sunshine Village, there's something for everyone. Castle Mountain in southern Alberta, long known for having the longest chutes of any mountain around, has stepped up its offerings for all abilities. The resort is in the finishing stages of building a new chairlift to neighboring Mount Haig. By the 2006/07 season, that chairlift will access a host of new beginner and intermediate runs, as well as bringing backcountry skiers much closer to the perilously steep chutes that descend 800 metres (2,500 feet) down the east face of Haig. "Above where the chair is going we've marked it backcountry and backcountry extreme," says Andrew Rusynyk, director of marketing and snowsports for Castle Mountain. "So you're on your own, but the chair makes it 45 minutes closer." Go from Ski Boots to Dancing Shoes Whether it's the 45-degree chutes at Castle or the award-winning corduroy of Ski Banff@Norquay, these Rocky Mountain resorts offer some of the greatest variety of nightlife and après ski this side of the Laurentian Mountains. "We undersell our nightlife and après 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. The nightlife is varied and vibrant." With the exception of Sunshine Village and its newly renovated, on-mountain hotel, National Park policy forbids construction of on-hill accommodation. Instead, guests return to nearby Jasper, Lake Louise or Banff to change into their dancing shoes. "The real uniqueness of the area is that guests can choose from a variety of three big, well-known ski areas while enjoying a selection of five-star amenities in the middle of the wilderness," says Snowsell. "What our customers tell us is that there's lots to do in addition to the skiing. Here the town has life well beyond skiing, like sightseeing, icewalks, dog sledding, heli-hiking, heli-skiing. There's also the Banff Centre with its performing arts and music as well as NHL hockey games in Calgary. There's so much to do here compared with most ski towns." Up in Jasper, Rode says that most visitors, especially Europeans, appreciate not having to stay in accommodation on the hill. "They come down from the hill and into a real town where they can eat and drink with the locals, the railway crews and the people in town," he says. "It also has a homey feeling, as opposed to a mega-resort." Unrestricted by national park policy, Nakiska is near several hotels and a host of amenities in Kananaskis Village. Built for the 1988 winter Olympics, Nakiska is also near Calgary. Guests can drive from the computer-designed runs that stay true to the fall line to the amenities and attractions of a growing city of one million residents in less than one hour. Castle Mountain, also operating outside the national parks, is a three-hour drive south from Calgary. It's Alberta's only mountain that offers privately owned, on-hill accommodation. Four new condominiums will be completed in time for the 06/07 season, says Rusynyk, and more are planned for the near future. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Travel Alberta can be reached at: travelalberta@raremethod.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: travelalberta@raremethod.com
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