Derek from CANADA writes:
Living in Calgary, I've skiied Norquay for 25 years, and it's an interesting area, and very different from Louise or Sunshine. It's a 5 minute drive from Banff (or grab the free shuttle bus). It's tiny compared to the other two. The Day Lodge at Norquay is beautiful. And it's carved itself quite a nice and effective little pair of niche markets.
First, it sells tickes by the hour. Here it serves the "ski for a couple of hours in the morning while my partner shops" crowd. Second, it's a family place with an extensive race program. The layout of the hill keeps the learners and the racers away from everyone else.
Most folks ski the Mystic Chair, which has lots of vertical and a whole bunch of groomed blue and black cruisers. They groom every blue and green every day, and get less snow than Louise or Sunshine (made up for with lots of snowmaking), so this is not a place for powderhounds. Last weekend (Jan 7) was the midst of a big powder dump in the area, and Norquay got virtually none.
The grooming is without question the best in the area. Still, the tops of runs , high traffic areas and steep pitches can get icy late in the day, a problem shared by parts of Louise.
And then there's The North American. No snowmaking or grooming here. Big vert, big steeps, a slow double chair, and moguls the size of Volkswagens. This is the original double black area in all of Western Canada. I skiied it a few times more than a decade ago, but don't see that it has changed (good things never do). Less than 10% or Norquay skiiers go up here. More should.
So long as you keep your expectations under control, you can have a lot a fun at Norquay for a day or two. I did 10,000+ vertical meters in 27 runs last weekend, on a typically unbusy weekend, just doing a lot of high speed cruising. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.
2007-01-12 |
