Sunshine Village Resort Reviews
Visitor reviews for Sunshine Village Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
March 27, 2015
Vicki from
Australia
Vicki from
Australia
Feb - March 2015.
My husband and I have just returned to Australia after 4 weeks skiing SSV. We have been coming every year for a month for the last 8 years. Obviously, we would not keep coming back if we didn't enjoy the skiing here. Love the open spaces it offers and lack of crowds and less snowboarders than other resorts. Sadly, the owners of this resort seem very indifferent to many issues here. The restaurant and food quality leaves something to be desired. I don't think they know the meaning of groomed runs. If people are skiing on the piste they expect a little more grooming than SSV has been giving. Many safety issues we have come across. Please listen owners or people will stop coming. Over the past 8 years we have seen the tourist numbers dwindle as many have been thinking the same as us. The place need to tidy up its act or it will loose us too. Major PR problems.
January 25, 2015
discusser from
Canada
discusser from
Canada
I've skied Sunshine a bunch of times; always going back hoping that the snow reports and yearly snow stats are true. I'm not sure how this happened but it seems like every ski website I come across lists Sunshine as averaging 360" (10m) of snow a year. Everyone knows ski resorts lie about their snow stats but even the resort, itself, lists its yearly snowfall as "up to 10m". From what I dig up from all sources, the actual average seems to fall somewhere in the 5m range.
Oh, and in searching for data about the resort it seems like Sunshine has suffered some serious reputation and PR problems in the past. It's a really interesting read. Search for yourself if you like a soap opera.
March 25, 2014
Corey Hollins from
Canada
Corey Hollins from
Canada
First off, I need to clear the air here. I can guarantee that 95% of the city schmucks that have given reviews of SSV have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, and take it from me, as I have skied 45 days so far this season @ SSV. This place just never gets old; there are limitless options and different types of terrain to ride. Standish has more than enough side hits and hips, jibs and small cliffs and chutes to keep you busy for a couple days; only takes about 3 minutes to go up the chair, so hot laps!.. Wawa has the same type of terrain as Standish, but with some trees, and a long varied sized cornice cliff to huck (on good days) Wawa also gives access to the Backdoor/backcountry area over in the meadows to the right of Wawa. Enough said there; it's amazing and has limitless line options and usually good snow long after storms (keep in mind this is a backcountry area and you should know for sure where you are going before you go or ask to follow a local!) Angel and Divide are amazing especially on those Sunshiny days! You can get up to 80 kmh and just cruise across the "Flat Spots" no problem if your not a goon. There is enough room on Angel and Divide to make up a small ski area and yes, you can ride all of it! Just watch for rocks in the bowl lookers (?ed) right on Divide! TeePee Town is great, just look at it and you will see why. It gives access to some huge cliffs and has some great steep moguls and also accesses The Shoulder to Goat's Eye, a great other way around than the flats into JackRabbit. Goat's Eye, man what more can be said? 9000 ft in elev the highest of anywhere around and gives access to some seriously rowdy terrain! South Side chutes are amazing, especially if you grind your way up the bootpack to the top of them! Tons of tree skiing options on Goats Eye as well, and will definitely burn your legs! The Lower lifts: Wolverine and Jackrabbit speak for themselves; they are short and sheltered runs that basically act as an access back to the gondola. I have no bad words for Sunshine, this place is amazing! If you think the food sucks then maybe you should reconsider why you got into skiing or boarding in the first place?! Go to Lake Louise, please, please! That leaves more great snow for the rest of us that love SSV!
November 29, 2013
John from Canmore from
Canada
John from Canmore from
Canada
There is a reason why Sunshine Village is legendary: 7 months a year of skiing in the alpine. If you like long carving runs, on piste, below tree line this is not the resort for your season pass. You could still come mid winter if Goats Eye Mountain is open. Otherwise, let those of us who like to play on natural terrain features in the alpine play here.
A few important things about Sunshine:
1) if the snow is good at Lake Louise, the snow is great at Sunshine. This is why I rarely go to Louise anymore. Yes, Louise is also a great resort, but Sunshine almost always has better snow. Sunshine is high up and has very few south-facing slopes that melt out on the warm days, and it collects the snow as it blows up and over from BC.
2) there are flat sections. It's on the great divide, but all the facilities and the base of every lift is in Alberta. If you ski into BC dozens of times per day, you're going to have to traverse (or walk) out dozens of times per day. The signs steer you towards the traverses. If you duck those ropes and are willing to walk just a few minutes from the bottom of the run to get back to Alberta, you can find some great powder runs even 5 days after the dump.
3) Delirium Dive is absolutely amazing, but you need avalanche gear and you should have some training about how to use your beacon, probe and shovel before you go in. And it's steep and double-black at the top. If you are an expert (black) skier or boarder but don't do double-blacks and don't have (or know how to use) avy gear, you might be disappointed at Sunshine, because there are a lot of blue and green runs in the rest of the resort. (You are allowed to go look at Delirium Dive without avy gear, just don't take your skis/board up the boot-pack if you don't have the gear.)
4) Bring your skins and touring gear, especially if the avalanche conditions are good. The resort is straddles the boundary of Banff National park and a BC provincial park, there are endless opportunities out there.
5) Think of the terrain off Standish Chair as a big natural terrain park, use the features and have fun. It doesn't have a lot of vertical but it's a fast chair and rarely has long lift lines, so just keep lapping it.
6) Get there early. On a good day, get there even earlier. The parking lot is too small and there's no room to make it bigger.
7) On a busy day, eat lunch early, or late, or eat in the hotel restaurant instead of the main day lodge. The day lodge is too small (a new day lodge is apparently coming in 2014/2015.)
November 15, 2013
matt from
Canada
matt from
Canada
I live in Calgary and have been skiing Sunshine, Nakiska, Lake Louise, Fernie, Whitefish, and Kicking Horse for the last 10 years basically. Besides Kicking Horse, Sunshine is my favourite. While the food sucks, and is super expensive, the hill is great. I love how you can take long lifts (Goats Eyes, Continental and Angle) but also take many short lifts like Standish and Wawa. This gives you more options of how you want to utilize your time on the hill. Also, they usually get some of most snow in the area in comparison to Lake Louise, Nakiska, and Norquay. Also, there are lots of easily accessible great runs with many awesome natural features like cliffs and shoots. Lots of easy hiking to find powder when it hasn't snowed. Staff are always friendly too. And for the icing on top, it's only an hour and a half from Calgary on a bad day. But, if I could recommend anywhere in the world on a powder day, go to Kicking Horse: the best hill in North America. Used to be a heli skiing destination and recently has been turned into a ski hill. Some of the craziest in bound skiing in the world.
November 15, 2013
Rich from
Canada
Rich from
Canada
I saw a review at the top of the page and couldn't believe the guy was at the same Sunshine Village where I ride. Sunshine has terrific, predictable snow I've ridden there every month from November through May. I have a green runner, 3 blue runners and 1 black runner in the family. All of us have a great time.
We think Sunshine is beautiful, though we wouldn't disagree that there are other resorts that are just as beautiful or more so. We come for the snow!
Regarding flat spots, yup there are some. There are flat spots everywhere I've ever ridden and that includes, Winter Park, Whistler, Breckenridge, Lake Louise, Nakiska and Sunshine. Ya have to get to know the place, just like every other resort on the planet.
Food is good, not great, perfectly acceptable for a day on the hill. If you want high end cuisine, make the drive into Banff. There are several high end restaurants that will satisfy the foodies in your family. (I have not eaten in the Resort - and can't speak to the quality of the food there.)
We go to Sunshine because it is a slightly more than an hour from Calgary and we find the conditions consistently better than Lake Louise - which we also love.
If you're seeking picturesque with unpredictable conditions - then go to Lake Louise - awesome hill after a big dump. Be prepared to stand in line if you are riding the front side of the mountain. (We stay on the backside.)
If you want short lines and long open runs.....Sunshine wins for us.
Here's wishing all of you an amazing season filled with lots of powder and beautiful days.
November 15, 2013
Mike from
Canada
Mike from
Canada
April 11, 2013
Zach from
Canada
Zach from
Canada
Definitely not my favourite hill. I'm not here to complain about management and such, but the hill isn't great either. Many flat spots and all of the good runs take forever to hike out of. Although the snow can be pretty good at times, there aren't any good runs that have enough vertical to enjoy it. You'll get to the top of a chair, ski along some flat, go down 20 m of actual vertical, ski flat to the chair and do it again. I would not recommend this mountain to anyone. Although the turn off is before Lake Louise, you still have to go up the access road to a usually packed parking lot where you still have to go up a 5-10 min gondola ride. By then you could already be Louise. Waste of money.
March 24, 2013
Charlie from
Canada
Charlie from
Canada
This hill has the worst, and some of the most expensive food and beverage service on earth. The people who complain about the food here are spot on, and the best possible thing you can buy once in the village is probably a power bar. Bring your own lunch.
The visibility is often poor here, there are flat spots on the hill that mean you must spend at least a day learning where you can and cannot slow down, or you will spend a lot of time walking.
The management and ownership of the hill seem to spend what little investment they have in pointless infrastructure. They prettified the hotel a couple of years ago without actually recruiting (and treating well enough to retain) any competent staff. The patrol do not seem able to consistently open much of the mountain, yet ten years ago closures were rare.
Given all that, you might wonder why anyone goes here. The answer is simple. The very best snow, and the longest season in the entire world. You can ski here for seven months of the year, and find deep powder days in five or six of those months. The terrain is varied, with drops, cliffs, chutes, challenging trees and gorgeous powder bowls. People in the know fly here from France, Germany and Switzerland. You might wonder why people who can hop a bus to the Alps are flying here and putting up with crap service? Because it's one of the finest places to ski on earth.
Don't get me wrong. The current owners should have their lease revoked by the parks, and the hill awarded to someone who might actually treat it with the respect it deserves. Pack a lunch, because you would rather eat prison food in Somalia than choke down a burger in their pub (how the hell do you even cook ground beef without any browning at all?) for god's sake do whatever it takes, up to pitching an RV camp in the parking lot to avoid the on hill debacle of a hotel.
And ski your guts out. All the mismanagement and incompetence displayed on a daily basis by the management of this hill cannot destroy one of the finest playgrounds ever sculpted by nature.
March 21, 2013
Skithedivide from
Canada
Skithedivide from
Canada