Snowsure: 4.4
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Sunshine Village is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
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
January 03, 2009
charlie
charlie
Most of the poor reviews for Sunshine (Sunshine Village) seem to center on the numerous 'flat spots' on the hill. There is no denying this, but all you need to do is attach yourself to a knowledgeable local for a day, and you will learn everything you need to navigate the hill.
Once you know Sunshine, it is the best hill in Alberta by far, with loads of hugely technical chute and terrain skiing, gorgeous powder bowls, and a real lack of Armani-clad Eurotrash poseurs (yeah, I'm looking at you, Louise and whistler).
Sunshine gets tons of dry fluffy snow, and on runs like Tipi-town, Standish, and the bowls of Wa-Wa, ten centimeters becomes 2ft of fresh every time.
The lack of exposed wind surfaces, and the lack of snow-making equipment means there is almost no icing, even in spring conditions. Grooming is minimal, there is enough corduroy for the greenies to be able to learn, but otherwise the staff spend their time maintaining snow-fences, farming the copious snow, and marking hazards. I have seldom been on a mountain with more varied terrain, and best of all, almost every run has a green path, a blue path, and a black one, so skiers of varying ability can ski together all day and never be bored.
The mountain is in the park, which means, thankfully, that it has been spared the Disneyesque marketing fairy-tale ski village treatment. There is an on-hill hotel, with the best hot tub I have ever been in, but otherwise this is your fathers ski-hill: cafeteria trays, friendly bartender in trappers pub, and a good thing too. Who needs lodge lizards and posing bunnies? Aren't we here to ski?
Patrol is by some of the friendliest and most knowledgeable skiers I've ever seen...and on slow days it's easy to ski a few runs and get a real feel for the mountain with them. In addition, sunshine has an excellent snow-host program, free, which pairs you up with a guide for a few hours. It's a good way to learn the basics of the mountain an avoid the flat spots everyone has been talking about...
I sound like a cheerleader here, so let me give you the flaws as well. Parking here is really bad. You want to be at the hill by 8am, or you will be walking a long way to the base gondola. On days when you don't show up until 11, they have valet parking. It costs 20$, but it's worth it. You avoid a walk that could be 2km, or an hour wait for a shuttle bus.
Another big minus for Sunshine is Goats Eye mountain. The skiing there is fantastic, if it has snow (which it has less than half the time.) It's frigidly cold, windswept, and usually rocky (but after a good dump, it's the best in-bounds skiing in the Rockies, bar none (caveat: I have not yet skied Revelstoke) But it's a big teasing pile of rocks, and drives me insane.
The final thing I dislike about Sunshine is the prices, not that they are more expensive than anywhere else really; just that skiing in general is overpriced.
December 29, 2008
RACR
RACR
Sunshine (Sunshine Village) is ok; closer than lake Louise and not as one-dimensional as Norqay or Nakiska. My main beef with Sunshine is the fact that it is laid out poorly. Most of the blue and black runs are short and some of them even have flat sections in them which makes parts of them look like greens. The reason is that the terrain is mainly rolling - many bowls too - makes you have to stop and take a look before skiing into terrain you can't see from the top of the run.
Sunshine also does by far the worst job I have ever seen of grooming its runs - on or after snow days most runs are just heaps of carved up and shoved together snow mounds - terrible. A resort consists of lifts AND runs and they may want to pay some attention to that at Sunshine.
On the positive, Sunshine does have a long season, gets lots of good snow and has something for everyone, even if it is geared towards the green/blue crowd.
December 26, 2008
Alberta Skier
Alberta Skier
Compared to most other ski hills in the Canadian Rockies, Sunshine (Sunshine Village) has rather unique terrain. The main problem with the place as a whole is that it's almost impossible to find a long, sustained fall-line. The terrain is so sprawling and laid out, with short little pitches of steep terrain, so on one run you can usually only catch one, maybe two short pitches, and the rest is mellow cruising, traversing, even skating or walking. Those short steep pitches that are there however, are quite excellent. Small cliffs, stashes of powder and some steep turns, even if you'll only link a few at a time. Delerium Dive is awesome. Sick, steep, big-mountain-style terrain, and a long fall-line descent. It is the only terrain in the Rockies that really comes close to the expert terrain in places like Whistler. But anyone comparing Sunshine to Whistler is crazy; it's two different leagues. Sunshine doesn't have NEARLY as much expert terrain as Whistler.
Delerium is very often closed completely. You need avi gear to get to it. Runs & chutes are poorly marked so it's very hard to find your way around and it takes you forever to lap back there on three chairlifts and a bootpack.
The snow that so many people rave about is indeed quite consistent and good if you compare it to other Banff/Bow Valley hills like Louise. But compared to British Columbia (Fernie, Nelson, Revelstoke, etc.), or the coast, (Whistler, Baker, etc.) it doesn't come close. Alberta is just too cold and dry to get the fat powder that BC gets.
Much of the mountain is in the open alpine, and there is very limited gladed tree skiing at Sunshine. White-outs at Sunshine are infamous.
Still, Sunshine (Sunshine Village) is a "full-size" Canadian ski hill, with some sick terrain to be found, and consistent snowfall. On a blue day, the scenery is stunning. I've had dozens of great, great days skiing there. :)
December 20, 2008
KR
KR
Sunshine Village is by far the best ski resort in Alberta. Sure, Louise may have better terrain, and a few more steeps but it does not matter when you are skiing on ice. I've had some of my best ski days at Louise, but it has always been on powder days. Sunshine always has good snow on the hard runs. Many people say sunshine has no steeps, well they have plenty if you know where to look. The far side chutes off Goats Eye Express has some of the best fall line skiing in bounds anywhere. Not to mention Delirium Dive that has the most gnarly inbounds terrain anywhere.
Sunshine Village has the most consistent snow anywhere in the rockies except maybe Whistler. One of the downfalls at Sunshine Village is the flats, but these can be easily avoided if you know where to go. Some of the best jumps are of the top of Wawa, where you can take the back-country exit and hit some huge jumps landing in pow or just skiing it. Goats Eye is by far the best part of the hill.
December 14, 2008
John Wilcox
John Wilcox
For my money, you simply can't beat the snow at Sunshine Village; right from late November through to May. Show where else you can get consistent natural snow like that? Sure, Fernie has its powder days, and Revelstoke is awesome in its prime. But nobody is seven months gnarly like Sunshine Village.
December 13, 2008
skiguy
skiguy
I think it takes some knowledge in where to go at Sunshine Village. Whistler is awesome for sure, easy to know the runs, even to get to the easy hikes and pretty obvious. Delerium is much more intimidating, and requires equipment. I haven't even learned the other hikes myself yet, hoping to figure it out.
I agree with the flats that are pretty brutal at Sunshine Village, but I think they can be avoided if you figure it out.
Overrated? Probably, just because it's been a legacy hill, doesn't take away from a decent hill though. Decent snow, though I remember many icy days. Whistler gets more snow probably, but usually heavy and wet. Sunshine's been pretty good so far this year, cold right now. Just trade-offs all around I guess.
Banff is a great town. Sure, lots of visitors, but still has local hill feeling. Opposed to Whistler where's it feels purely Intrawest. People in Banff are among the friendliest for sure, and don't discriminate against families and beginners. They just enjoy the lifestyle and enjoy sharing it.
If you're a beginner/intermediate/family, good spot at Sunshine Village. If you're advanced/expert, I think you need some local/guide advice/partners, then you're fine. Looking for better powder, go cat/heli somewhere I guess.
December 09, 2008
Fallline
Fallline
December 05, 2008
Local skier
Local skier
Sunshine Village has perhaps the best PR plan but it is overrated and too expensive for what you get: way too much fooling around to even get to the slopes, way too much ski out at bottom of what are short runs (I don't know why snowboarders are content to drag their boards across the ever present flats when they could slide to the lifts at other resorts - maybe its because Sunshine Village has the "best" snow), not to mention the lack of support for family skiing (don't honour snowpass system like almost all other resorts in AB and BC.)
December 01, 2008
Bob
Bob
November 29, 2008
Dinglenuts
Dinglenuts
Sunshine Village is awesome if you are looking to go riding in the spring! Also anybody who is challenging the environmental impacts of Sunshine Village should really read all about the fact that they are the most environmentally friendly ski area in North America and by their own initiative and not federal legislation. Regardless, don't expect anything too gnarly unless you are looking at rocket pocket and also expect not to see much sunshine!
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