Banff has been on Judy’s list of target destinations that she really wants to visit. Not only was it supposed to be beautiful, but with such dry snow, the skiing and boarding should be really good. We decided to check it out this season. Our group consisted of Patty, Dave, Bob, Trish, Ken, Amy, Brian, Judy, and myself.

Because of the 09/11 events, airport security was high. On our last trip to Powder Mountain, Patty was stopped because she had a small pair of tweezers in her first aid kit which she had stuck in her backpack. Too bad we didn’t tell Trish about that incident because she unknowingly had a pair of small scissors, a set of small tweezers, AND a small pocketknife in her backpack. She of course was stopped and searched. The security person sorted through her belongings specifically looking for a pocket knife (which he no doubt saw on the scanner), asking Trish several times if she had a small knife. Each time, Trish emphatically denied having one. Of course in the end, the scissors were found, leaving Trish a bit red-faced.

We needed to fly in to Calgary, but unfortunately, there were no direct flights available. Our layover was in Seattle. Of course, because of the incident at the San Diego airport, Trish was put on airport security alert so she was once again searched from head to toe. Our layover was for 2-1/2 hours so we found stupid things to do to pass the time in the Seattle airport like having jumping contests and races up the down escalators. Soon, however, we were back on the plane and on our way to Calgary.

In its marketing propaganda, Banff boasts that its snow has a mere 7% water density. Upon arrival in Calgary, we quickly appreciated why Banff has such dry snow. It’s because it’s F$%*ING cold! After getting our bags, most people exchanged some money, and then headed to the rental car area. We had rented a huge 15 person van. The problem with this van was that we couldn’t find the electrical outlet. Us San Diegans never have to deal with this, but in areas where it gets really cold, you actually have to plug your car in at night to keep things from freezing up. We spent over an hour looking for the damn plug alongside the Budget car rental people to no avail. Finally, some guy came out and found the plug, which had been frozen in place behind the front grille and hidden from view.

Dave was anointed driving responsibilities. After the whole outlet-finding incident, it was pretty late so we hit one of the supermarkets in Calgary to get some breakfast and lunch food. We didn’t really have dinner so we decided to get something fast and stopped at an A&W. The highlight here was the Putine, a Canadian delicacy (not really) consisting of french fries covered with gravy. It was not really that great.

From Calgary, we had a 2 hour drive to Banff. It wasn’t snowing really hard, but the roads were covered pretty good. When we finally got to the condo, Dave and I went in to look for the front office. We went inside the building and zigzagged around, making turns here, making turns there, and then finally finding the office. We then realized that we had pretty much parked right next to the door of the front office and had walked a much longer, roundabout way to get there. Oh well, it was, uh, late, yeah, it was late.

The condos were nice and were right on top of each other. The downstairs condo had a bigger kitchen but was smaller overall. Amy, Brian, Trish, and Ken took this condo. Bob, Patty, Dave, Judy, and myself took the upper condo.

We woke up moderately late the next morning, got ready, and moved out. It was so cold that the insides of your nostrils froze up immediately. We took a big van to the bus stop, and then transferred to a bus that took us to Sunshine Village. As we neared Sunshine Village, we were informed that the main tram was down and would not be fixed for about an hour. We (everyone on the bus) were given the option to wait it out at Sunshine or else the bus could drive the half hour or so to Lake Louise. Everyone voted to wait it out at Sunshine.

Brian and I decided not to wait and set out to hoof it up. You get warm hiking uphill, but if you stop, things quickly freeze up. My face would be sweating and when I stopped, even for a short while, I’d get bits of ice on my face and forehead. My Camelback, despite having the insulation for winter sports, was completely frozen and therefore useless. We were about 3/4 of the way there when the gondola started running again. Brian and I decided to snowboard down. What we both noticed right away is how sticky the snow was. This was because it was so cold. A ski or snowboard melts a thin layer of snow at its contact surface. This thin layer is what makes you slide. If it’s cold enough, this layer of water is difficult to create and so the snow becomes “sticky”. We both did the same run later in the day, after things had warmed up a bit, and the difference was definitely noticeable.

Sunshine as a resort was just OK. It was mainly just a big, wide, groomed ski area. There was hardly any fresh powder to be found despite having snowed a ton just before we got there. Of course, it could have been that we just didn’t know where to look.

That night, we had dinner at Bumper’s. If you’re in Banff, you supposedly have got to go to Bumper’s. The food was pretty good. They’re known for their prime rib, so that’s what a lot of people got. Most people also got a salad bar, which was very fresh and had good variety. Dinner was good, especially with the insane snowboarding that was being played on multiple TVs.

After dinner, we took a stroll down the main stretch of Banff where there were many shops. Some of us were hoping to find a good deal (especially with the Canadian dollar conversion rate) on some new ski or snowboard gear. Unfortunately, the prices were comparable to the U.S. Walking down the street wasn’t much fun because it was so cold, so we quickly decided to head back to the condo.

The next morning, I woke up not feeling too good, but I decided to try going snowboarding anyway. Everyone got ready. We decided to drive to Lake Louise so everyone piled into the van. About 5 minutes down the road, Bob realized that he forgot his lift ticket, so we U-turned back to get it and later mused about Groundhog Day as we repeated the short drive that we had just did moments ago.

At Lake Louise, we all decided to go all the way to the top. I was rapidly deteriorating and didn’t know how long I’d last. We took the main lift up, then a short run to another lift, which was a T-bar. I was thinking about heading back to the lodge, but Judy convinced me to go up the T-bar. I agreed, but soon wish I hadn’t. This was the longest damn T-bar in the world! Normally, it wouldn’t be that bad, but since I was feeling so crappy, it wasn’t very pleasant.

The view at the top of the T-bar lift was spectacular. I really needed to head back down so I split off from the group. I had no strength and had to make frequent stops. It was a long way down, and in my condition, it took much, much longer than it typically would have. I stopped for a while to sit in the sun and watch the people going through the snowboard park. There were a lot of really good skiers and snowboarders so it was fun to watch.

The rest of the group went down the back side. From the top of the T-bar lift, they hiked up a bit to get to a better entry point. They said that the snow on the back side was really good, comparable to Lightning Ridge at Powder Mountain. However, the winds were whipping pretty good making it extremely cold so although the snow was great, it was not the most enjoyable experience for most. While the others were cruising down powder, I was trying to catch a bus back to the condo. Unfortunately, the buses did not begin to leave until 2 PM. So I went into the lodge, ate my sandwich, drank some water, and tried to snooze. 2 o’clock came none to soon and I was on the first bus back to the condo.

That night, Dave cooked his signature pasta. Everyone enjoyed it. I’m sure it was delicious, but I had virtually no appetite and had to force myself to eat even a little bit. That night, I felt like shit (hey, that’s what I felt like). I had a high fever, throbbing head, and just felt completely weak all over. I still don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it was just a serious case of the flu.

The next day, the group (sans me) did a half day at Sunshine and then went to visit the Banff castle. That night, they all went out for some good Japanese food.

We had to get up really early the next day to load up, drive to the airport, and catch our flight. I was pretty miserable, but glad that I was on my way home. We had another 2-1/2 hour layover in Seattle. Bob, Patty, Dave, Amy, and Trish decided to take advantage of the opportunity and visit the Seattle REI (where REI is based). Bob almost bought a snowboard, but couldn’t quite bring himself to make the plunge.

The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful. We got back to San Diego safe and sound and I for one was extremely glad to get back to my own bed.

Check out the pictures from Banff, again courtesy of Multimedia Bob’s digital camera.

Posted by Roger at 4:39 pm.