Snow sweeps down, settling on our ski jackets as we make the ascent to the top
of Lookout Mountain (2,730m). Wind whips off the peak, freezing my cheeks
and mouth, the only parts exposed in the minus 10C (14F) temperatures.
We are way up in the clouds. The car park at this resort, Sunshine Village
(not much sunshine around today) in the Eastern Rockies in Alberta in
Canada, is well above the highest peak at Whistler, the popular and better
known resort a few hundred miles west in British Columbia.
Yet here we are in March — I visited last weekend — and there is snow, lots
and lots of snow... absolutely perfect conditions.
Is Alberta, I wonder, just about the best place in the world for late-season
skiing?
It appears so. “Poor old Europe,” says Neil, a 16-year-old local wearing a
multicoloured ski suit on my lift. “Europe hasn’t got a chance against this.”
It’s hard not to agree. In fact, other parts of Canada are struggling to
compete.
I spent a week in Whistler recently at the same time of year — and was deeply
disappointed by poor snow. Yes, conditions have been much better lately, but
it is clear that the resort’s lower altitude makes it “risky”.
Back in Europe, I went to Verbier, Switzerland, in January, where the
conditions were OK but far from brilliant: slushy in places.
Here at Sunshine Village, though, it’s a whole new (snow) ball game.
In fact, Sunshine, as it is generally known, is so confident about its snow
that it has no artificial snowmakers. Hence the resort’s mottos: “Canada’s
best snow” and “100 per cent natural snow”.
There’s an awful lot of the white stuff — about a two-metre base at the top,
to be precise. Almost six metres has fallen this season, which is expected
to run to mid-May. Indeed, the snow is usually excellent all-season long;
pistes often open in mid-November.
We ski Lookout Mountain, then Goat’s Eye Mountain. The snow is crunchy and
soft, perfect for working on your turns, no horrible icy patches or lumps of
slush.
One of the reasons for the great conditions, as Bob, a 60-year-old banker from
Calgary, explains on another chair-lift, is that Sunshine has “dry” snow.
While Whistler gets the “wet” snow from heavy clouds that have just crossed
the ocean, Sunshine has fluffy powdery snow as it is much further inland.
Hence the incredibly smooth, crunchy quality of the pistes — the snow almost
squeaks when you turn.
Over Alaskan salmon burgers at the Eagle’s Nest restaurant at Sunshine Inn, an
80-room hotel on the mountain, Nicole Martinez, Sunshine’s “on mountain
representative”, tells me about the intriguing local topography. Sunshine is
at the point where two plates of the Earth meet. At the top of Mount
Standish, one of three mountains that can be skied, there is a stone plinth
marking the “Continental divide”.
“Water flows down on one side to the Atlantic and on the other to the
Pacific,” says Nicole. “Well... eventually.”
After lunch we go to this point, which is also the boundary between Alberta
and British Columbia. There’s a strange feeling of being bang in the middle
of Canada here.
Most British visitors stay at hotels in Banff, a small town that’s a 15-minute
drive away, as there is only the single on-slope hotel at Sunshine itself.
Banff is also used as a base for Norquay, very close by, and Lake Louise,
where many of the 1988 Winter Olympics events were held.
We have our own mini Olympics at a tiny race-course with red and blue gates
that you traverse — free for anyone to use and no queues. Electronic times
come up. It’s brilliant fun.
This may be called Sunshine Village, but there doesn’t seem to be much
evidence of global warming here — even this late in the season.
For good snow in March, April and even May, my tip is: try a bit of Sunshine.
Need to know
Getting there: Ski Solutions (020-7471 7700, www.ski
solutions.com) has a ten-day trip staying at Brewsters Mountain Lodge, a
15-minute drive, from £904pp on April 11 or 18 from Heathrow. Ski the
American Dream (0870 3507547, www.ski
dream.com) has a week at the Sunshine Inn leaving Heathrow on March 21
from £1,295pp, transfers included. Frontier Ski (020-8776 8709, www.frontier-travel.co.uk)
offers a week at the Sunshine Inn from £1,011pp from Heathrow till mid-May.
Flight-only: BA (0870 8509850, www.ba.com)
has flights from Heathrow to Calgary from £592. Zoom (0870 2400055, www.fly
zoom.com) flies from Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester to Calgary from
£339.
Where to stay: Three Sisters Mountain Village (020-8605 9550, www.newfound
property.com) has two-bedroom apartments 25 minutes from Sunshine
Village, from £440 a week.
Getting around: Hertz (0870 8448844, www.hertz.co.uk)
has a week’s all-inclusive car hire from £141.
Snow reports: Ski Club of Great Britain (www.skiclub.
co.uk).
Further information: Sunshine Village (www.skibanff.com),
Travel Alberta (www.travelalberta.com).
