BANFF Sunshine Village, November 19 & 26, 2020 – Our first ski outings – After the storm, here comes the sun!

Between two spectacular outings one week apart, a range of emotions that come with a move and these times (Alberta passing from yellow zone to red).  I (Mirjana), will start with a personal share before us (Christian and I) relate our adventures and the ski conditions out here West:

Looking back at those two outings, what strikes me the most in retrospect, is what a great solace, joy, awe inspiring sights lie before us and at times needed challenge to find ourselves on these mountains.  They also remind us of how mighty they appear and are, how time ran its course through them eons before we found ourselves gracing their slopes.  Their timeless beauty striking us with the classic inner knowing that life will go on with or without us and what an immense blessing it is to face the challenges that come our way even if at times they seem overwhelming and finally remind us of what is truly important and relevant to us. In the blink of an eye, these very same mountains can wipe us out.  Christian and I will relate to you a story from this summer when we visited the Athabaska Glacier in a later separate post. One of those stories, that is a striking aha moment in one’s life.

This is what those two outings in the end reminded us of. It also reminded us that we needed to look out for one another while listening to our own inner guidance and instinct as visibility was close to none. Yet, what tremendous fun! Here we were an hour from our new abodes in snowless Calgary and into winter wonderland. And what a playground it is! Even newbies despite the times made this the year they would take on a new challenge or follow a new budding passion. Nothing saner for the morale and physique to be active outdoors in pure clean brisk air. The variety of slopes and the conditions always seem like a fresh terrain!

People were mindful and kind. Life does not seem on standstill when moving outdoors. On a personal note, I, Mirjana, had expected the announcement of a possible pan-Canadian lockdown to be one of further, deeper isolation, away from the proximity of my daughter and friends in Montreal and Ontario…. A lot of deep soul searching needless to say, only to discover that I was truly, exactly where I needed to be while being mindful. If the mountains don’t come to you, go to the mountains they say!  Here we are, hoping to be a welcoming place as well for our friends and family in the near future and share special bonding moments in these breathtaking surroundings. A spectacular scenography for that which counts. Hoping that the new year will bring them to us. In the meantime, trailblazing! Happy skiing and outdoors to all.

After this little personal note by Mirjana, here is part 2 of adventure out West:

November 19, 2020:

When we left Calgary, the sun was out and there wasn’t a trace of snow on the ground.  By the time we got to Canmore, it was quite a different perspective as the roads were covered with snow.  A snowstorm was in the making in the Rockies. After parking at Sunshine Village’s parking lot, we excitedly ran to change, respectfully masks in place, into our ski gear before taking the gondola up to the base of the ski resort. We were thrilled to see so much snow and so little skiers were all over the mountain.  The poor visibility made it challenging at times to ski at high altitude.  We oftentimes skied slopes that had not been skied all day!  Pure, untapped dry western powder!  Naturally, since we did not know about the snowstorm, we showed up with skis that would be better suited on the hard pack in Quebec and… the wrong goggles suited for sunny days.  Note to selves : Next time, we will look at the local forecast before leaving.

We skied the rest of the afternoon without experiencing any bumps or over-tracked trails.  It was a pure delight.

We drove back home (to Calgary) on cloud 9, realizing how lucky we had been to experience such a powder day (and this was just our first ski day of the season!) and experiencing our first time skiing together. The dream of it slipped into the reality of it.

November 26, 2020:

For our second ski day, we knew ahead of time, that the weather forecast would be dry with a mix of sun and clouds.  We got to the resort around noon.  The place was not crowded at all again to our disbelief but then again we are a week day. The weekends remain to be seen. There were no waiting lines at the chairlifts, which was very surprising even for a Thursday.  Who wouldn’t want to be here on such a beautiful day especially with mindful sanitary norms!

We proceeded to ski from every chairlift for the rest of the afternoon (to the exception of Goat’s eye that is still not open).  The skiing conditions were composed of light snow from the previous night over freshly groomed trails. We stopped for lunch at the open Centennial Lodge, after leaving our bags to security outside (even though the 5 year olds in us did not want to stop skiing). Social distancing in place, masks permitted to be worn off once seated at a distance from others.

During the afternoon, we were blessed with an additional 5cm of fresh new snow.  Things just kept getting better and better!

We reluctantly completed our ski day by skiing Banff Trail all the way down to the parking lot. A long groomed trail (approx. 6km) that keeps on going. A great end to a spectacular day we would say. Only regret? Not arriving earlier.

Ski touring at Sunshine Village:

While enjoying on our first gondola ride (from the parking lot to the base of Sunshine Village), we were fortunate enough to see someone ski touring up the mountain.  Banff Avenue is 6km hike with 500m vertical.  This is just the beginning of your touring day.  From the base of the ski resort, so many opportunities are just a skin track away.  Touring in the near future will offer us a completely different experience on the same mountains.

New ski touring equipment for Mirjana:

Since Mirjana will be at her first experience in ski touring, we went to 2 local ski shops to get her the perfect ski equipment suited to her needs for the exciting new surroundings.  We bought Armada Trace 98 skis (the equivalent of my Tracer 98), mounted with Dynafit ST Rotation touring bindings, G3 Via Carbon adjustable poles, and custom fitted Dynafit Hoji PX W boots.

As soon as we receive the Gecko climbing skins, we will start our ski touring days and new adventures with the hopes of that after taking Avalanche safety courses, getting beacon probe and shovel, she will be graduating to backcountry skiing soon enough.  A big thank you to Lou’s Performance Centre and their staff for their very customized, personalized care and service, and Fresh Skis for the amazing skis and clothes.  We will use this equipment wisely and with pleasure!

Upcoming event:

On December 24, Mirjana and I are planning to take part in the Sunshine Village Christmas Torch Light Parade.  We are looking forward to sharing that in a special way with you!