Brent Kearney

It was a spectacular opening this season — both Sunshine and Lake Louise had great conditions. I have to say though, Lake Louise had way more snow, and there was easily twice as much terrain open. The Summit lift was open, and there were several excellent lines down from the top, with my favorite being Outer Limits. Outer Limits is to the far skier’s right at the Summit top, on the front side, right next to the area boundary fence. The snow was knee-deep and powdery, and from there you can ski all 991m of vertical.

The head ski patroller remarked that it was the best conditions for opening day that he’s ever seen. I’m not sure how long he’s been there, but I would guess more than a decade (some patrollers have been there 20+ years). It was a full-on powder day, on the first day of the season. I think its going to be a great winter!

Sunshine opened the day before, on November 10th. The conditions there were pretty good too, in the morning at least. It was super-crowded, as it often is on opening day at Sunshine. The Angel & Continental Devide chair lifts were not running, leaving only the lower elevation areas open to the public. So there were line-ups at the Standish and Wawa lifts for most of the day, and by about 11am, there were no fresh tracks to be had anywhere.

It has been snowing on and off since Saturday, and I see that Sunshine is reporting 26cm of new snow. It has been snowing in Banff most of the day today, too, so tomorrow should be excellent. I’m crossing my fingers in hopes that the Angel chair is open. If its not, I might make the journey back to Lake Louise tomorrow! :)

While I was skiing a steep mogul run in some thigh-deep powder at Sunshine on Friday, I thought of a new type of post that I could add to my blog: Ski Tips. I always enjoy reading the ski tips in Ski Canada Magazine, so maybe there are blog readers out there who will appreciate some tips from an avid powder hound. I’ll start a new category, Ski Tips.