Banff Sunshine

Sunshine Village
File:Sunshine Village-logo.png
Sunshine Village ski resort Sunshine Village ski resort
Location	Alberta, Canada
Nearest major city	Banff, Alberta
Top elevation	Template:M to ft
Base elevation	Template:M to ft
Skiable area	13.6 km2 (3,360.6 acres)
Trails	107 (20% beginner, 55% intermediate, 25% expert)
Lift system	1 gondola 9 chairlifts
Snowfall	up to Template:M to ft
Website	SkiBanff

Logo of Sunshine Village ski resort

Logo of Sunshine Village ski resort

Sunshine Village is a major ski resort in Banff National Park, Alberta. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, a World Heritage Site. Sunshine Village ski area spans the continental divide and the Alberta-British Columbia border. Parts of the ski area are in British Columbia, however access is solely from the base area in Alberta. It is twenty minutes away from the town of Banff, and one hour and thirty minutes away from the city of Calgary, Alberta. The base of the Sunshine Village ski runs and lifts are accessed via its eight person high speed gondola, which takes guests from the car park (or bus terminal) to Goat's Eye mountain in seven minutes and to the upper Village area in just thirteen minutes.

History

One of the first Europeans to see the Sunshine Area was Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company who traveled through the area in 1841 on his way to the Pacific. Some twenty years later the Palliser Expedition came though the area, exploring valleys and naming peaks. By 1883 the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the vicinity of Banff. Railway workers discovered the famous Cave and Basin Hot Springs; which the National Park was soon thereafter created to protect. William Cornelius Van Horne the railroad's president is said to have declared upon seeing the beauty: "Since I can't export the scenery; I'll import the tourists". To achieve that end he built the magnificent Banff Springs Hotel.

The Canadian Pacific Railway also built the first log cabin at Sunshine meadows in 1928. At first it was used primarily as a summer stopover for horseback trail riders on their way to Mt Assiniboine. Soon the remarkable snow, scenery and terrain attracted the attention winter sports enthusiasts. In the winter of 1934, the cabin was leased by the Brewster family, who hosted their first paying guests that February. Brothers Jim and Pat Brewster bought the lodge from the CPR for $300 in 1936. They hired ski guides and expanded the facility which still remains to the present day as Mad Trapper's Western Saloon. In 1939 Bruno Engler, was hired as the first Swiss guide and Ski instructor at Sunshine. Early skiers hiked and climbed nearby peaks with skins. The first ski lift, a rope tow, was built in 1941 on the slopes of Strawberry hill.

In 1960 the nearby Trans-Canada Highway was completed, providing better access to the resort. That year, George Encil who had purchased the resort in 1952 and added Village to Sunshine's name, sold to the Cliff White family. Over the next decade they expanded the facilities; building the Day Lodge and Sunshine Inn, and installing high speed T-bar's on Strawberry and Wa-Wa and a chairlift on Mt Standish. They build the original Angel double chairlift in 1969 and opened the high alpine Great Divide chairlift in 1970. To finance construction White sold control to Power Corporation resorts division. Cliff stayed on to manage the resorts growth, even when corporate restructuring saw ownership transferred to Warnock Hersey and later TIW Industries.

White's crowning achievement was the construction of the Von-Roll high speed six passenger gondola-lift access over the last 5 km (from the Bourgeau parking lot to the Village). Prior to the opening of the gondola in the 1979-80 ski season, the ski terrain and lifts at Sunshine Village area were accessed by buses from the resorts parking lot further down, at the base of Borgeau mountain in the Heally Creek valley. The gondola was installed because the upper access road used by the buses was dangerously steep and narrow. The old bus road is no longer open during the winter months and has become the resorts ski-out, allowing skiers and snowboarders a fun way to return to their parked cars.

Local ownership returned in 1981, when Sunshine was bought by the Ralph Scurfield family of Calgary. Improvements continued with the opening of Wheeler Ridge double chairlift in 1984; named for A.O. Wheeler who helped establish the Alpine Club of Canada. The lift system capacity was further improved in 1988 with the replacement of the Angel double chairlift with Banff's first high-speed quad chairlift, built by Poma. Goat's Eye Mountain high-speed quad chairlift and trails were opened in 1995, followed in 1998 by the Delirium Dive extreme zone and a terrain park on Lookout (Brewster)Mountain. The original gondola was replaced in 2001 with a brand new Poma high speed 8 person version.

In the 2000's, High speed quad ski lifts replaced T-Bars and other old lift systems, and amenities were improved with renovated restaurants and lodging. Today, Sunshine Village has nine chairlifts; seven are quad chairlifts, including 5 detachable high speed quads. Famous for abundant natural snow; the continued re-investment in facilities and services has made Sunshine Alberta's most popular ski and snowboard resort.

Amenities

Sunshine Village has 3,358 acres (13.6 km²) of skiable terrain, with its top elevation at 8,954 feet (2730m), its base elevation at 5,440 feet (1660m), and its total vertical 3,514 feet (1070m). There are 107 named runs spreading out over three mountains (Goat Eye's Mountain, Lookout Mountain and Mount Standish) and the two provinces, (Alberta and British Columbia) with one gondola, nine chairs (5 high-speed quad chairs, 2 fixed grip quad chairs, 1 triple chair, 1 double chair) and two magic carpets to lift the skiers.

The average annual snow fall is up to thirty-three feet (approx nine meters). The ski season begins early November, and traditionally ends in late May, on the Victoria Day long weekend; making it one of the longest ski seasons in North America. Sunshine Village has hosted many world class alpine ski amd snowboard events.

The Sunshine Inn, an 84 room boutique hotel is located at tree line, in the centre of a vast snow bowl, at Template:Ft to m above sea level. The Sunshine Inn is Banff National Park's only ski-in ski-out hotel. It is in the centre of the Village, accessed by the resorts high speed 8 person gondola, which takes 12-13 minutes to travel one-way. Road access to the Sunshine Inn is not possible during winter months, but over snow vehicles provide after hour access for late arriving guests.

Currently, guests can drive and park at the parking lot at the base of the gondola or take a bus from Banff for a cost of about $15. This bus service is free for guests who purchase a three day "Tri-area lift ticket". This ticket allows you to ski at the three nearby resorts (Banff@Norquay, Lake Louise Mountain Resort and of course, Sunshine Village), thus integrating 250 runs and 7,700 acres of skiable area.

Terrains

Mount Assiniboine seen from Sunshine Village

Sunshine Village offers terrain for all levels of skiers and boarders. It offers a mix of gentle tree lined beginner slopes, wide open above tree-line intermediate "cruisers", and "gnarly" expert terrain. Visitors to the resort will often access adjacent backcountry terrain such as 'Delirium Dive', 'Wawa Ridge', 'Wild West', 'Silver City', or Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. Avalanche rescue equipment is recommended for most backcountry areas and is in fact a requirement for access to Delirium Dive and Wild West. Access to both is controlled by an Avalanche Control Gate which remains locked at all times unless it detects a working avalanche transceiver on each person that passes through it.

Lift system

• New Gondola (high speed, 8 person)
• Goat's Eye Express Quad
• Wolverine (Wheeler Ridge) Express Quad
• Jackrabbit Quad Chair
• Teepee Town Double Chair
• Angel Express Quad
• Continental (Great) Divide Express Quad
• Strawberry Triple Chair
• Standish Express Quad
• Wawa Quad Chair
• 2 Ski School Magic Carpet Tows

External links

• SkiBanff