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Need pointers.

3K views 33 replies 5 participants last post by  blunted_nose 
#1 ·
buying a season pass to sunshine, its 600 bucks till 30th so yay or nay?
I could get one for nakiska or lake louise, but louise is far and i heard nothing but bad about nakiska. Im aiming to slay them pow days and when theres no snow speed down the slopes so park doesnt matter. Which one gets the most snow and sorry but i cant afford the pass to all there, I wish. So far i love sunshine and i hated louise when i went but it was a shitty day so... what are your expiriences?
 
#2 ·
Well I think I can answer a few questions. I know some locals who have timed how long it takes to get to Lake Louise and be riding v Sunshine Village. It's exactly the same time as Sunshine has a major long gondola ride. I used to be a fan of Lake Louise. What I do like about Sunshine is that the drive home isn't as long. I am a Sunshine convert. It definately has the fluffies and most consistent snowpack. The runs are shorter but I am spending alot of time trying to become better by riding switch and landing natural jumps so length of run isn't that big of an issue. Lake Louise is great for speed on groomers and the runs are much longer. It certainly gets icier. I made the decision to buy a Sunshine pass for myself this year. First time ever. I plan on a minimum of 20 days. So it is well worth it. I also bought my daughter a pass. If we want to go for a half day....no big deal....and then end the day in Banff relaxing. The amenities of Banff outweigh Lake Louise IMHO. I have never felt tired driving home from Banff but have almost fallen asleep behind the wheel coming home from Lake Louise. The one thing you may want to do is buy a Lake Louise plus card which gives you 1 free day at Louise plus daily discounts at Louise and Castle Mountain. I will be riding Castle Mountain anytime it dumps regardless of the fact that I have seasons pass for Sunshine. I'm 40 and a decent snowboarder. If you would like to ride this winter..just send me a PM. I plan on meeting up with Poutenen from this board. He has a pass for Louise and may be able to shed some light on why he purchased same v Sunshine. All the best!
 
#3 ·
Yeah, im 18 :p, BUT fear not, im not a jackass. I take snowboarding as a relaxation and i enjoy the nature. Ill be down, and since i have every monday off ill be there every monday till january, then idk. ill be driving a rwd crow vic with winter tires, so i wouldnt count on me as a ride unless its urgent. Im totally down for meeting and im probably going to get sunshine pass aswel. Anyone else having better expirience with louise regarding pow? or just a better feel to the mtn?
 
#7 ·
Not really 45. From the sunshine road turn in on transcanada to lake louise parking lot is about 35min extra. Add in the gong show that is sunshine parking lot at times, and the gondola I'd say it's pretty even....
 
#9 ·
Alright, how about castle Mtn? How far would it be from Okotoks, google maps tells me abut 3hrs but the website of castle says 2.5hrs from Calgary and Okotoks is closer. Honestly SSV is about 2hrs from Okotoks but im not really into groomed runs and stashes so if i can get to castle in about 2hrs from Okotoks ill be down for getting a ass there. I dont care about the lifts as long as theres no lines and all pow for me :p
 
#10 ·
I live in Cranston (south calgary) and castle is a few km closer to my house than LL so im sure its pretty close to you.

I really like ssv but they need to move the park to a run surrounded by trees on goats eye. SSV has better snow and a longer season with cell reception on the whole hill. LL has a way better park but i don't think that matters to you.

The only down side to ssv for you is that so much is above the tree line so if the light sucks you are stuck in a few areas, where LL has much more terrain bellow treeline.
 
#11 ·
Hey how do you find castle? I really want to get a season pass there, but i never actually rode there. Im looking for a laid back resort with less traffic and more snow, but they seem to open so late... I'm probably just get it for SSV, or should i? I need to know before tomorrow. Is there anything bad about Castle? slow chairs and late season but how is the snow pack and does it get dumped?
 
#12 ·
Castle Mountain is 2.5 hours south of McKenzie town where I live if the roads are in good shape. The season starts late and ends early. If you had lots of Fridays and Mondays off, I think it would be a fantastic place to get a season pass - but they certainly are not cheap. The powder is epic. It does not get any better. Trust me. The lifts are old lifts from Sunshine Village and they can be slow. So weekends are jammed. No real amenities down there. Middle of nowhere. So unless you got bucks, you wont' be staying overnight. You could get a dive for 80 a night in Pincher Creek which is about 30 minutes away. If you were a regular at Castle, everybody would know your name. Its a small resort and only packed on weekends from Lethbridge villagers. What else do you want to know?
 
#17 ·
Well i am from okotoks. I get Mondays off, and i can possibly skip school once or twice a month is the pow is arriving. what am concerned about is the stuff they have when its not snowing there? what am i going to be riding on a shitty day? sunshine is nice on non pow days and i don't care about parks. if i go on a random non pow monday, will it still be fun or what?
 
#13 ·
Castle Mountain has waist deep powder at least once or twice per month. You will need a snorkel. All other times it is similar to Lake Louise with fairly long groomers. From what I understand, one of the runs in the South Chutes has the longest vertical in North America. It simply kicks ass.
 
#16 ·
They are pretty expensive given the short season. They open late due to a different climatic environment similar to that of Fernie, B.C. This wet environment gives way to huge POW days but only when its real cold.....mid December, January, February, March. Sunshine is same price and you get 7 months. Get a Sunshine pass. When it dumps I will pm you and you can come with me and my bud TangledLines to Castle Mountain.:D
 
#18 ·
If your the kind of fella that would trade 1 waist to chest high powder day for every 5 normal days on Sunshine, you will want to get the Castle pass. Its like something out of a movie. I actually have been a little scared riding the south chutes given the unbelievable volume of fresh powder. I wonder how it can be classified as in bounds. Castle is wild, rugged and when your sitting on your ass in nipple deep snow its kind of freaky. Your always thinking...what if? There is that much snow. I have never had any days like that at Sunshine or Louise EVER.
 
#20 ·
Oh, any day. i would trade my season pass for a day of sick pow. but since i WILL be making it on pow days even if my cat dies but i also want to make use of it so ill be there on shitty days as-well. and what do i do till December 14? that's such a long ass time from now.
 
#21 ·
Its basically CAT skiing for the price of a lift ticket when it dumps. I cannot imagine any place in North America that could possibly have better powder days....but you gotta time em! I will sometimes leave on a Friday if I think the Pow is coming on a Saturday. Just stay in Pincher Creek overnight knowing your only half an hour away from glory.
 
#25 ·
i that case I'll be buying a sunshine pass, if there's a huge storm im going down to castle. im guessing I'll probably go twice this year, and only in huge storms so i get best of both worlds. long season on a nice resort and also those deep days. in winter if you think its gonna be wild, come and pick me up :p i rly wanna RIDEEE pow :)
ill pay for gas money aswel. just shoot a pm night before or you can meet here(okotoks) and ill drive?
 
#32 ·
For sure. My bud and I were downtown today at all the shops checking out the new gear for this year. He bought a pass for Sunshine too. Its usually the two of us so it shouldn't be an issue. Like I said, we pass right through Okotoks on the way to Highway 22. I will be sure to PM you when we are heading down.:thumbsup:
 
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