20/21 ski/snowboard thread

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I'll say this, for people going to Louise tomorrow, you're still fine to get parking if you're there by 8:30 or so. I don't think I'd want to get there much after 9, though.

Even with VIP pass? I like to roll in on hollywood hours sometimes.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

So much for worrying about parking. There's no one here.

[Flames0910]

Was at Louise yesterday (wow what a day) and thought I’d share a couple thoughts

- reservations aren’t being enforced yet but by the sounds of it they will next week. Launching mid-season on the biggest powder day was a bit of a hiccup I can see why it was necessary.
- covid protocols are MUCH better than earlier in the season. Felt safe even on a busy powder day.
- the outdoor bbq setup at temple lodge looked good (though we did not check it out)
- west bowl is HUGE. Didn’t realize this but 400+ acres is basically Norquay x2. So many lines back there it’s almost Revy / Kicking Horse like. Hopefully they will still pluck a few trees as the western ridge ends in one hell of a bushwhack. Seems it will open late / close early so the snow should hold and give another gate drop to hang around for in the afternoon.
- summit chair is a bit odd. Kind of miss the old platter, esp in the morning before the backside opens as you have no choice but to go back down to top of the world now. It’s placement does make for quicker whitehorn laps and easy access from Paradise though.
- again, kudos to the Louise team on their covid protocols and the staff they’ve added to enforce them, it’s much appreciated.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Was at Louise yesterday (wow what a day) and thought I’d share a couple thoughts

- reservations aren’t being enforced yet but by the sounds of it they will next week. Launching mid-season on the biggest powder day was a bit of a hiccup I can see why it was necessary.
- covid protocols are MUCH better than earlier in the season. Felt safe even on a busy powder day.
- the outdoor bbq setup at temple lodge looked good (though we did not check it out)
- west bowl is HUGE. Didn’t realize this but 400+ acres is basically Norquay x2. So many lines back there it’s almost Revy / Kicking Horse like. Hopefully they will still pluck a few trees as the western ridge ends in one hell of a bushwhack. Seems it will open late / close early so the snow should hold and give another gate drop to hang around for in the afternoon.
- summit chair is a bit odd. Kind of miss the old platter, esp in the morning before the backside opens as you have no choice but to go back down to top of the world now. It’s placement does make for quicker whitehorn laps and easy access from Paradise though.
- again, kudos to the Louise team on their covid protocols and the staff they’ve added to enforce them, it’s much appreciated.

I don't know louise well, but to get to the west bowl do you go left at the top of the summit chair? When I there we just kept going right as the snow in the Gully's was pretty sick. Also it was super windy on the front. So we didn't explore to the left.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I don't know louise well, but to get to the west bowl do you go left at the top of the summit chair? When I there we just kept going right as the snow in the Gully's was pretty sick. Also it was super windy on the front. So we didn't explore to the left.

Yup, the entrance is just past Outer Limits (the old fenceline).

[Fuzz]

Did they get rid of the platter entirely? That's my favourite lift! I figured they'd keep both.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Did they get rid of the platter entirely? That's my favourite lift! I figured they'd keep both.

Yup, she’s gone. :-(

[kevman]

Rode West bowl this morning. I've been in there before while touring but I have to admit the day after leftovers were suprisingly good. Two thumbs up that you still get to hit the park every lap. When the collector fills in a bit more there's going to be a bunch of good side hits too. Good lap.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by kevman

Rode West bowl this morning. I've been in there before while touring but I have to admit the day after leftovers were suprisingly good. Two thumbs up that you still get to hit the park every lap. When the collector fills in a bit more there's going to be a bunch of good side hits too. Good lap.

It was actually riding really well before this storm too. Lots of wind blown snow in there. The trek in maybe not so much...

[Flames0910]

Haha the access is so brutal. I wonder if there is anyway they can improve it for future seasons? It was so bad yesterday it makes some of the access trails at kicking horse look good by comparison!

It was only open for about 2 hrs yesterday (1:30 - 3pm closure) so I’m sure there was lots of good day old stuff! I know many will moan about losing side country terrain but I think overall it’s a positive. Adds an interesting dynamic on powder days at least, will have to wait and see what it’s like when there’s been no snow in a week...

[Tacopuck]

After skiing Louise my entire 30+ year life, I entered west bowl for the first time over the weekend and it blew me away. Its huge, a patroller told me it now represents 30% of the total skiable area of the resort. The fact you have to take 3 chairs to get to the entrance and have to ski to the base seems annoying however definitely limits people lapping the area and using all the fresh snow which allows you to get good untouched turns in later on in the day, so I'm all for it.

Little disappointed the platter was replaced with the chair as I always liked that the platter filtered out those who couldn't handle the terrain with the horribly painful lift up, but the new chair is so wind exposed it might keep people away for that reason alone. That said with this much new area you have to have a chair so I cant really complain.

[Flames0910]

Hmm, "30% of total skiable area" is exactly the kind of number I was looking for but based on the googling I did this morning I'm not sure the patroller's math adds up.

West Bowl is 480 skiable acres.
Lake Louise is 4200 skiable acres.

I did the math earlier to compare with some of the smaller mountains and came up with 2.5x Norquay (190 acres), 0.8x Cypress (600 acres) or 0.5x Nakiska (1021 acres) lol.

[Tacopuck]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Hmm, "30% of total skiable area" is exactly the kind of number I was looking for but based on the googling I did this morning I'm not sure the patroller's math adds up.

West Bowl is 480 skiable acres.
Lake Louise is 4200 skiable acres.

I did the math earlier to compare with some of the smaller mountains and came up with 2.5x Norquay (190 acres), 0.8x Cypress (600 acres) or 0.5x Nakiska (1021 acres) lol.

Fair, I never followed up confirming the number. Still its large.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

So today definitely demonstrated the flaw with the "show up late" plan Sliver was proposing... this morning was glorious. Whether it was West Bowl or Whitehorn 1 laps in the sun, just a fantastic morning without much in the way of crowds (though I avoided the base and stuck mostly to Paradise and Summit).

At 1230 boomerang opened, followed by the lower entrance to Brownshirt. I dropped first into the latter. It was skied out after 3 laps, but that was great.

Then about 1pm, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up. The sun came back around 215 but the wind stuck around.

If you came late, you done goofed.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Yup, she’s gone. :-(

Well that's balls. So much for head wall/outer limits laps.

West bowl at 10% sounds about right. I've skied it loads over the years, hopefully it can keep enough powder around.

[Fuzz]

Was just out at Confed for some XC skiing. I have never seen it so busy. Crazy. We need more in city grooming!

[wwkayaker]

I was at the Shaganappi GC this afternoon and the parking lot was nearly full. Once on the trails, it seemed empty. It was a beautiful day out there.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Immediately after making that last post I headed to my car in the Louise parking lot, and there was Sliver himself. Small world.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Immediately after making that last post I headed to my car in the Louise parking lot, and there was Sliver himself. Small world.

Haha, good to see you. And when I yelled out CHL it really was a shot in the dark. Saw the nice Audi and thought it could be you.

[Sliver]

That drive home was sloooooow.