Skiing 2018-19

[Fuzz]

Currently Sunshine's lease says Parks Canada will buy out the ski hill's infrastructure if the company's lease is not renewed, Scurfield said.

See, this seems fair, and makes more sense. I guess Parks just wants an easy out if they decide they don't want a ski hill anymore.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

See, this seems fair, and makes more sense. I guess Parks just wants an easy out if they decide they don't want a ski hill anymore.

Well I am assuming that means if Sunshine doesn't want to run a skihill anymore instead of reclaiming the land Parks will let another ownership group have a go at it. Unless thats what you are saying and I am just misunderstanding you.

[Fuzz]

It gives parks an easy way to reclaim the land if they choose so. It would be harder to do if they had to pay market value for the infrastructure at the end of the lease.

[Treycal]

Here's a fairly balanced look at the whole Sunshine Village/Parks Canada saga.

https://www.rmoutlook.com/article/pa...shine-20190123

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Treycal

Here's a fairly balanced look at the whole Sunshine Village/Parks Canada saga.

https://www.rmoutlook.com/article/pa...shine-20190123

Yep, this one is way more balanced than the Herald propaganda.

-Parks wants 60 hectares of fragile terrain, will give Sunshine 80
-Sunshine gets more commercial space
-Can allow more visitors
-Can build a permanent goats eye lodge
-Can build up to 8 more chairlifts

Scurfield is so hard done by.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The central issue between them appears to be parking. The scope of the resort is changing and the max guest figures are going up by about 30%, but there's no provision for where all those thousands of additional visitors will park. I'm just wondering if they can get approval to build a parkade on the existing lot - make it multi-level, but take up no more footprint. Yeah, it'll cost the resort money, but that's the best compromise I can think of if they're not getting more area to park.

[Fuzz]

Parks has been telling them to do just that for years, but they don't want to spend the money.


They were forced into the bus situation, which they should have been doing for years. Brewster is running it now, but next year they are going to run it themselves. I'm not sure the numbers of Calgary vs Banff visitors that bring their own car, but for tourists the bus is a no-brainer. Pick up and drop off at your hotel, dropped off at the lift(as opposed to the end of the lot) you can have some drinks after, etc. It's possible increasing buses would resolve their parknig issues, but I'm not really sure.

[holden]

$50 million for a 500 lot parking structure seems like a tremendously high price for that- I get it would be cheaper to cutdown and spread gravel.

There are so many vehicles that bring to 2-3 people to ski hills, it would be so much better in the long run to provide a more extensive busing alternative. The ones running now are alright but definitely could be expanded in hours of operation and pick up points.

I think more people just have to try and get used to taking the bus to places like Sunshine and Louise, and they'll find they're a great way up to the mountain.

[DownhillGoat]

Anybody here into snowmobile accessed touring? Looking for some info.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by DownhillGoat

Anybody here into snowmobile accessed touring? Looking for some info.

All the time. What are you after?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by holden

There are so many vehicles that bring to 2-3 people to ski hills, it would be so much better in the long run to provide a more extensive busing alternative. The ones running now are alright but definitely could be expanded in hours of operation and pick up points.

I totally agree, but I also just know that a large portion of the customer base just wants to drive their own car up the hill and park as close to the lifts as possible, not switch vehicles with armfuls of ski gear. I really don't think there's any viable bus-based alternative that could overcome that preference.

Is there backup for the $50 million figure? I would have thought it would be less than half that, but am prepared to stand corrected.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I totally agree, but I also just know that a large portion of the customer base just wants to drive their own car up the hill and park as close to the lifts as possible, not switch vehicles with armfuls of ski gear. I really don't think there's any viable bus-based alternative that could overcome that preference.

Is there backup for the $50 million figure? I would have thought it would be less than half that, but am prepared to stand corrected.

Pretty much this. If I am doing a day trip to Sunshine, the last thing I am going to do as add another hour or 2 to my day by taking a bus... That would likely be more expensive anyway (if from Calgary). Same if we are commuting from my parents place in Canmore. You still don't want to waste the extra time on a bus even if it is free.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

It sort of depends on the bus, I guess. I'm sure there are ways to do it where you'd have great ridership - different buses with different levels of financial commitment; maybe you could buy a bus pass with your season's pass and the bus you get actually has nice seats and you can sleep on the way. I'd potentially sign on for that. But even if you do that, the people using that service are not going to make up much of your overall customer base.

I really can't see any way to get that up so that, say, a third of your ridership got there on a bus, which is what you'd basically need for it to be a viable alternative to the additional parking that's needed.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

All the time. What are you after?

Throwing around the idea of buying a sled to access more ski touring areas. Mostly looking for some guide books. I have tons of ski guidebooks, and can find sled guidebooks, but nothing really for both.

Picked up the Radium Ski and Snowboarding Guide, and the Mountain Sledder guidebook. Wondering what else is out there. Also curious as to what guys are running for setups, as last time I rode a sled was in the 90s on the prairies.

[Northendzone]

the wife and i booked a little ski getaway in later feb. skiing for two day at Lake louise and staying at the rimrock. would have rather stayed in lake louise but she said she was having trouble finding accomodations there witht eh exception of the chateau and the deer what inn which are both a little out of our budget

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by DownhillGoat

Throwing around the idea of buying a sled to access more ski touring areas. Mostly looking for some guide books. I have tons of ski guidebooks, and can find sled guidebooks, but nothing really for both.

Picked up the Radium Ski and Snowboarding Guide, and the Mountain Sledder guidebook. Wondering what else is out there. Also curious as to what guys are running for setups, as last time I rode a sled was in the 90s on the prairies.

I don't know if there is much in the way of literature, so it's kind of trial and error. We have been doing it for 10-15 years now, and the equipment has changed a lot from the first time we tried it.

Here is what you need to get going:

- Take an avi course
- get a decent sled. I suggest at min 800CC. I stick with Bombardier, but that's personal preference. Upgraded rear shock is a bonus if you're going to tandem.
- learn to ride your sled first. It's a process. Be prepared to dig. A lot.
- learn to tandem ride. Again, be prepared to get stuck all the time
- now buy a ski rack. The 2 best ones are Cheetah Factory racing and Knightrider. A lot of others are junk, and will break. Even the CFR racks have issues, and they're the gold standard.
- find a good zone to do it in

Finding good areas can be a bit of an issue, especially if you're trying to avoid crowds. Yeah it's the backcountry, but it can be crowded in zones that have groomers because it's so easy to access. We stick to unknown areas and have our own runs but it's a ton of work putting in roads.

If you are looking for good zones to do this I would suggest Golden (Quartz Creek and Gorman are both groomed, and easily accessible). There's not much close to Calgary worth going to other than Castle or Fernie. Fernie has groomed runs but Golden has the elevation and better terrain.

If you have other questions let me know, I can probably point you in the right direction

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Here is what you need to get going:

Thanks for the info. Not sure if I'll pull the trigger but that gives me some stuff to look at for sure.

Have AST 1 and 2, so at least the avy stuff is somewhat covered.

[cam_wmh]

Next two weeks, I’ve got Kiroro, Niseko, Moiwa, & Asahikawa on the docket.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Next two weeks, I’ve got Kiroro, Niseko, Moiwa, & Asahikawa on the docket.

If you’re in Furano stop at Furano Tomi River noodle shop. Furano is now specifically included in my future visits just because of it.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by DownhillGoat

If you’re in Furano stop at Furano Tomi River noodle shop. Furano is now specifically included in my future visits just because of it.

I will be in Furano, and will giver a try if we can. First time North/East of Sapporo, this time around.