Norquay, AB: 03/29/07

[jamesdeluxe]

For my final day in Alberta (and what may be my final turns of the season), I scooted over to Norquay... they offer lift tickets by the hour, so I bought a two-hour ticket for $30 CDN, but ended up skiing for almost four hours (no one was checking). :lol:

I was conflicted about going there as many people from Calgary said that it wasn't worth the effort. However, I'd taken note of Patrick's defense of Norquay as a worthy day trip. Plus, my legs were getting sore from the four previous days of all-day skiing so it was a no-brainer.

Norquay is the Snow King of Banff in more ways than one... just a few minutes from town, almost the exact same vertical (1,300 feet), very steep in spots, similar snow totals/conditions, zero tourists, family-oriented, etc.

It was my only spring skiing day of the season. Unfortunately, temps had gotten cold overnight so things never softened up enough except toward the very bottom. This made my one trip down the "North American" double chair -- which is all legitimate blacks and double-blacks with huge bumps -- a challenge. Too bad that things weren't softer as I would've loved to spend more time over there.

On the far looker's right is an older HSQ, so you can rack up a lot of vertical quickly. Norquay is definitely pitched toward local families, but as was the case at LL, a few of the blues had pretty steep sections. Also off that chair, what looked from below like a natural half-pipe (Bruno's Gully) was filled with avy debris from the previous week. Never heard of a blue trail that's prone to slides, but what do I know.

It'd be great to ski Norquay after a fresh dump, as there is definitely some fun terrain there. A completely different kettle of fish than LL or SSV, but a fun detour.

 

[Patrick]

they offer lift tickets by the hour, so I bought a two-hour ticket for $30 CDN, but ended up skiing for almost four hours (no one was checking). :lol:

I would send them the money, they really need it. :?

Too lazy to go through the photo posting process again... here they are on Zoneski:

I was able to conviced Lucky Luke to post his Chic Chocs pictures here also, that I conviced you to do the same? :wink:

I was conflicted about going there as many people from Calgary said that it wasn't worth the effort. However, I'd taken note of Patrick's defense of Norquay as a worthy day trip. Plus, my legs were getting sore from the four previous days of all-day skiing so it was a no-brainer.

I've had this debate many times on Zoneski. If someone is staying in Banff for more than 5 days, Norquay is worth one day. People from ZS would say don't go to Norquay, go to Kicking Horse and pay and travel instead even trying out Norquay even if the ticket was already part of the package.

I never said that Norquay was close to the others, however it diefinitely worth the detour if you have the time.

Norquay is the Snow King of Banff in more ways than one... just a few minutes from town, almost the exact same vertical (1,300 feet), very steep in spots, similar snow totals/conditions, zero tourists, family-oriented, etc.

Norquay had to expand that area (far right - Mystic Ridge) for the intermediate skiers, because it's previous limitation was that, although it was the smaller of the 3 Banff areas, the terrain was overall the hardest for the average skier to enjoy at that time.

For the Snow King comparison is fair, however the type of trails are definitely more wide open at Norquay and has some gullies plus the scenic is more spectacular. But both places are fun and are definitely ignored by most people because of the quality neighbouring ski areas close by.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I would agree with Patrick's Snow King comparison comments. But if it's a decent year I would certainly put Kicking Horse ahead in priority, even if it costs extra.