2009 Powder Resort Guide - Lake Louise / Banff Mountain
Current Conditions : 30F / -1C, Unknown - 5:00 AM MST Mar. 13
Temperature: 30°F / -1°C | Humidity: 88% | Pressure: 29.70in / 1006hPa (Rising) | Conditions: Unknown | Wind Direction: SW | Wind Speed: 12mph / 18km/h
Today as of Mar. 13 5:00 AM MST
Today - Periods of snow. Amount 2 to 4 cm(0.8 to 1.6 in). High 3C(37F).
Tonight as of Mar. 13 5:00 AM MST
Tonight - Cloudy with 60 percent chance of light snow early this evening. Clearing this evening. Low -12C(10F).
You’ll need cojones to ride the Summit Platter at Lake Louise Mountain Resort. And it’s not because there’s a smorgasbord of steep Canadian Rockies chutes and powder bowls. It’s ‘cause the j-shaped surface lift jerks so deeply into your nether regions that you’ll feel like you’ve been squarely drilled in the beans.
On a powder day at “The Lake”, the energy in the Platter’s lineup is nuclear and the skiing on the way down is worth the speed bag treatment on the way up. Drop into the layer-cake peaked landscape that has dropped the world’s jaws or fall away to the backside. Just make sure your chin strap’s on when you scream down “Whitehorn One” or blast over “North Cornice” into some of the finest flakes in the range. Steady west winds mean that the snow in the bowls is always arid and aplenty. An all-you-can-eat buffet exists all around the 4,200-acre mountain with the Chinese downhiller’s favourite “Meadowlark” or the lumber slalom in the Ptarmigan trees or the mind-bending “Rock Garden”, nature’s terrain park.
What’s New:
In Banff National Park, “The Lake” is more natural—a greener snowmaking system and enviro-minded solutions shrink their eco footprint. It also translates to their terrain park. Instead of cookie-cutter table-tops, they offer a mosaic of nature-made cliffs and big hits where the backdrop is every bit as pristine as the air itself.
Inside Line:
In April, when people have traded skis for DH bikes is when the best skiing happens. No matter where you get yourself lost, you’ll eventually find The Lodge of the Ten Peaks—one of the largest log cabins in the world. Here you’ll find a big ‘ol Whiteman’s fire and a pint of Canadian brew with as much punch as a U.S. six pack.
