# Lake Louise vs Big Sky



## Banjo (Jan 29, 2013)

I cant speak for big sky, as I have not been there. As for the Banff area, if you are considering a trip, here are a few details to consider. Keep in mind these are all opinions and some folks will no doubt disagree/confirm. Just trying to give you an honest look!

1) While Banff boasts 3-4 mountains, I would not consider Norquay or Nakiska worthy of a stop. If you are traveling far, skip them...much better in the area.

2)Nakiska sold thousands of $200 season passes in the summer and as a result I have heard first hand accounts of RIDICULOUS lift lines.

3)Both Sunshine Village and Lake Louise can become packed on snow days, especially on weekends. Sunshine has more lifts so you can often avoid lines, and I consider terrain equal, although you have to work for it a bit more at SSV. That said, both are amazing if you know where to go...

4) If you stay in Banff, you are looking at driving 25mins to SSV, and 45min to LL. I'm talking hotel to pass purchase here.

5) Night life in Banff is pretty decent, plenty of bars and the town is pretty cool. It can get pricy, but with CAD <<< USD you could make it rain, hahaha

6) SSV has accommodation at the top of the gondola that isnt to terribly priced and a few of the bars up there stay open late. you can get the ski and stay packages 

7) 45mins from Lake Louise is Kicking Horse which in my opinion is one of the best mountains "in the area" worth a drive for sure....it will make any hill in Mich look like a cross country ski trail. :hairy:

All things considered Banff isnt terrible place, plenty of awesome terrain, scenery and nightlife. 

I myself am a SSV guy and if you decide to come here, PM me and I would be happy to show you around the mountain for a day. :snowboard1:


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Hey Sab,.. If you didn't catch it, Argo had a pretty good thread on Big Sky last season. I believe his son was in a competition there!

Fuck it,.. I found the thread so I'll save you having to do all the searching!  :laugh:

Here's the link;  Argo's Big Sky Thread! Hope it helps you to decide. 


Btw,..? What does a married man need with "Night Life??"  :lol: (…either way you go, I'm betting you'll have a lot of fun!) 

:hairy:


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

haha, my wife will be with me and she likes to party! She's Calgarian (or was before I mail ordered her) and knows Banff really well. So Banff is kind of a known commodity. She prefers LL to Sunshine, something about no trees and flats at sunshine(?).

Thanks for that link Chomps. My questions might be answered there. I know LL will have a lot of terrain for intermediates like me, but the question is will Big Sky be kinda like Boho and not worth the trip unless you can handle the gnar.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks for the input Banjo. My heart leans to Banff on this one and I'm loving the CAN < USD thing right now. But Big Sky sounds badass too.


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## Banjo (Jan 29, 2013)

sabatoa said:


> no trees and flats at sunshine


Common problem/misconception if you don't know the place. 

First 2 years here I hated SSV for those reasons, now I prefer it to LL.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Well, Revelstoke has received the most snow out of all resorts in Canada this season... so there's that.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Sab,.. Here's another review with yet another perspective on Big Sky!

Rip The World!

:hairy:


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Fernie! lol

Although I hear it's rained there lately...


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## flipstah (Feb 3, 2015)

Banjo said:


> I cant speak for big sky, as I have not been there. As for the Banff area, if you are considering a trip, here are a few details to consider. Keep in mind these are all opinions and some folks will no doubt disagree/confirm. Just trying to give you an honest look!
> 
> 1) While Banff boasts 3-4 mountains, I would not consider Norquay or Nakiska worthy of a stop. If you are traveling far, skip them...much better in the area.
> 
> ...


I'm just quoting this as truth.

I'm a Calgarian and from what I've experienced, Sunshine and Lake Louise are your best bet within proximity. 

Nakiska is terrible IMO and it's just a giant COP (which is just artificial snow and ice galore). There's a reason why they sell season passes for $200.

I have a bias towards SSV because I learned on Strawberry but both Sunshine and Lake Louise are great. 

Be careful of speed traps in Canmore if you're driving from Calgary. 

Have fun! :jumping1:


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

flipstah said:


> Nakiska is terrible IMO and it's just a giant COP (which is just artificial snow and ice galore). There's a reason why they sell season passes for $200.


While I wouldn't specifically fly in for Nakiska, it's certainly no giant COP... When the mountains aren't getting any snow, Nakiskas snowmaking and grooming mean you can have good carving days. There's some fun terrain there too.

The season pass thing was a promo for this year, you won't see that again.


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## flipstah (Feb 3, 2015)

poutanen said:


> While I wouldn't specifically fly in for Nakiska, it's certainly no giant COP... When the mountains aren't getting any snow, Nakiskas snowmaking and grooming mean you can have good carving days. There's some fun terrain there too.
> 
> The season pass thing was a promo for this year, you won't see that again.


Perhaps I was a bit harsh on my statement but out of the three (Sunshine, Lake Louise, Nakiska), I'd place Nakiska on third.


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## seriouscat (Jan 23, 2012)

BigSky has some crazy terrain inbounds. They also have more lifts than anything in Alberta side. Big White and Whistler are probably better comparisons in terms of resort lift capability.

Banff/Louise area would have better partying/ sight seeing although Bozeman is close to BigSky and is a college town... You also get access to 5 mountains within 2 hours (Louise/ Sunshine/ Kicking Horse/ Norquay/ Nakiska.) Revelstoke is 3-3.5 hours away.

In general Sunshine has softer snow but terrain is lacking until you get to the Goats Eye lift/Teepee Town or the free ride zones (Delirium/ Wild West.) Louise has better terrain and scenery but front side can be icy. Most of the chutes in Louise are accessed via a 8.5min platter lift and degrees of hiking.
Neither is great if you like glades, since they can't freely trim due to being inside a National Park. I would say you have be a good tree rider to enjoy the glades in either mountain.

Kicking Horse has some steep terrain (actually there isn't really good terrain for beginner/ low intermediate riders) and better tree runs, they also tend to have bigger snow dumps. Drawback is one gondola going to the top unless you want to ride the trees by the stairway chair all day. DO NOT GO if it hasn't snowed for a while.

Norquay and Nakiska are smaller resorts and do not get as much snow, a lot of ski racing going on so expect an icy steep runs or two.

If you come to Banff a bunch of us hang out together locally, can show you around and have drink.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

flipstah said:


> Perhaps I was a bit harsh on my statement but out of the three (Sunshine, Lake Louise, Nakiska), I'd place Nakiska on third.


Oh absolutely, there are times when Nakiska has better snow than the other two though, just not very often!


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## jliu (Jan 20, 2009)

I just came back from a week out at Big Sky and I've ridden LL before...albeit, 6 yrs ago.

Big Sky has ridiculous terrain...tons a variety to keep anyone happy/entertained/challenged...grooms, trees, cliffs, chutes, and everything in between. I went when the conditions were crap and still had fun. If there was powder...it would be wonderland.

- LL will probably be colder
- BS averages more snowfall than LL...but early season I'd think LL is better.
- going to LL would give you access to more resorts like others have said
- both are very scenic places...but LL is built up more and much more touristy. The vibe a Big Sky is similar to Revy or Golden.
- LL's night life will be better...though we went wen Big Sky had their 'Snobar' up...so it was pretty lively when I went...tho that stuff is not my thing.
- Crowd avoidance is Big Sky's claim to fame...very peaceful. the Tram to lone peak is probably the bottle neck but you don't have to hit the peak to have a good time there...LL gets very crowded on weekends.


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## jesboogie (Oct 26, 2014)

Great info on this thread, thanks for sharing guys JD


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Yeah I really appreciate all of the info. For those who have been to Big Sky, is there enough interesting terrain suitable for intermediates? 

Like I said in my initial post, I can ride anything at our resorts but I say that knowing that our steeps are much shorter and groomed than what I'd see out west, our drops are mellow, etc.

I have a feeling I won't be hitting the peak at Big Sky, I can't imagine that's a place for someone that's never been on a real mountain before.


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## jliu (Jan 20, 2009)

^yea most definitely. Dakota chair on the back side has a nice variety of glades...from open to tight...pitch isnt that bad either. Moonlight glades are sick...steeper...but still spaced out enough. there are tons of groomers to rip too. As for the peak tram...you can take it up...if anything for the views and watch some ppl take on the big couliour. My group rode down liberty bowl in the back from the peak. The top is pretty steep and coverage was crap when we were there. Safe to say my board has some character now. If coverage is good and snow is good...you should be fine if you take your time 

But yea...you can still have a good time without riding a-z, dictator chutes...most involve some sort of hike. My 2 skiier friends went down one of the chutes facing the tram (shares the same ridge as Headwaters). They said aside from the thin coverage up top...the pitch wasn't too hairy...the hike was scarier (lol). They bolt in ropes to hang on to while you walk the ridge.


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## Cycle4Fun (Feb 22, 2012)

I went on a trip to Big Sky last year during the winter Olympics. I don't have experience with other resorts out west. My wife has extensive experience at Whistler and somewhere else I don't remember.

Big Sky really does have incredible in-bounds terrain. The intermediate terrain is enough to keep any intermediate busy for a week hardly hitting the same run. Blacks varied from steep and open to glades to a 1500' mogul field. An experienced skier will have plenty of terrain.

Take the Lone Peak Triple and traverse the bowl to drop into fresh powder runs every damn morning. Then head up the Gondola. If you are featured in professional snowboarding videos for a living you can ski the Northern Exposure of Lone Peak. Your average experienced skier will stick to the Southern Exposure. Stop for a moment to catch your breath and make sure the rest of your party is with you. Spend the rest of the day on the Dakota Triple and Shedhorn Double.

At the end of the day you'll have covered about 1/3 of the mountain without hitting every run in that 1/3.

Here is the amazing thing though. You won't have spent any time in a line. The Lone Peak Tram is the one exception. Except for the main lodge lifts, it was unusual to have a group in front of us.

My wife (she expert skier, me intermediate boarder) with other big resort experience preferred Big Sky. Compared to Whistler and that other resort, she thought the terrain was more varied and fun. The real kicker for her was never waiting in a line.

There is not a night life scene at Big Sky. We didn't care. We opened the lifts and skied till close every day. We were there to ski not drink. We were tired enough at the end of the day we were asleep by 10:00 anyway.

We enjoyed our time so much we thought about heading back this year over going somewhere else west. For us, the combination of cost ($1600 each for Ohio flight, lodge, and tickets) terrain, and no lines was amazing. We ended up planning a trip to Vermont at the end of the month with a free place to stay for 5 of the 7 days.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Amazing info guys, thanks so much!


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## billyd0912 (Jan 2, 2015)

I also appreciate reading all the information on Big Sky. Makes me feel good about booking our trip there March 25th for 4 nights...wish we were staying longer.


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## flipstah (Feb 3, 2015)

I'm a fan of Lake Louise now!:


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