Lake Louise / Sunshine - Anybody skied there?

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LL is really great.  Best if you stay there as it's far from Banff and staying at SV and Skiing LL means downloading on a Gondi and a bus ride.  It's big with plenty of terrian at all levels.  Highly recommended and with the exchange rate a good deal now.  There is no ski in out.  We stayed about 5 mins away.  And they have buses to take you there.

SV is a misnomer.  It's almost never sunny there.  The hotel is located up a Gondi and if you stay there you have one dining option.  Great terrian but it requires visibility which is hard to come by.  It's a crap shoot.  Best skiing is almost crazy hard making it tough for your kids.

What is the routing from ALB to Calagary?  Thru Newark?  Maybe worth pricing a direct flt from Montreal?  It will be priced in CD$ so with the exchange rate might be a good deal.  

I'd go with LL

Not sure I will get out west this yr.  My son likely can't afford to take time off from school or his race training.  Maybe spring break if racing is over by then.

I'm not trying to be a Whistler Homer but for a family I don't think you will get a better experience.  You don't need a car, take a bus from the airport. Everything you could possibly want to do is walking distance. direct flights from Montreal and I think from Newark. People come from all over the world and the atmosphere and skiing are incredible. In the village the temperature is warm(almost no jackets), it may even rain but go up a couple thousand feet of vert and you have snow.  They get a ton of skiers but an early start and a little planning and you can get fresh tracks most of the day.
They have excellent tours of the hill and the dining options are limitless. I kept hearing from people at the end of the day that the snow was gloppy. From my experiences that can be the case but is easily avoidable using the gondola to download. And skiing 5300 vert at the end of the day lthrough three climate zones is a trip.
I have LL on my list of places to go however there are IMO better places to hit first before I make the trip. This year is telluride next up after that is Jackson hole/targe .
Big sky I'll be back to its on my short list of repeat places.
Utah is great but to me it's too vanilla. I mean you can't really go wrong but it does not feel like an adventure. More of a place to go with guys and rip and head home.

I love skiing Snowbird but I agree, Utah isn't my first pick for a cool vacation. I ha e never been to LL but it sure looks beautiful. Isn't Castle Mountain close to there? If it is I would go check that out too, it looks really cool.The only thing about LL that's a negative is there annual average snowfall. It's less than Plattekills by around 35 inches. The retention must be really good that far north. If it's a big LaNina Whistler could be hittin. I love Crested Butte but the ski area sits in a donut hole. The mountains you can see just north of town get twice as much snow. If you don't like technical steep skiing it the area isn't that great either, it's intermediate terrain is lacking. They also need s good amount of snow to get the nort facing terrain open. If you like tech steeps and you hit it right it's totally bitchen.

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I skied at Sunshine over 25 years ago so my input is a bit fuzzy. It is a very cool area, very high up in the mountains, so a real alpine experience. Lots of varied terrain, and they do a great job of snow farming (no snowmaking, because the resort is inside a national park). My nephew was on the Trail Crew in more recent memory, this is the the gang who manage the snow farming and move snow fences all over the mountain.

Banff will be a very different experience than Whistler. Banff is a charming mountain town inside a national park, perhaps a bit touristy, perhaps a bit like Lake Placid. Nearby Canmore has more eateries, etc, plus the Canmore Nordic Centre. Given the adventurous nature of your family, I think you would really enjoy the Banff atmosphere.

If you end up going there, let me know, I have relatives and friends out there that could help the experience. One my ex-employees is a race coach at LL, who knows, maybe she could hook you up with a mountain tour.

These TRs are from nine years ago, but FWIW:

Sunshine Day 1
Sunshine Day 2
Lake Louise Day 1
Lake Louise Day 2
Norquay

We skied both numerous times, but not in five years. We used to go out annually.

My preference is Lake Louise, but Sunshine has some pretty good skiing, as well. I much prefer the layout of Lake Louise, as it skis more like a traditional ski area. Sunshine is a bit funkier.

In terms of lodging, you have the gamut from budget hotels on up. The Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise are beautiful properties. They are part of Fairmont.

I'm really interested in skiing Delirium Dive (one of Travel and Liesure's 'World Scariest Slopes') at Sunshine if I ever get the chance.  Looks amazing, as does the rest of the mountain.

We have never skied there, but we did visit in the summer and the scenery certainly is spectacular.  Lodging in Banff is pretty much limited to hotels and motels, but if you are willing to drive a few minutes more each day, you can find some great condos in Canmore.  Canmore also has some very nice restaurants and a big supermarket, so we found it to be a perfect base for a family trip.

As it's going to be Feb break week I'd think a bit more off the beaten path.  We skied Powder Mt two years in a row during Presidents week and had very little lift lines.  The place is huge so it spreads what crowds they do get way out.  The laid out of PowMo is really fun to explore.  There is so much terrian.  Consider hiring a guide for a day so you learn it.  Rent a condo in Eden and cook in.  There also are some good restaurants in the area.  You also can throw in a day or two at Snowbasin or stay a couple nights at the end in SLC and ski The Cottonwood resorts.

Targhee also could be an attractive option but the layout might cause a bit more lift lines as every run goes back to the bottom.

can I be your son?  man youj take your family on great adventures!  

I lived in LL for 4 years, although quite some time ago.

Canmore is outside the park and 1 hr. from Calgary.  Banff is 1:15 from Calgary, LL :45 more from Banff.  SV is about half an hour from Banff toward LL with a turn off not too far from Banff.  Norquay is the other side of the highway from the town of Banff.  Mainly used by racers, it doesn't have much to offer other than scenery.  Not a whole lot of natural snow usually.  There is night skiing.

Lots of accommodation in Banff.  At SV it's on hill and you have to take the gondola to the "village" area.  Most of it is above the tree line.  There might be some limitations, e.g. no coffee makers or toasters, as the fire department can't get up the hill.  Goat's Eye has mostly trees, so in flat light either ski there or go to LL.  The Great Divide chairlift actually goes into British Columbia about half way up.  Lots of natural snow there.

The town of LL is small with not a lot to do, e.g. no movie theater.  That's because you have to work in the park to live in the park (rules for the town of Banff are different).  Hi end: Post Hotel, mid- Chateau LL, price friendly, LL Inn.  The hill has a shuttle for all.  Always top to bottom skiing at LL (see next para).  Summit is above the tree line.  LL is known for its back bowls, off Summit, Paradise.  Larch is a good intermediate skiing w/lodge at bottom of that valley.  Feel adventurous?  Hike Purple Bowl at the top of Larch.  It will take you about 2 hours and is just like heli skiing.

Ski Banff Lake Louise offers 5-, 7-day lift tickets that are good for all 3 hills.

Whistler can have rain at the base area, and up the hill quite a bit.  Probably worth downloading as it gets scratchy at the end of the day.  Busier than LL/SV but I did have the best powder run of my life there (so far).

I've *ahem* known people who have snuck into the outdoor hot tub at Emerald Lake Lodge with a non-glass containered beverage and watched the Northern Lights.  Cool stuff.

You can verify if the above is still true, but that should be a good start.  Pack like it's going to be cold.  It's a dry cold, but -25 is still freakin' cold.

I've skied LL and SV 4 times in the past decade, including this past January. My sympathies to Canadians, but the current exchange rate really is nice...
Both areas have good snow and terrain for any and all abilities. I like to stay in Canmore--it's a little cheaper than Banff and feels like a mountain town that has year-round residents. Banff is nice but feels more like an international tourist destination (it is). Either way, both towns have plenty to do if you take a day off from skiing. Also, you're in huge national and provincial parks the whole time you're there, so the scenery is almost always breathtaking.
Except for summits, you're skiing below 8000 feet, so you can breathe without having to acclimatize. As someone else mentioned, it can be really cold there, so be prepared for that.
Get a rental car with AWD/4wd--the main roads should be fine, but the SV approach road can be bad (there's a sign at the entrance that says chains or 4wd required. No idea on the enforcement).
I did not care for Norquay--it appears to thaw and refreeze too often for my taste.

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The article I wrote about LL includes a section at the end about the Inn, which was convenient and pleasant. I was there solo but it would've been perfect for a family.

The whole trip was great; I didn't have much to complain about, other than what I mentioned briefly in the piece -- that most of LL's front side seemed like a steeper version of Tremblant (but lots of trees/good for flat-light days), so I spent the majority of my time in the back bowls and the underrated sector off the Summit Platter.

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We stayed at LL Inn.  They have condo style rooms.  Nice set up.  We went as a guys trip with 10 guys and we had two units.  It worked well for that purpose.  I liked being close to the skiing at LL.

Adk Jeff wrote

Is there anyplace you haven't skied?

Hah, actually quite a few. I recently updated my ski-area list and there are still some gaping holes in my resume including California, Oregon, Nevada, British Columbia, western Washington -- Arizona too!

Even though there are a bunch of places on the West Coast that I'd like to check out, I don't see myself going there for skiing anytime soon unless it's connected with a business trip. From where I'm based, it's a better move to fly to Europe for destination visits instead of the other side of our continent. Apologies for the topic detour with my hoary Alps rap.
 

Adk Jeff wrote

   Is there anyplace you haven't skied?

That's what I was going to ask. It may be simpler for him to provide places he hasn't skied vs. skied.