Lake Louise > Revelstoke > Whistler 1/27/17-2/5/17

Taking advantage of the Mountain Collective pass & the Canadian dollar:

We land in Calgary on Friday at noon.  

-Lake Louise- Ski Sat & Sunday.  Sunday afternoon drive to Revelstoke.  
-Revelstoke- Ski on Mon & Tues
-Wednesday- (off day) for 6hr drive to Whistler
-Whistler- Ski Thurs-Saturday

Fly home from Vancouver Sunday.

Any suggested targets?

Also for you frequent travelers:  Exchange rate.  Are we better off getting Canadian $ now, or just use CC's and let them do the conversion?

Have a look at these posts:
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Summer-visit-to-Lake-Louise-Banff-tp4083428p4083664.html

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Lake-Louise-Sunshine-Anybody-skied-there-tp4083257p4083413.html

For trails at Louise, Meadowlark, a.k.a. Z-run (pron. zed run) usually holds snow for a while.  It's a bit hidden.  Also  Purple Bowl.  It's a 2 hour climb from the Larch chair, but it's just like heli skiing.

North Cornice - traverse across Boomerang and go as far out as you can - is a fun chute, but it's short relative to the ski out.  Eagle 3/Eagle Ridge 3 is fun.  That is, if fun is jumping a 15' cornice and going immediately into hop turns.

For eats in Louise, the hostel is cheap (or was when I was there).  Alternatively, the Post hotel has two spots.  The Outpost is a relaxing pub-type of place.  Their main dining room is quite swanky.  I had muskox there.....didn't know what one was.  Mornings try Laggan's bakery in the plaza at the 4-way.

If you've got a kitchen, shop in Banff or Calgary.  There is no grocery store in Louise.

In Whistler, two of the places locals go is the GLC - Garibaldi Lift Co. and the Whistler Pub & Brewery.  Last time I was there a friend of mine told the hostess at the Brewery, "we're some of the good guys."  She asked, and was given an answer, as to where we worked.  My buddy said that was the code for being a local - it got you 25% off food & bev.

For skiing, stay on the upper mountain.  Consider downloading at the end of the day as there's a bad combination of lots of snowmaking (read: east coast powder) and people.  The Peak to Peak is pretty cool.  That friend of mine is a pilot.  He said there's a beacon that goes out a mile in each direction so that planes don't hit the lift.  Apparently it happened in Italy.

Drive through Roger's Pass in the daylight.  It's the best scenery in the country, and I've been to every province.

Check the rates; call your bank.  Go online  - knock at least 3 points off what you see to account for the bank's gross margin.

I have nothing to add since I was there 20 years ago and cannot remember very much.  I am going again in March for 10 days to ski LL and Sunshine Village.  

The accident in Italy sure did happen.  It killed 20 people:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998)

It also happened in 1976 where the cable snapped on that same cable car system causing 43 people to perish.  

Claude

On the road now... headed for Fernie, and then on to Castle Mtn in Alberta.

Traveling with very little cash.  We have a credit card (Chase Slate) that charges no foreign trasaction fee, so you get a favorable coversion without the bank whacking you 3 cents on every dollar.

Typically, I wait until I need cash... as opposed to purchasing Canadian dollars in the US.  Last year I spent a couple of weeks north of the border and only visited an ATM twice.

Good Luck! You'll have a blast at Revelstoke for sure..... it's been dry where I'm headed.... not expecting to ride much pow this week.

In Revelstoke, definitely hit the Village Idiot for dinner and drinks one night. Skiing wise, you can't really go wrong. You'll probably want to spend 90% of your time on the upper mountain exploring the bowls and glades off The Stoke and Ripper chairs.

Use Credit Cards but check your cards to see which ones have the lowest or no fees for foreign transactions - Amex is usually best but may not be taken everywhere.

Avoid at all costs the exchange money places in the airport - they rip you off.  Get cash from an ATM preferably at a bank which will provide a competitive exchange rate compared to other options.

That is going to be a crap ton of driving in what will be some really sketchy roads and weather - good luck with that.  I'm too old for that.  I actually want to relax on vacation.

Well since you posted this in the Trip Reports Forum you better deliver a trip report!

Have fun and post a trip report with lots of photos. :)

Coach Z wrote

That is going to be a crap ton of driving in what will be some really sketchy roads and weather - good luck with that.  I'm too old for that.  I actually want to relax on vacation.

I'm almost there, I totally get what you are saying here.

True dat - Louse to Van is 6 hours if you're really cookin'.  More like 8. Whistler is definitely 2 more.  Use both hands on the wheel on the Sea to Sky.  Even after the widening for the Olympics it's a hairy one.

Thanks for the tips/heads up guys.  It'll certainly be an adventure.  I'll try to take some pics!