Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta Canada

Sunshine has tons of terrain, 3,358-acres on three mountains. Sunshine is unique in that you must take a gondola to get the ski area base village at 7,000’. Once there, you have arrived at spectacular scenery and snowy mountains in all directions. Sunshine is so big you actually ski across the Continental Divide from Alberta to British Columbia. They proclaim “best snow in Canada” with the highest elevation and as evidence the resort only owns two snow guns, and annual snow totals average 30-feet (914 cm).
Sunshine has vast and very stunning above treeline skiing, from groomed cruisers to gentle sun soaked runs on the Wawa quad, to steep chutes on Goat’s Eye. For a real adventure, do the Dive – Sunshine’s double black diamond gated terrain. Best to hire a guide to ski Delirium Dive, you get a knowledgeable guide, safe passage down Delirium’s steep staircase and craggy cliffs, and avalanche transceivers and shovels which are required. Delirium Dive is exciting, up to 50-degrees steep, some of the steepest in Canada.

Sunshine offers the only on mountain ski in ski out lodging in Banff National Park – in fact you must ride a gondola to get to your high elevation bed at Sunshine Mountain Lodge. This 70’s vintage lodge was completely redecorated and revamped for 2009 with an environmentally friendly but classy art-deco rocky mountain style.

Ask for a loft in the West Wing, the perfect floor plan for a family and the view out the floor to cathedral ceiling window is unbelievable. Looking out at Sunshine’s jagged snow capped peaks, and knowing that you are perfectly poised to be the first on the slopes along with only 84 other hotel room guests, is dialed.

Staying at the hotel, watching all the day skiers depart by 5pm, you are left with the friendly alpine dwelling staff and gorgeous alpen glow followed by star filled skies over mountain peaks – best viewed from the outdoor hot tub or the Eagle’s Nest dining room. It’s a high elevation intimate boutique hotel…the attitude at Sunshine is sunny and anything but hauty despite its lofty location.

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