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Three quarters of an hour's drive out of Banff centre and I experienced the coldest days skiing I've ever witnessed. It was -23C when we stepped out of the car. After hurricane force winds ravaged our not inexpensive ski gear, hanging around at the top of the mountain, in what must have AT LEAST been -30C, was the furthest thing from our minds. Having said that, once you drop down from the top the views are, as you would expect in the Canadian Rockies, spectacular. Pistes were long and wide, nicely groomed and fast when you wanted to step up a gear. For more interesting skiing you need to drop over the back into the bowls, which offer a lot more shelter and a lot more trees to play with. The resort's main drawback is it's distance from Banff but it's still well worth a visit or two, or three and if you don't have a car there are regular buses ferrying snow lovers in from Banff all day. You can't visit Lake Louise without popping in for a quick nosey at the famous Fairmont Chateau which you can see from the slopes but it's another 5 minute drive away. It's a magnificent hotel in glorious surroundings offering all the charm you'd expect - from the horse drawn sleigh rides round the lake to the quaint uniforms worn by all the staff. Lake Louise is definitely worth the visit if you're in the area but wait until there's plenty of snow if you want to make the most of it.

Visited Resort December 2007