|
Sunshine Village is a ski resort in Banff National Park, Alberta. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Sunshine Village spans the continental divide and the Alberta-British Columbia border. Parts of the ski area are in British Columbia, however access is solely from the base area in Alberta. It is twenty minutes away from the town of Banff, and one hour and thirty minutes away from the city of Calgary, Alberta. The base of the Sunshine Village ski runs and lifts can only be accessed via its eight person high speed gondola, which takes guests from the car park (or bus terminal) to the upper village in thirteen minutes. Currently, guests can drive and park at the parking lot at the base of the gondola or take the bus in from Banff for a cost of about $15. This bus service is free for guests who purchase a three day "Tri-area lift ticket". This ticket allows you to ski at the three nearby resorts (i.e. Banff@Norquay, Lake Louise and of course, Sunshine Village). Sunshine Village has 3,358 acres (13.6 km²) of skiable terrain, with its top elevation at 8,954 feet (2730m), its base elevation at 5,440 feet (1660m), and its total vertical 3,514 feet (1070m). There are 107 named runs spreading out over three mountains (Goat Eye's Mountain, Lookout Mountain and Mount Standish) and the two provinces, (Alberta and British Columbia) with one gondola, nine chairs (5 high-speed quad chairs, 2 fixed grip quad chairs, 1 triple chair, 1 double chair) and two magic carpets to lift the skiers. The Sunshine Inn, located in the centre of Sunshine Village ski area at 7200 feet, is Banff's only ski in ski out hotel and is accessed by the resort's high speed 8 person gondola, which takes 12 minutes to travel one-way. Road access to the Sunshine Inn is not possible during winter months. Prior to the construction of the high speed gondola the base area was accessed by buses from the resort's parking lot further down the mountain. The narrow access road used by the buses was dangerous due to its narrow width and snow conditions. The road is no longer open during the winter months and has become the resort's ski-out, allowing skiers to ski down to their parked cars. The average annual snow fall is up to thirty-three feet (approx nine meters). The ski season begins mid-November, and ends in late May making it one of the longest ski seasons in North America. Sunshine Village has hosted many world class alpine ski events. Visitors to the resort will often access adjacent backcountry terrain such as 'Delirium Dive', 'Wawa Ridge', 'Wild West', 'Silver City', or Mt. Assiniboine provincial park in British Columbia. Avalanche rescue equipment is recommended for most backcountry areas and is in fact a requirement for access to Delirium Dive. Access to Delirium Dive is controlled by an Avalanche Control Gate which remains locked at all times unless it detects a working avalanche transceiver on each person that passes through it.
Lift system Image:sunshine_village.jpg|Sunshine Village ski area at dawn, Feb 2005 Image:Assiniboin.JPG|Mount Assiniboine seen from Sunshine Village | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |