Archive for ‘Banff’
Top 5 Breakfast Spots in Banff
Our senior ski specialist Aodhan took a trip to Banff earlier this year. Feeling inspired on his return, he’s written a blog all about the best places to stop for breakfast in Banff & Lake Louise this winter. After all, it is the most important meal of the day.
Read the rest of this entry »The 10 Best Winter Activities in Alberta
With such world-class ski resorts, you’d be forgiven for thinking skiing and snowboarding were the only winter activities on the menu in Alberta. But this beautiful Canadian province is packed with opportunity.
Whether you’re stargazing in Jasper, treating yourself to spa day in Banff or dog sledding in Lake Louise, Alberta offers up the chance for adventure and indulgence in equal measure.
Whet your appetite with a sneak peek at our choice of the best winter activities away from the slopes:
Go stargazing
Jasper National Park – Dark Sky Preserve
Alberta boasts some of the largest dark sky preserves in the world. Protected from artificial light pollution, Jasper’s vast national park is the perfect place to gaze at the constellations. During the winter months, there’s also a good chance you may witness one of the most breath-taking phenomena in the world: the Northern Lights.
The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is held every autumn. It’s a fantastic celebration of stargazing, hosting informative workshops and events for all ages. Read the rest of this entry »
Ski Alberta; the recipe for a Perfect Ski Holiday
What’s the recipe for the perfect ski holiday? Maybe a sprinkle of snow, a big heap of terrain, a soupcon of sunshine, a pinch of stunning scenery, and a dollop of après-ski? Alberta has all the ingredients to make the skiing equivalent of a Michelin star meal!
Pristine Mount Norquay Powder (photo by Dan Evans)
The Perfect Ski Holiday ingredient #1: Powder
Ski Resort News and Updates 2015/16
There’s a lot to celebrate in winter 2015/16, with daily news of superb snowfall and conditions in all our featured resorts. Not only is the snow about as good as it could be, but there are plenty of new developments, innovations and skier friendly offers around too. Here’s a short guide to some of the best ski resort news and updates for this season.
Jackson Hole is 50
Winter 2015/16 marks Jackson Hole‘s 50th anniversary. To celebrate, a brand new lift – the Teton Lift – has been installed and it opens up 200 new acres of terrain on the upper mountain. The resort has produced a series of retrospective videos in celebration of this legendary ski resort too. Here’s Episode 1:
News from the 3 Valleys
Canada Road Trip – part 1; Alberta
Canada Road Trip, A First Time For…
Having spent a huge amount of time snowboarding in the French Alps and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in Colorado, last winter I decided that it was about time I experienced Canada for the first time. This was first on the list of many firsts for this trip – and as my other half had never been to Canada either, it was difficult for us to contain our excitement: the vast landscapes, the epic powder, the stunning hotels, the Canadian people, and the adventure that we were about to experience, let’s go now! We got everything booked up back in September and had to wait for what seemed like months before we could get on the flight, and get on the road in February.
Spectacular views like this awaited us – Banff Avenue
Stage 1 of our trip involved a few days in Alberta, before driving over the border into British Columbia. Here are a few ‘firsts’ from our Canada Road Trip – part 1: Read the rest of this entry »
Banff and Lake Louise 2014 Competition Winner
After running a contest last autumn offering entrants the chance to win a 5-star ski holiday to Alberta in Canada, winner of our Banff and Lake Louise 2014 Competition, Mark, has been in touch with a quick run-down of his trip together with a few of his photos.
Banff and Lake Louise 2014
We had a fantastic time – the organisation was top draw from start to end and went without a hitch. A fabulous prize – enjoyed every second of it! Read the rest of this entry »
Banff and Lake Louise Competition – and the winner is…
After running a month-long contest, offering entrants the chance to win a 5-star ski holiday to the amazing province of Alberta in Canada, we’re delighted to announce that we have selected a winner of our Banff and Lake Louise Competition!
Using our uniquely devised ‘Ski Banff & Lake Louise Holiday Winner Generator’, we selected our lucky victor from the entrants. This involved the following (highly scientific) equation:
Win a Dream Holiday to Lake Louise and Banff in Winter 13/14
The Canadian resort of Lake Louise is open for business and you could be there in winter 13/14. Win a fantastic holiday to Lake Louise and Banff with Ski Independence – there are only 3 days left to enter! Read the rest of this entry »
Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper in one trip
A couple of years ago my family and I decided to venture on a three centre holiday and take in the amazing resorts of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper in one trip. It was a fantastic experience I won’t soon forget!
We flew from Gatwick to Calgary on Air Transat – an easy direct flight with good timings. There are other options but we chose Air Transat as unlike the other carriers they offer FREE ski carriage!
Read the rest of this entry »
Alberta Ski Resorts Open For Business!
We celebrated the official opening of Lake Louise & Sunshine Village ski areas today, with coffees, cakes and ski themed gingerbread biscuits in the Ski Independence office.
Thanks must go to Travel Alberta who very kindly provided all the treats, and here are a few photos of what was consumed this morning to fuel our day of work in the office!
Amazing ski themed biscuits
For a quick taster of what you can experience on and off the mountain in Alberta, have a look at this inspirational video: Read the rest of this entry »
