Banff Blog » ski getaway http://banff-holidays.com/blog A blog about Banff, Canada. Banff is located in Banff National Park in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, Alberta. Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:46:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 6 of the Best – Banff Bars http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/08/6-of-the-best-banff-bars.html http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/08/6-of-the-best-banff-bars.html#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:10:53 +0000 Banff Blogger http://banff-holidays.com/blog/?p=254 I’d like to introduce our guest blogger, Nick Coates. He wrote the following article for us based on his bar experiences in Banff. Here are his top six Banff bars:

Melissa’s
Home of the infamous $2.75 high ball, Mel’s is a lively bar with a great atmosphere. A firm favourite with both Banff locals and visitors alike due to its chameleon nature; Mel’s is a sports bar, steak house, and party bar all rolled into one!
The ground floor restaurant serves up huge slabs of meat, chargrilled to perfection, while the 2nd Floor bar caters for all your sport watching and party needs. It’s also a great spot to pick up breakfast if you’re feeling a little fragile the next day!
Quick tip: don’t forget to tip the barman if you want to get served quickly and never ask to change the channel from Ice Hockey!

The Storm Cellar
Situated on the ground floor of the Banff Alpine Lodge at Tunnel Mountain, this lively bar is a firm favourite with young travellers and locals alike. Offering some of the most reasonably priced drinks in town along with regular open mic and karaoke nights, this lively little bar is the perfect place to start a night out in Banff. There’s also a darts board, table football, big screen TV, and an Ice Climbing wall outside. So if you’re feeling adventurous why not see if you can scale this icy behemoth… just leave the beers for afterwards!

Trapper’s
This lively mountain bar can be found at the top of the Sunshine Village high speed gondola. Trapper’s boasts some of the finest food available on mountain; serving up huge plates of Nachos, delicious pulled pork sandwiches, as well as all the usual Canadian favourites. It’s also perfect for sunny days on the hill thanks to its extensive outdoor seating area and sun terrace.
There’s really no better place to grab a cold one after a hard day’s riding with your buddies!

Wild Bill’s Saloon
One of Banff’s more lively venues, Wild Bill’s hosts regular live music nights with both local and international acts passing through on a regular basis. As the name suggests there’s a bit of a western vibe going on here, where else can you cattle roping in the mountains?! So if you fancy playing cowboy/cowgirl for a night or just want to check out some awesome live bands head on down to Wild Bill’s! They also throw a mean Superbowl party…

The Dancing Sasquatch
Not only is this nightclub the number one contender for our “Best named club in the world. Ever” award, it’s also a great place for a night out. With local and international DJ’s gracing the decks playing the very best in Dubstep, Hip-hop, Techno and everything in between coupled with unbeatable drinks deals the Dancing Sasquatch is definitely the place to party after hours in Banff!

Aurora Nightclub
The other of Banff’s nightclubs, with a relaxed atmosphere and some of Canada’s finest DJs passing through Aurora is a great place to party. Complete with pool tables and its own take-away pizza stand Aurora ticks all the boxes for a great night out! It also throws a killer Australia Day party for all you Aussies out there!

The author, Nick Coates, recommends SnowSkool for snowboard instructor courses

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]]> http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/08/6-of-the-best-banff-bars.html/feed 0 Snowfall warning still in effect – Banff National Park http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/04/snowfall-warning-banff-national-park-2011.html http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/04/snowfall-warning-banff-national-park-2011.html#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:00:55 +0000 Banff Blogger http://banff-holidays.com/blog/?p=235 It seems we just keep getting these snowfall warnings this year! Environment Canada once again posted a snowfall warning for Banff National Park and surrounding area with good reason. The snow has been coming down heavily all day today with no end in sight! It’s April 2nd 2011 – where is the spring??! With temperature highs of below zero degrees centigrade today, this new snowfall is not going anyway and as a result, the ski resorts are in incredible shape.

Sunshine Village ski resort, in Banff National Park received 12cm in past 24 hours. That’s 47cm in the past 72 hours and the snow has been coming down hard all day. Can’t wait to see tomorrow’s report!

The highway cameras in Alberta give you a good idea of the current driving conditions in Banff National Park – if you must drive, please drive safe or take one of the ski shuttles instead. The locals who drive these buses know the roads better than anyone!

Here is the current weather conditions for Banff:

SNOWFALL WARNING IN EFFECT, Banff

Posted: April 2nd, 2011 05:46 PM

Persons in or near this area should be on the lookout for adverse weather conditions and take necessary safety precautions. Issued: 3:46 PM MDT Saturday 02 April 2011

Current Conditions: -2.7°C

Posted: April 2nd, 2011 06:00 PM

Observed at: Banff 4:00 PM MDT Saturday 02 April 2011
Temperature: -2.7°C
Pressure / Tendency: 100.8 kPa rising
Humidity: 82 %
Wind Chill: -7
Dewpoint: -5.4°C
Wind: E 9 km/h
Air Quality Health Index: N/A

Saturday night: Snow. Low minus 4.

Posted: April 2nd, 2011 06:00 PM

Snow ending this evening then cloudy. Amount 2 to 4 cm. Low minus 4. Forecast issued 4:00 PM MDT Saturday 02 April 2011

Banff Current Weather Source: Rocky Mountain Holidays

Thanks for reading and be sure to share your experiences in Banff National Park with us below. When this storm blows through, the ski conditions will be incredible tomorrow.

Will spring ever arrive in Banff National Park?!

]]> http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/04/snowfall-warning-banff-national-park-2011.html/feed 0 Banff Norquay to extend opening – 2011 http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/03/banff-norquay-to-extend-opening-2011.html http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/03/banff-norquay-to-extend-opening-2011.html#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:50:48 +0000 Banff Blogger http://banff-holidays.com/blog/?p=229 2011 has so far continued to bring us plenty of snow here in the Canadian Rockies with low temperatures keeping the ski conditions perfect.  Mother Nature is making sure we don’t get to see spring just yet (although we are officially almost 2 weeks into spring!).

The ski resorts in Banff National Park received another good dosing of the white stuff today:

  • Sunshine Village, Banff – 20cm in past 24 hrs. High of just -3°C (26.6°F) reached today.
  • Banff Norquay received 7cm in the past 48 hours.
  • Lake Louise received 9cm of fresh snow over the past 24 hours.

 

Sunshine Village still intends to open through to late May and Lake Louise intends to close May 1st. Banff Norquay just announced that they intend to extend their opening through to April 24th 2011. It seems that there is plenty of the white stuff for Easter – not only will we be skiing with the Easter bunny, you might want to look out for bears on skis too!

Happy spring to you all!

]]> http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2011/03/banff-norquay-to-extend-opening-2011.html/feed 0 Banff listed as top Ski Getaway on Trip Advisor http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2007/12/banff-listed-as-top-ski-getaway-on-trip.html http://banff-holidays.com/blog/2007/12/banff-listed-as-top-ski-getaway-on-trip.html#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:01:00 +0000 Banff Blogger http://banff-holidays.com/blog/?p=23 Trip Advisor rating of Banff as number one within top ten list for Ski Getaways!
Here is the list or check out the Trip Advisor site: :?
1. Banff, Banff National Park
?2. Vail, Colorado, United States?
3. Zermatt, Valais, Swiss Alps?
4. Whistler, British Columbia, Canada?
5. Stowe, Vermont, United States?
6. Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada?
7. Jackson, Wyoming, United States?
8. Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, Rhone-Alpes?
9. Sun Valley, Idaho, United States?
10. Cortina D’Ampezzo, Belluno, Veneto
Source: Trip Advisor site

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